First off I apologise if this topic has already been covered I have been searching the internet high and low and came up with nothing.

I am working on a 1995 F-150 with a Dana 44 and IFS. There is an oil leak that seems to be coming from the seal for the driver's side axle shaft. My question is, is there a way to replace this deal without removing the center section? If there is what are the steps and are there any special tools required? If not what is the best way to go about replacing this seal on the differential ?

Thanks for any input or suggestions!

 

I was able to on my f250. Pull the hub, spindle and axle. You'll have to work through the opening in the knuckle. The hardest part was finding a suitable seal driver that was long enough. I ended up fabing my own seal installer. Used an old bearing race driver and a long piece of all thread.

 

Thanks for the reply. It is good to know someone was successful at repairing this without removing the center section. How did you get the old seal out? Did you do both sides this way or just the driver's side? Is there a bearing also or just a seal?

 

If you do need to remove the diff it's not really all that bad. I pulled both spindles and axle shafts and the driveshaft, then take out the diff "cover" bolts and a couple of bolts that go into the left side of the housing. The hardest part was getting those two bolts loose (it took a cheater on a breaker bar). Supporting the frame and letting the swing arms droop allowed more clearance to get the diff out.

If you can do it through the knuckle it might go a little quicker. But don't be too afraid of pulling the diff if you need to.

 

I was able to get a seal puller in the beam through the spindle opening and work it. There was also a small notch in the beam right by center section section. I was able to get a straight enough shot with a chisel to get under the lip of the seal to loosen it.
I didn't do the passenger side. I believe there is an internal clip holding the passenger side axle in the housing, so removal would be necessary. Not 100% positive though. Someone else may have to chime in on that.

 

Yes, that's correct. When I pulled my front diff out recently it was to change the U-joint in the center of the right axle shaft. You need to remove the diff to remove the axle shaft, and there's no way to replace the seal without removing the axle shaft.