Originally Posted by BoomerBob

My new bearing removal tool arrived yesterday and it's even more refined that I expected. It no longer has gussets on the plate at the one end of the pipe; just nice clean welds so a bit less weight with the same strength. The fit and finish is top notch. Very pleased with the quality of these tools.

Originally Posted by mtbtim

Well, you better keep a close eye on it now that you've decided to roll the dice and not do anything about the leaking axle seals. The problem isn't going to get better, it's going to get worse. The only problem with your logic is the problem might get worse in the middle of a long road trip. If you don't plan on driving far distances with your rig, I'd say your choice is ok. But, if you're planning any big trips with this rig, you may very well regret not addressing the issue.

As more gear oil gets past the seal, it will be making it's way into the bearings and washing out the grease and then eventually make it's way into the brakes. As long as the gear oil level doesn't drop down too far, the bearing will be ok because it's now partially be lubricated by the gear oil. If enough grease has washed out and the gear oil drops down far enough to where the bearings aren't receiving ample lubrication, and you go on a long enough drive, your bearings could overheat and implode on you. How do i know this? A guy who came to one of our YouTube Subscriber parties barely made it to my place in San Jose from Auburn. He ended up destroying his passenger side axle. Lucky for him, the place he broke down at had a guy, Me, who knew how to fix it. He was lucky he was able to find an axle at a local PicknPull that day or he would have been stuck.

Good luck!