Still leaks after axle rebuild

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D

Darl Bundren

10 Year
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Threads
39
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157
Location
WNC
I recently rebuilt my front axle, installed new axle seals (aftermarket but OEM style), filled the diff, and after a while (and pretty much no driving), gear oil dripped steady enough to leave a puddle after a couple of hours. When I pulled the axles they had grooves from the original seals, so I installed some speedi-sleeves over the grooves, they looked okay, the seals seemed to align on them, and put it all back together.

I disassembled the axle (again), the seals looked okay--no cuts or tears--but I installed Marlin seals in hopes that the seal would seat in a location not near the grooves. And I was hoping that the red ring on the outside of the seals would fill any scoring on the outside rim of the seal. All back together, and the drips are back.

I followed the FSM instructions and referred to the FAQ write-up, torqued everything right.

Any ideas on causes of this? Or possible solutions (apart from buying new axles)?
 
You might try cleaning the hell out of the axle tube and then use a little green loctite on the metal lip of the seal.

Was your speedi-sleeve the correct ID? Did you lube the seal lip a little before inserting the shafts again?

Theres bound to be some obvious cause.
 
maxamillion2345 said:
You might try cleaning the hell out of the axle tube and then use a little green loctite on the metal lip of the seal.

Was your speedi-sleeve the correct ID? Did you lube the seal lip a little before inserting the shafts again?

Theres bound to be some obvious cause.
Click to expand...

We cleaned the axle tube and lubed the lip both times. I feel confident that the sleeve was the correct ID--the minimum size spec for the sleeve matched the axle measurements (measured 3x, then averaged) exactly.

I may look into the loctite.
 
Next time you drive it home, take off the filler bolt to the warmed up front diff. I was able to hear the pressure release when my breather valve was clogged. Got rid of that POS, and went to a long hose with old style gas filter on the end.
 
elhombre said:
Next time you drive it home, take off the filler bolt to the warmed up front diff. I was able to hear the pressure release when my breather valve was clogged. Got rid of that POS, and went to a long hose with old style gas filter on the end.
Click to expand...

I did the same on my Tacoma.
 
Is the seal driven to the proper depth and perfectly square?

I haven't done an axle seal on my 80 so I'm not sure if theres a shoulder it sits against or what... just throwing out ideas -- however obvious they may be. :)
 
Remove the axle breather fitting, and make sure it is clear, grease will plug the small metal tube which allows for pressure to build up thus forcing Diff oil to cross over.
 
curious, what were the dimensions of the axle shaft diameter and the speedi-sleeve?

and where any issues pushing the sleeve over the shaft splines?

did you use some sort of sealant under the sleeve?
 
e9999 said:
curious, what were the dimensions of the axle shaft diameter and the speedi-sleeve?

and where any issues pushing the sleeve over the shaft splines?

did you use some sort of sealant under the sleeve?
Click to expand...

Axle shaft diameter was 1.370 (2 measurements at 1.370, one at 1.371) on the left, 1.371 on the right.
Sleeve minimum inches for #99138 was 1.371.

I did not have issues fitting the sleeves over the splines; I don't remember them even really touching the splines. I fabbed a driver out of a piece of white oak I had and drove that down with a piece of 1.5" PVC. I had to whack it a few times with a rubber mallet, so while it was not too difficult, the sleeves did not slide on easily either.

The installation instructions indicated that friction fit should be sufficient so I did not add any adhesives or sealants under the sleeves.

The thing that mystifies me (well, one of them, anyway) is that my LC has been driven very little (100 yards or so) after the installs, so it's not like I've put a lot of miles on. I can't see how that brief bit of driving would build up enough pressure in the diff to push oil past the seal, either, but I am about 30 percent moron, so correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Which side is leaking?
 
How have the seals looked after each change out? Could you tell in which direction the axle was riding?
Then could possibly riding in an un-centered way causing a gap at the seal.
I am doing my axle at the moment and the DS was almost resting on the seal and had worn it considerably on the bottom. I have new inner axles to put in also my originals were grooved too much for me to put them back in there. I also have ordered new shims should be here tomorrow.
 
Shimming an 80 will not move the knuckle.
 
hmm. What would cause the axle to ride low then?
 
Gravity?
 
Well played. But it should ride relatively centered correct? What would cause it to ride lower than normal besides gravity? I have new just about everything ready to put back together.
 
That was the best answer I could come up with.........:hillbilly:

Since there is no "adjustment" available the only other possible cause would be something is bent, such as the axle housing.

The OEM seals have a bellows of sorts that deflects easily in order to "follow" the shaft around as it rotates. Due to the nature of the design it is not possible to eliminate run-out.
 
Check the steering arms to make sure the are not loose.
 
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