Tired of replacing rear axle seals

[Mr. Leary]

So its time to replace the rear seals and bearing AGAIN. I'm tired of this persistant issue and I have a simple question. Can i swap my 3rd member into a 2001 or 2002 housing? I am after the newer rear axle seal design because I am tired of watching the faulty design on my 99 fail time and time again.

Links are fine, and no I am not interested in "fixing" or "dealing with" the existing housing.

Thanks in advance,

Leary

 

[tbst]

Replacing the seals never gets old. I love doing it. Would rather be doing it than doing anything else.

If you have a locker you would have to modify the axle housing in an 01 or 02 to fit, right? But then it would fit, right?

 

[Mr. Leary]

Clarification: I have an ARB locker.

 

[Baja Runner]

I'm 95% sure that your 3rd will bolt directly onto the newer axle.

 

[KidVermicious]

Clarification: I have an ARB locker.

I'm no expert, but I think an 8 inch housing is an 8 inch housing? You'd have to redo any modifications to the axle housing that were required to fit the ARB, is there an air line you have to tap into the axle, or is that on the 3rd? It's the same gen, it should be the same width...

Where were you thinking of sourcing the new housing? If you can get your hands on it without buying it first, it oughta be easy to set it up and make sure everything lines up. The bolt pattern on the diff should be the same, so if the axle housing is the same width, the only other thing to worry about would be your axle flange studs lining up with the bolt holes on the housing, and I don't know why they wouldn't.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

So its time to replace the rear seals and bearing AGAIN. I'm tired of this persistant issue and I have a simple question. Can i swap my 3rd member into a 2001 or 2002 housing? I am after the newer rear axle seal design because I am tired of watching the faulty design on my 99 fail time and time again.

Links are fine, and no I am not interested in "fixing" or "dealing with" the existing housing.

I think what you're getting at here is that you believe there is a difference in the axle housings themselves between the 96-00 models and the 01-02 models, and that you believe by swapping to the 01-02 housing you will see a reduction in the frequency of seal failure.

I have to tell you, that is incorrect. There is no difference whatsoever between a '99 axle housing and a '01-02 axle housing, other than an additional bolt hole that exists on the upper link tower on the '01-02 housings. That additional bolt hole is used to attach a brake line bracket found on '01-02's but not '96-00's.

Your 3rd member will swap directly into an '01-'02 housing, and because you have the ARB vs an E-Locker, it should swap straight across with out any modifications to the new housing. The extra bolt hole on the '01-02 housing would simply go unused on a 96-00 application.

Again, though, I re-iterate that there is no difference between the two housings with regard to the way the axle seal is seated within the housing, or the design of the seal to housing mating surface. The difference between the old rear axle seal design and the newer rear axle seal design comes down to a different part number, and some small differences in the design of the seal itself.

 

[Sheepdog]

Is it possible that your persistent seal problem is related to a damaged axle?

 

[Steve240]

How frequent are you having to replace seals? I did mine about a year ago and the only real problem is the abs ring. My bearing wasn't gone but it had some play in it so I replaced it as well instead of just throwing a new seal in. Interested to know how frequent these seals are going on yours as this was the first time it had been done to my truck in 16 years.

 

[theizzardking]

Yeah leary how many times have you done this ? Looking at doing mine now and only want to do it once

 

[Mr. Leary]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I don't remember off hand what the count is up to know... five times or so that come to mind... but this time I only got about 3000 miles out of the problem side. It seems that the driver's side is usually the culprit, although last time both sides had blown.

I did read that the seal will fail if pressed in too far, and I'm sure that is what happened this time, as the passenger side seal was at the outer edge of the seal surface and holding fine.

I was under the impression that the later models had a somewhat different axle shaft or seal design that alleviated the bulk of the problem. I know a friend of mine spent around $900 in parts in order to have this rear seal problem go away for good.

I wouldn't take issue except for the fact that I keep going through bearings, which is getting expensive and tiresome to do over and over again.

The thought had crossed my mind that the housing may be damaged in some way that I don't notice. I do USE my truck harder then most people, and it had seen a whole lot of punishment since I put it to work in 2006.

Keep the thoughts coming, guys. I'm really trying to keep this truck, but if it continues to give me problems, I'll have to abandon it for a more reliable platform. I go on a lot of trips and need a truck that I can count on to be ready to go.

 

[BigFishAllDay]

There is NO difference in housings, or axle shafts... the difference lies ONLY with the improved seal. Anyone, with any year 3rd gen, can order, install, and run that improved seal.

This all comes down to the precision of the install and making sure everything is installed where it needs to be on the axle shaft. The seals get seated all the way in... the only variable should be the placement of the parts that get pressed onto the axle shaft.

I have 35k on my rear axle seal job with ZERO issues. I had another 55k of ownership and HARD use before that without them leaking a single drop.

If you have verified that the install is being done correctly, chances are that you have a bent axle shaft, or a damaged axle housing.

That's all there is to it. I'm not sure why everyone overthinks this so much.

 

[Drcoffee]

Mr. Leary,

Take a look at this thread about the seal depth I posted over the weekend. Hopefully it can help you.

possible-solution-leaking-axle-seals

 

[cordrayj1]

man sorry to hear about the seals. mine were done @ 153k miles and im at 224k now. mine was made in 11/1999 but its a 2000, so im not sure what to think about your issue. any reason why its more common?

 

[Terry98runner]

There is a vent on top of the rear end housing. If it plugs up it builds up pressure inside of the rear end housing and blows out the seals. Have you checked this?

 

[pluton]

He might have a different vehicle now that it's eight years later?

 

[jgue467]

And Everyone on here says 01-02s suck, haha, among many other components (see sig), the rear seals are still Original at 328K!!

 

[96RedRunner]

01-02's do suck only way internal combustion works!! Right Ha.
My 01 had a bad VSC module, RR leaking axle seal, leaking AC system, worn out suspension at 198k mi.
And why I got it way below market price. After some TLC 23k mi 45 months later all is good no problems.
Nah 01-02's don't suck I'll say for the moment, like the AWD more than other, Andy Mod solved a quirk.
To ward off a jinx I won't mention, Drive by Wire, quad channel MC, OD planetary issues that don't happen on previous models, just saying.