The driver's side rear axle seal on my 2001 F250 is weeping. This truck has 239,000 miles on it, about 95% of them are highway miles, with little or no load in/on it. The axle has never been low on lubricant or under water. Axle lubricant was changed at 150,000 miles with recommended gear oil.
At this point, I'm assuming this condition is simply due to the age and mileage of the truck, but I am also aware that an oil seal can be indicative of bearing wear. Is there a quick check to confirm the bearing are OK before disassembling the hub to replace the seal?

 

Yes they just start around 200k, Preventive swaps will prevent extra brake pad purchases.

Its fairly simple repair, lots of step by steps to find on the web. I highly doubt the bearing are bad. I,v had seepage on 2 of my high mile superduties, with no bearing problems.
You will need the parking brake shoes also. Do both at the same time. Order the axle nut and shoes online to save a ton.

 

If you live in a rust state dont forget the backing plates also

 

This! Even if you don't live in a rust state they are probably rusted through

 

My backing plates are fine, only slight surface rust due to the facts that northeast Wyoming is "high and dry," our state does not use much salt or mag chloride in the winter, and I flush the undercarriage frequently. I just did the rear brakes, after a caliper failure eighty miles from home. I had to repair it in a driveway, so I did not dig into the seals. Fortunately it is still minor which gives me time to ask and learn and acquire parts and a spindle nut socket....

I will be replacing both seals and the brake shoes. They still hold the vehicle fine, but I'm keeping in mind that they are the back-up braking system too.

BIG THANKS for the help and suggestions!

 

www.guzzle7pt3.com/embrake.php

Parts are fairly cheap. I think I got everything off rock auto. I got the special spindle socket there or napa - cant remember which. New parking brake shoes were needed. Mine were soaked and rendered useless. Was quoted $1600 to have it all done but it wasn't a bad DIY job after finding this how-to.

 

Thanks for the link. Guzzle's stuff is always good. You probably just saved me from weeding out a bunch of videos that aren't! I'm still scrounging parts. I found the spindle nut socket for about $16 on Amazon. Brake shoes actually don't look bad and they weren't wetted by the seep, but I set the brakeevery time I park the vehicle so they will be replaced while I'm in there--they don't owe me anything and I hate doing a job twice, especially for no more than they cost.