rear wheel seals

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Mar 5, 2008 | 01:07 AM

topwhop

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rear wheel seals

I have a 2004 ford f150 4x4 ext cab and the wheel seals are leaking on both sides, Hopw big of a job is it to change these??

Mar 5, 2008 | 06:18 AM

Joe04F150

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My truck is also leaking on the passenger side rear wheel, I'm thinking about having it done rather than trying to mess with it myself. My guess is you'll have to pull your axles to access the seals.

Mar 7, 2008 | 12:40 PM

Doogie S

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Dudes,

It's not that tough of a job. I had a leak on the drivers side and did the work myself in around 4 hrs to replace the seals and bearings on both sides.

You basically drain the oil & remove the diff pan, remove one bolt from the gear, pull out a pin, remove two C-clips, take the rear wheels & brakes off and pull the axles out.

I bought a deluxe bearing puller kit, but you can rent them. I used and old screwdriverr to tear out the seals (be careful not to hot the housing) and then the puller to get the old wheel bearings out. Install is the reverse of teardown and I even installed a new finned aluminum diff cover in the process.

A shop here wanted $900 to do the job. I bought OEM seals and wheel bearing over the counter from Ford for $90, spent $200 on a deluxe bearing puller kit (I'm a tool *****), $75 on Royal Purple gear oil and a few hours time.

Doug

Mar 7, 2008 | 12:50 PM

topwhop

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thank you for the info I do it myself

Mar 7, 2008 | 06:43 PM

Panzerbrumbar

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From: North Dakota

I had to replace both of mine on my 04 Screw and Doogie said pretty much what needs to be done except you need to get some plastic gasket there is not a gasket to reuse or at least mine did not have a gasket and be careful with the dif cover it is really thin and you do not want to bend to much.

Mar 25, 2008 | 10:17 PM

bamabronc

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I went to get my oil changed today and they pointed out that the rear driver's side seal was leaking. Have no clue how long it's been leaking. My truck is an '04 "SCREW" and has over 139K. Can I just replace the seal and roll with it?

Mar 26, 2008 | 02:05 PM

Doogie S

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The manual says to pull the bearings and seals together. For my money and while I had it apart, I replaced both seals and wheel bearings. I think the total price for parts was under $90 CDN from the Ford parts department. (not including the Royal Purple fluid)

I had to cut the seals to get them out, as they are a really tight fit. Be VERY careful not to hit the housing) If you are on a budget, I don't see why just replacing the seals wouldn't work. The only risk is that if you have bearing failure later, you have basically thrown the seals and lube away.

The factory cover is siliconed onto the housing, no gasket required. My Mag-hytech cover has a rubber o-ring.

Doug

Last edited by Doogie S; Mar 26, 2008 at 02:07 PM. Reason: spelling---