Hi i have noticed on my ford f350 1955 twin wheel.The rear axle dripping oil,not alot but i would like to stop it.Its leaking were the two half join together.I have took the half shafts out bothe side,as i am replacing the bearings in the hubs.So if i un bolt all the nuts from around the diff,will the axle split into two halfs,if it does will anythink drop out,like bearings,Or do you think i could open the joint a little then put som sealant in the joint.Or is it take it apart and put a new gasket in.What i am worried about is i have never stripped one of these axle before, so any advice would be great.Thanks Pete in the UK.

 

Hello Pete

Looks like ya got you an old axle there for sure. The Timken axle I had in my old ******* Overland was split in the middle and had no gasket in the sealing surface of the split and it leaked there really bad for me. A couple of the bolts had worked loose over time and the case halves flexed enough to break the seal.

First off I would suggest taking the whole unit out of the truck then remove the axles from the housing and brake backing plates and find a place where you can stand the axle on one end and secure it to a bench.

When you stand it on end make sure the center housing bolt heads are up.

Unbolt the drive yoke and the flange that holds the drive yoke seal.

Remove all of the housing bolts and carefully lift the upper section off the lower section. This may require a little tapping with a rubber mallet or lead hammer. The spool with ring gear and spiders should stay on the lower section and aside from two bearings on the pinion and two bearings on the spool there is nothing in the axle case to "pop out" and get lost. At this point you can remove the old gasket "if any" and clean the surfaces and reseal them with something like Permatex Ultra Grey, which is what I use or the sealant of your choice.

Make sure the surfaces are clean so use a solvent like brake cleaner to remove any gear oil.

Make sure the bearings go back in the same side they came out of or it might change the ring to pinion clearances. Also at this point you may want to check the bearings to make sure they are good. If not then you may as well replace them while you have it apart.

When I resealed the axle case on my ******* I changed the bolts it had in favor of a set of studs with wedge locks like what is used on the 1ton floating axle differentials. I did not want the case halves moving again and breaking the seal.
Any other Q's? You know where to find me. Cheers

Cyrus

_____________________
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... HELL YEAH!!! What a trip!

 

Hi thanks for that really greatfull.