I saw a thread on this a few weeks ago, but now can't find it. I noticed some fluid on the inside of my driver's side front tire last week and traced it back to the front axle seal leaking (by means of drip path and fluid stickiness).

looks like the outer seat on that side is bad. I remember Bill mentioning that some D60's have seals that go in from the outside, others from the inside. how would I know which I have (vehicle model year 97)?

also, best case (outer seal), i'm assuming I have to break apart both upper and lower ball-joints , get everything out of the way, slide the half-shaft out, install the seal, then put it all back together in reverse (with new balljoints since I have no idea how old these are). sounds like a day-long job to me. considering I need an alignment anyway, i'm thinking of asking what the shop will charge to do it - even though I hate the thought of someone else working on it...

also - in checking it out, I noticed that the axle will move in and out of the housing by about 1/2" (by pushing pulling on the u-joint there). I thought this had something to do with the bad seal, but the other side, which is not leaking does the same thing. I guess this is what is meant by "full floating"? does both side of the universal just ride on splines (in the axle housing and in the wheel hub)?

finally, i'm not doing any damage to the axle by driving it until I get it fixed, right? as long as i'm not in 4x4 and don't have the hubs locked, nothing is moving up there anyway. ...and I plan to just keep the gear oil topped up till I get it taken care of.

 

I don't have any answers for you, but I will be watching the thread as this is on my to-do list. You probably read that in my thread. My driver side front corner is a little damp too.

I think all the D60's in our trucks have 2 sets of seals though. One at the hub (which is more or less a dust shield) and one that you have to remove the differential carrier to replace (which is the actual oil seal). I think this "inside" seal is what we both need to replace. Bill says that if it leaks oil the inside seal is to blame.

And I would tend to agree with you that if you're not 4 wheeling and the hubs are unlocked there should be no ill effects suffered by the leaky seal. I do think you're right to keep an eye on the fluid level though.

 

I think I follow the seal locations you discuss. I need to find that thread and dig up the parts diagrams links in there. is that your 'I went and did it' thread?

and yeah, nothing is moving in the axle in 2wd and hubs unlocked, so i'm feeling fine there. what i'm wondering is if I can get away with using 4x4 in the snow this winter and plan to rebuild the axle next year. i figure short trips would be OK, but several hour drives with the hubs engaged for on-demand 4x4 might not be good. gear oil is sticky stuff, but would probably burn up/thin out and sling off in those conditions...

 

I got all my front end parts from drivetrain america. Just call them up and tell them what you got. They will find the right real for you. Sounds like the inner seal though.

 

The seal that keeps the oil in the center section installs in the center section. You need to remove the ring gear carrier to replace those seals. I have never seen the dust seals in the ends of the axle tube in the OBS trucks. The NBS trucks have them along with the unit bearings. As long as you keep the center pumpkin full it will not hurt to run the truck in 4X4 when you need to. On being able to move the axle shaft in and out that 1/2 inch, is the snap ring around the outer edge of the shaft, just behind the locking hub? It seems some have it and some don't.

 

No, the oil seals are all internal. What I was talking about was the seals at the ends of the axle tubes. They are just dust seals, and some trucks have them, and some don't. The only place I could find them was the place Gabe mentioned. And as Tom said, you have to remove the the carrier to replace the oil seals.

 

I'm also gonna follow this. I just keep an eye on my fluid and don't run it in 4x4 that long. Most time is feet over miles now.

 

thanks gabe - i'll have to call them. its sounds like a springtime job, though.

i'll have to check on that, Tom - would it just be popping the chrome hub cover off? and is it something that should be there if its not, or is it that some hubs have a snap ring groove and some don't?

I see - thanks bill - sounds scary, but maybe easier than I thought in busting up the ball-joints and going at it from the outside. as long as I don't mess with the shims or anything inside, it should just be a remove, install seals, put back together type of job, right?

yeah, i'm about the same way - i'll just keep some gear oil and a wrench for the plug in the truck and check it whenever I use 4x4 for an extended period.

now that I think about it though, I think I killed my seals myself - or at least put them over the edge. I locked the hubs when doing my ZF swap so that the front driveshaft would stay still while taking it out. then, I forgot to unlock them and rode around with them locked for a few days (maybe 50 miles total). it was only after that that I noticed the leaking. maybe they were shot already, who knows. they only seem to leak during and immediately after 4x4 use. ...though maybe that's just the only time the oil is splashed up out of the bottom of the pumpkin.

...if that's the case, I should probably check my level soon!

 

I had my Dana 60 front seals done about 6 months ago. Took the shop 1 week of running around trying to find it. Had to get special order Motorcraft from the Ford dealership which in my opinion is better the wait using Motorcraft parts than Autozone crap.

 

The website i mentioned sells spicer products so they are good qulity. They do make an installer tool for around 100 bucks, but we just used a adapter out of a ball joint installer kit. If you just pull the careier and put it back how it was you will be fine.

 

That when I notice mine leaking JP. Mine also leak when I park for to long on hard angles. I have never seen mine empty just down a few inches.

 

It's been a couple of years since a buddy helped my pull apart my D60 to fix my front air locker, so my recollections may be a bit off. Went exploring, and found that the shop that fixed my seals pinched an O-ring in the locker on reassembly. Here's what I remember...

You don't have to touch the ball joints. Remove front hub (rotating part), and then remove the spindle from the steering knuckle. Axleshaft will come out with the knuckle in place, no need to touch the ball joints. Unless... the spindle is frozen to the knuckle, and it's easier to remove the ball joints. The shop that installed my locker many years ago had that problem with one side; I'm told they put a good bit of heat on the spindle to get it off. Overnight soak with penetrating oil might be a good idea.

I don't remember how the axleshafts were retained, but don't recollect any issues getting them out. Getting the right size spindle nut socket was an issue; talk to someone who knows the difference between half-ton, D50, and D60 so you don't get a half-ton socket.

The center carrier has to come out. It should be a tight fit between the case bosses and side bearings, but we didn't need a case spreader to get it in and out. Careful and mild use of long prybar and soft mallet did the trick.

The oil seals are just inside the inner ends of the axle tubes, pretty easy to get at. Makes me wonder why there isn't a bearing and seal at the outboard end of the axle tube to better align the axleshaft.

This would also be a good time to check that your vent tube isn't blocked, and maybe to get an aftermarket differential cover with drain plug.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks Paddler for the info. You mention a good point. I need to check the vent line for the axle. As much mud and dirt as was caked onto the undercarriage of this truck and I wouldn't be surprised if the vent is blocked. It would sure be nice if I could unclog that and the leak would go away! Yeah, probably wishful thinking, but I should try anyway...

 

good info there - i'll definitely be referencing this when it comes time to do the job

and I was just thinking the same thing, nate - my truck was pretty well crudded with mud as well. i'm going to look for the breather this weekend and if it is clogged, see if unclogging it helps the leak any.

like you said, probably not, but its worth a shot :-)

 

Pull the vent tube off the axle fitting and check that the fitting as well as the tube are clear. I had an, um, "adventure" with my rear caused in part by the axle fitting being clogged with gunk that looked like old-fashioned brown cake grease. Tube was clear, but axle still wasn't venting.

If you do have a clogged vent and your axle has a consistent leak when hubs and transfer case aren't engaged, your seals probably are shot and clearing the vent likely won't help at all. If the mechanism isn't turning and generating heat, there isn't anything to keep generating pressure after the first leak. The first leak will relieve the pressure, and then good seals should hold.

We had a case spreader on hand to pull my center unit, but the driver's side spring mount was in the way of the spreader.

We put on an ARB front cover, but had to do some grinding to clear the driver's side spring mount.