Front axle seal seating question?

[rossgoldie]

I have seen many threads and many answers on this topic but I am still unsure....

How deep do you seat your front axle oil seals?

I just did one today and it leaked so I pulled it and it broke. While I wait for the new seal to arrive I want to be sure to do it right the next time. If you can provide pictures and a semi-detailed explanation that would be wonderful. Every thread says to seat it flush, but flush with what? I am just a confused citizen.

Also while on this note, how big of a hex key is needed for the drain/fill plugs for the diff? I had a 10mm hex key that was too small and a T-70 torx bit that was too large (roughly 14mm I believe), are the clamshell plugs 12mm? Thanks

 

[Ruiner]

I have seen many threads and many answers on this topic but I am still unsure....

How deep do you seat your front axle oil seals?

I just did one today and it leaked so I pulled it and it broke. While I wait for the new seal to arrive I want to be sure to do it right the next time. If you can provide pictures and a semi-detailed explanation that would be wonderful. Every thread says to seat it flush, but flush with what? I am just a confused citizen.

Also while on this note, how big of a hex key is needed for the drain/fill plugs for the diff? I had a 10mm hex key that was too small and a T-70 torx bit that was too large (roughly 14mm I believe), are the clamshell plugs 12mm? Thanks

The top fill plug should be 10mm, the bottom should be 12mm. I had to go to the local autoparts store to find 12mm hex keys, home depot/lowes only had up to 10mm.

 

[Unner]

The passenger seal doesn't have a stop, you have to seat it just right so it rides on the metal plate on the CV. Check my threads, I have a thread on me replacing mine with lots of info on how far to seat it.

The drivers side one has a stop for the seal so you drive it until it stops, but I've never done that one.

 

[nobb]

The front axle seals shouldnt be too picky, there's alot of area on the CV for it to seal so even if you're not exact it should be fine. However, if the sealing surface on the CV is bad (eg.rusted or a worn in lip from the old seal) then you might have problems.