is this installed correctly?

Has this been installed correctly?

 

something is wrong.
the seal should fit tightly over the milled surface on the axle shaft, but it's a hand push fit, not a press fit. there should also be a rubber seal ring that appears to be missing(?).


looks like this:

 

Thanks Fracture, this was done by the dealership. The 4x4 has not worked since and when I grab and rotate the axle shaft by hand there is a lot of drag, I can turn it but it's hard.

 

there are 4 seals in the 4wd hub system and that one has no bearing on the auto lock via vacume. seal number 1 is the seal on the manual rotation **** cover plate....this one impacts the autolock system. the next seal is the axle bearing outer seal...this one also impacts the vacume autolock system. the next seal is the axle bearing inner seal...does not impact vacmme auto lock. and the last seal is the one in your photo shich does not impact the vacume autolock system.

that seal in your photo on f-250's and f-350's srw's is frequently popped out of place.

most likely you have some play in you axle bearings and that play is popping that seal out.

 

OP great post as I am currently doing ball joints on my 2001 F250 PSD 4x4 and will be installing this new seal this afternoon.

Do you just press it in hand tight? What about the grit and sand behind that seal in the axle tube?

kyle

 

Speaker thanks, the new axle seals were installed two weeks ago. I was just curious if they were supposed to look like that, because they certainly are not 'sealing' any thing out, both left and right look like that. I took it back into the dealership and they charged me $700 for a new vacuum pump, which I probably didn't need. So to me it appears to be an improper installation, for $3,000.

 

Kyle this was done at the Ford Dealership, which I'm not going to suggest, labor was at 2K

 

ouch.


the seals you have that rattle are really more of a dust seal against dirt and junk getting into the tube. there are seals at the differential that do the real work of keeping the oil in the pumpkin.


if you do end up with issues engaging 4WD again, consider swapping out the auto hubs for manual locking hubs and just capping the vacuum ports.


$3k is pretty out of line for the work, even from a dealership. I was recently quoted $750/side for ball joints and seals. the Vacuum motor is a $250 item, iirc.


for what it's worth, don't feel too bad; front axle work is brutal work. I ended up doing my own ball joints and seals. I won't say I wouldn't do it again, but I earned every penny I saved doing it myself and I was sore and burned for days after.

 

Where could this be leaking from after the ball joints and axel seal replacement?
Fracture I wouldn't mind paying but not for this typ of work. And it looks like something is leaking now.

 

There's a fairly complicated deal between the outer shaft and the knuckle. Its expensive and a pain to install, sp some shops try to reuse it. Look at the back of the knuckle and see if the seal is new. It's suppposed to be dry in the knuckle, too but some old timers pack it with grease. It's possible that could be your issue. It doesn't look like it's coming out of the axle tube

 

check your front gearbox gear oil level....looks like you hAve an axel seal leak.

 

Follow up to this thread. I took it back to the Ford dealership, they fixed the 4x4 but there is still a small leak. This did not show up immediately, after a few miles. It was completely dry. Is this just assembly lube ? Will

driving it cause any damage?

 

Is there any fluid left in the front axle.

if the front axle runs dry, you won't know it until you try to use 4wd.

why would it run dry......well....you have a leak....and now you are saying it stopped leaking....

check the fluid level level of the front axle.

if you have to add gear oil , you still have a problem.

 

Thanks Speakerfritz I'll check the pumpkin for oil. But would this be residue oil left over from the axle seal change out ? Also when They change out the axle seals how much oil leaks out from the pumpkin?

 

To change the front axle seals you have to pull the axles, remove the diff cover and pull the carrier. The seals are internal and the only way to get to them is through the inside of the diff. So if done correctly all of the gear lube is removed and new lube has to be replaced. Looks like they damaged the internal seal when putting the axle back in. No choice now but to fix it correctly.