front axle seals leaking again
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front axle seals leaking again
The front axle of my '79 F-150 was leaking a little out of the driver's side by the u-joint, so last week I put new front axle seals in, along with u-joints, needle bearings, and repacked the wheel bearings. Thought I was good to go...but now it leaks worse than before. 
I picked up two more seals today from a different (better) Carquest store, and they're the same part number the ones I put in last week, so I doubt I put the wrong ones in. Where did I go wrong? The only thing I can think of is when I tore it apart there were two "o-rings" made out of RTV in the axle tube on the inside (IIRC) of the seals. They looked homemade and the book didn't mention them at all, so i just put the new seals in and put it all back together. Any advise? Pretty frustrating after all that to have it worse than it was. 
I picked up two more seals today from a different (better) Carquest store, and they're the same part number the ones I put in last week, so I doubt I put the wrong ones in. Where did I go wrong? The only thing I can think of is when I tore it apart there were two "o-rings" made out of RTV in the axle tube on the inside (IIRC) of the seals. They looked homemade and the book didn't mention them at all, so i just put the new seals in and put it all back together. Any advise? Pretty frustrating after all that to have it worse than it was.
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The first thing that comes to mind is the vent tube.
On the top of the differential on the driver's side there should be a hose coming out and up into the engine compartment. That lets the dif "breathe" as it gets hot & cools down. If that's plugged when the dif heats up, the pressure inside will force the lube out of the seals.
Before going through the pain of changing the seals again, pull the tube off and make sure it's clear. Same goes for the hole into the dif where the tube goes. You could remove the fill plug and blow into the tube to see if it's blocked.
If that's not the problem, maybe you did get the wrong ones. I seem to recall that there were two sizes of seals for that axle, and I had a hard time getting the right ones.
I'll see if I can find the part number for the seal I got.
Kevin K.
On the top of the differential on the driver's side there should be a hose coming out and up into the engine compartment. That lets the dif "breathe" as it gets hot & cools down. If that's plugged when the dif heats up, the pressure inside will force the lube out of the seals.
Before going through the pain of changing the seals again, pull the tube off and make sure it's clear. Same goes for the hole into the dif where the tube goes. You could remove the fill plug and blow into the tube to see if it's blocked.
If that's not the problem, maybe you did get the wrong ones. I seem to recall that there were two sizes of seals for that axle, and I had a hard time getting the right ones.
I'll see if I can find the part number for the seal I got.
Kevin K.
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I searched through a bunch of my old posts and found it.
The original Ford # was D8TZ 3254 B with a stamping # of 620257 (thanks to PlumCrazy55).
It cross references to a C.R. (Chicago Rawhide) part number of #13246. I put these in my 78 d44 and haven't had a leak yet.
Good luck.
Keivn K.
The original Ford # was D8TZ 3254 B with a stamping # of 620257 (thanks to PlumCrazy55).
It cross references to a C.R. (Chicago Rawhide) part number of #13246. I put these in my 78 d44 and haven't had a leak yet.
Good luck.
Keivn K.
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Thanks guys. I thought of the vent tube yesterday and went out and checked; it wasn't plugged. I felt like kind of an idiot because I hadn't checked that when they were leaking the first time. Should there be just the seals inside? I'm still wondering about those silicon rings I took out. BTW, the Carquest part number on the ones I got is SLS 2300.
Last edited by brown 4x4; Oct 3, 2003 at 12:19 PM.
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From: Cleveland, WI USA
That carquest part number (actually National Seal) crosses with the CR number 13246. So, that should be the correct seal.
Your 79 wouldn't happen to be a super cab, would it? I think those have different seals.
The only other thing I can think of is that the axle is worn down where the seal rides. This happens when the rubber rots away and the metal spring wrapped around the rubber digs into the axle.
Kevin K.
Your 79 wouldn't happen to be a super cab, would it? I think those have different seals.
The only other thing I can think of is that the axle is worn down where the seal rides. This happens when the rubber rots away and the metal spring wrapped around the rubber digs into the axle.
Kevin K.
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It's a regular cab. The changeover for the two seal styles wouldn't have been between 78/79? I saw someone else mentioned it in an old thread and said they had to use 79 style seals in their 78. So is it possible the ones I have are the old style and I should have the newer style? Here is the thread.
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