Front axle job- inner oil seal- what is my problem?

[LCWannabe]

Doing a front axle job on my 96, ordered the kit from C Dan and am following the FAQ thread pretty closely. Everything has been going somewhat smoothly until I tried to remove the inner oil seal. I bought a $5 seal removal tool from Northern Tool and it's not doing the trick for me. According to the pic in the FAQ thread https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/78276-front-axle-rebuild-faq.html
the gold ring is part of the seal and needs to come out. Well, I have hammered it a bit and it's not coming out. Now, when I hold the new seal up to it, it looks like the gold ring definitely should not come out. Do I have the right part? I think C Dan has sold a few of these kits, so I'm pretty sure I do, but what is my major malfunction?? Thanks, Dan.

 

[landtoy80]

They can be a pain to get out. I destroy them getting them out. You can try a self tapping screw and screw into the seal and pull on that but just keep working at it. Poke a hole in the seals edge and pry that way.
Try some pricks to get behind the seal and pull. You need to feel the inner edge of the seal and pull.
Needle nose ViceGrips help.

 

[cody c]

I used a piece of threaded pipe with a coupler (connector) on it, then got the lip of the coupler behind the seal and tapped it out like I was using a slide hammer.

You WILL wreck the old seal, but since your replacing it it doesnt matter.

The "gold" coloured part will come out as well, eventually.

Edit: once you get it started you can pry it out with a small gooseneck prybar, or a bent screwdriver.

 

[LCWannabe]

Did you guys check the pics where I'm holding the new seal up to the old one? The new one fits inside the gold circle of the old one, it's smaller in diameter. Do I have the wrong part?

Also, side question- the driver side birf came right out. It was not attached to the axle (splines were engaged, but the two pieces pulled right apart). Is that a problem? It seemed to work fine and made no noises, etc. Do I need to pick up some kind of little C Clip pr something? Thanks for the replies, Dan.

 

[SiRaDuDe]

Just to be clear....

Take your new seal out of the pic, clean surface very well and take a very close up pic of area...

You might be trying to remove a non removable part... but is doubtfull... Pretty sure that ring needs to come off and was part of the old seal... I dont think there is a sleeve in that area..

Anyways I need a close up of axle without the seal on the way of the view.


Did the old seal come off with metal around it... or just the rubber?

 

[SiRaDuDe]

Also, side question- the driver side birf came right out. It was not attached to the axle (splines were engaged, but the two pieces pulled right apart). Is that a problem? It seemed to work fine and made no noises, etc. Do I need to pick up some kind of little C Clip pr something? Thanks for the replies, Dan.

The birf should have been attached to the axle with a C clip.

Has anyone worked on this before?

 

[AttoirRE]

Yes, the gold ring comes out. And you are correct, it looks like you ended up with the wrong seal. You are not crazy.

 

[AttoirRE]

That is the right part number though... Did you recieve a seal kit, ie a seal for each side? Are they both the same?

 

[Koffer]

the seal part # is correct ,but maybe packaged wrong from Toyota
Are both new ones the same size?

 

[Kernal]

The old seal appears to be a Marlin Crawler Heavy Duty "Eco" seal, the Toyota seal does not have an outer lip. To get the old seal out I used a seal puller.

 

[LCWannabe]

SirAdude- yes, someone has worked on it before. There was silicone in place of a gasket in one spot, and the birf pulling right out is, I assume, a result of someone putting it back together without the clip. It seemed to work just fine though (except for the soup coming out of the knuckle).

 

[LCWannabe]

I got 3 seals (in case I screw one up), all are the same part number. Does anyone have a part number for the clip that holds the birf on the axle?

Thank you very much for all the replies-

 

[LCWannabe]

The Marlin Crawler theory is kind of making sense to me. I think I have read that they don't go "in" like a Toyota seal and that they have a lip. That would appear to be consistent with what I have. So, IF that is the case, the gold ring does need to come out. I just didn't want to work away at and possibly wreck something that wasn't suppose to come out anyway. I'm going to go with that unless someone else replies with a better explanation. Thanks again, Dan.

Any part number for the C clip?? Thank you!

 

[Kernal]

A seal puller should pop it out no problem.

 

[LCWannabe]

I have a seal puller that looks very similar to that one, but it's not working. There seems to be very little for it to "grip" on the back side to lever it out.

 

[TrustyToyota]

I used a cat's paw type bar. It was a smaller version of most, but it was able to grab on to the seal fairly easily. It worked much like the seal puller above is designed to work.

I do remember needing to work those seals out. They didn't want to go easy.

-TT

 

[iptman]

Maybe try a brass drift from the trunion bearing hole and tap with a hammer on the edge of the seal. At some point you'll get enough material to pull it out with pliers.

 

[LCWannabe]

I'll try both of those ideas. Thanks guys!

 

[sleeoffroad]

Those seal pullers do not work. All they do is tear the metal and the seal won't come out. Use a prybar like this

The seal looks aftermarket and is not like the factory seal. It has an additional lip on it.

 

[Offroads4x4]

Go to Auto Zone or NAPA.... And rent a different style puller. I've had better luck with the J-hook style puller.

Harbor Freight sales a good one that has a hook on the end that I've found works much easier.
You have a handle to hold tension while hammering on the rear bar like a slide hammer to pull them out.
http://www.harborfreight.com/seal-puller-91352.html




As far as the seal difference talk to Kurt at CruiserOutfitters.com. He sales both seals (Toyota, Marlin) and can tell you what you have very quickly.

If I recall the Marlin seal seats in but has an outside lip around the outside?