After putting on new brakes and U joints and topping off the dif fluid, I have discovered a leaking seal on the drivers side of the rear axle. How much work am I looking at? I'm thinking does the whole third member have to come out and then the backing plate bolts or can I do it without pulling the third member?

 

It depends on what rear end type you have as to how you replace the seal. If yours has a removable insp.cover on the back, then the cover comes off, remove the small bolt in the rear end pin, remove the pin, push the axles in slightly and rempve the horseshoe type retainers. Remove the brake drum and pull out the axle, replace the seal and then put it all back together. Made that sound easy.
Now if you have a 9 inch ford with no insp cover, removing the axle is simple, changing the seal ia a pain. On these, remove the brake drum, and useing the hole in the axle and a deep 3/4 socket, remove the 4 nuts that hold the axle in, it may take a few good cracks with a hammer to knock the axle loose but it will let go. Pull the axle out and the bearing and seal comes with it. You will need to replace the seal and the bearing together as the bearing usually gets destroyed replacing the seal. The press on retainer is the pain part, if you have a good drill, drill a hole in the pressed on retainer without drilling into the axle, a few good hits with a Hammer and chisle and the retainer should split and fall off, then press or tap the bearing off with a punch. Remove and replace the seal, press the bearing on then the retainer and put the axle back in. Should take a couple hours either way but the price is the big difference, 5 bucks for the seal, and aboout 80ish for the bearing/seal kit. Good luc

 

yeesh... I've got the 9". (meant to type that in) Looks like my Saturday is booked.

 

It'snot that bad, if you have the tools and have done it before you can do it in about 30mins/ side. 2 Hours is good for a first timmer guess.

 

I think I've got the tools, gonna have to borrow my budd's impact wrench though I think. That'll speed things up.

 

i had my f150 in the shop a couple of months ago and the guy told me the rear axle seal was leaking. he also said that the axle shaft needed to be machined this driving up the price to $250 per side. i have taken my truck to this shop a few times and have no complaints about it or the work they do. is having it machined something normal?

then i started looking around and found this: 31 spline Axle Kit 78-86 Bronco Ford 9" A F9 F150 : eBay Motors (item 380075640855 end time May-17-10 05:13:27 PDT)

seems like a good deal and for half the price the shop gave me. any thoughts?

 

I have had quite a few of these and changed alot of axle bearings and never had to machine one yet, not that it's not impossibile, I just haven't had one wear the seal surface that bad. If it gets machined, then the bearing size will change and make it hard to get parts for. finding a complete housing may be cheaper .

 

Like said, doing a seal in a 9" is maybe 2 hours at most.. A good idea afterwards is to change your axle fluid..

 

Just a quick obvious tip, jack only the side you need to work on leaving the other tire on the ground, this keeps the oil in the housing and not all over your work area. Just a thought.

 

they say both axle shafts need machined. who knows. wouldn't it be easier just to by new axle shafts and seals? even easier than buying a complete housing?

 

I am confused, there is no reason to change the bearings on a 9" because of the seal
the seal rides on the axle shaft inboard of the bearing, it is pressed into the axle tube
maybe it is worn/damaged in the seal area that would lead to machining to remove the groove in the axel and then a new smaller ID seal would be used, but I would think there is a stock repair sleeve available that could be installed on the axle to cover the area that is worn (same type that is used on dampers for engines) and the standard seal be still used
$250/side is crazy, even with new bearings
btw, if you replace the bearings, be sure to use a press to install the bearing retainer and that it is started and remains square to the axle, almost impossible with a hammer
and punch, the press fit is all that holds the axle in the housing,
being a slight amount crooked stretches the retaing ring and lessens the holding power

 

I've heard you can heat the bearing and the ring & slip them on quick before the ring cools & shrinks. Has anybody tried this?

I've done the reverse of this and dropped iron sleaves in tractor engines by freezing the sleave before fitting it.

 

Yes, this works like a charm. I heated the oven to about 400 or max, left them in there for about 30 mins, cooled the axle with water and they drop an as sweet as could be. Workd well for rear on rebuild or anything where the bearing is pressed on.

 

I might try that this spring yet, my 77F150 needs axle seals. I have held off on a rear brake job because I want to get my seals in first. I did them on my last dent side, just haven't gotten around to doing the seals on the 77 yet.