Hey folks,

Didn't get any luv with my post over at the super-heavy duty forum, so....

Noticed a knocking sound recently from the front end when I would make a tight turn. Turned out the driver's side hub was stuck. I had the hub in the auto position, the transfer case in 2wd, but the front axle was still turning like it was in 4 x 4. Jacked it off the ground and messed around with the wheel. Finally heard a little ping, and the hub unlocked itself. That's when I noticed that both the inner and outer front axle seals on both wheels were toast. Not destroyed or ripped up or anything, just not seated at all. I have 40k on the truck. 6k out of warranty, and the dealer wants nothing to do with it. Pointed me to Ford customer assistance. If FordMoCo pays for it, the dealer will do the work, but he's not gonna do any work out of pocket.

Right, so I have a couple of questions for y'all.

How long should the front axle seals last? I'm thinking like 100k or something? Dunno, I've had other ford 4x's before with over 100k and never had this problem.

Anyone with a similar story, seals failing prematurely?

Any idea how much this fix would cost at a dealer?

Anyone done this fix themselves? If I don't get any help from Ford, I will have to do it myself. Don't seem too bad. I would only need the dealer to press on a couple of the seals for me. I just want to hear from someone that its not too bad.

Thanks in advance for any info,

SMB

 

So what, is this the wrong forum for this kind of question too? Or does no one have anything to say about it. I can't believe that everyone here knows nothing about the front axle seals. What gives?

How bout this...How long should front axle seals last (ballpark)? And, could the seals crapping out have anything to do with the esof system not working too?

Thanks,
Sud z

 

Ok, I'll give it a shot.

I'm not too familiar with the newer trucks, but I think it's still the dana44 front axle, and probably TTB.

Is there lube leaking out of the inner seals? If I'm not mistaken, the inner seals keep the gear lube in the dif, and the outer seals keep dust & water out of the greased bearings. (correct me if I'm wrong) The outer seals are probably pressed into the rotor assembly, and the inner seals are pressed into the dif from the inside.

On a dana44, the inner seals are not machine pressed in, but pressed in with hand tools. On my 78 (and my 99 RAM), you have to remove the carrier to change the seals. Not tough, just time consuming and messy.

I'm not sure about the outer seals.

It's not uncommon for seals to fail. Like anything else, the speed at which they wear depends greatly on how the truck is used. If you do a lot of driving in muddy water or sand, they'll wear a lot faster. Also, if your u-joints are bad, that'll eat 'em up quick.

Hope this helps at least a little.

Kevin K.

P.S. What is the esof system?

 

Hey, thanks for taking a stab. ESOF is electronic shift on the fly, the much loved 4x4 setup available on Fords. Automatic locking hubs and auto engaging transfer case. Turn a **** and your in 4x4. Yeah right. Vacuum actuated system. At least Ford put manual hubs back on the superduties so when the auto don't work, you can still lock em.

With respect to fluid in the axle shaft housing, well its dry. I'm sure there are axle seals at the differential that hold back the gear oil there, but the seals on either side of the u-joint by the wheel aren't holding back any oil. The inner seal is for dust, the outer seal prevents dirt, water and crud from getting into the hub. But what I am not sure about is if the outer seal is also part of the vacuum actuated auto-hub system. I mean it it is, and the seal is shot, than it wouldn't be able to holda vacuum. As far as seal life, this truck is not a dedicated work truck. I mean I use it to haul stuff around up in VT, drive in the snow, etc. Its basically babied. Thats why I am so shocked that the seals are bad already, and on both sides!

-Shawn

 

Is this a solid axle or TTB?

K.

 

Now I gotta ask, whats TTB? Check out this link on replacing ball joints. Part of this job is doing the seals. Some pictures of the axles and stuff. As far as I can tell, there are two axle shafts up front, one for each wheel.

Whaddaya think?

SMB

 

I posted that exact question in the axle forum a few weeks ago. It's Twin Traction Beam and it's the front suspension used on some of the trucks.

A solid axle usually means one axle tube running from wheel to wheel as opposed to an independent front suspension (IFS) system. On the IFS, you have a dif near the center with exposed axle shafts running out to the wheels.

The thread was titled "what does TTB mean". Find that and it'll tell you all about it.

As for the link, it didn't come through in your post.

Kevin K.

 

SMB,

Your truck has a solid axle Dana 50 not ttb.

Your axle seals should last for at least 100 to 150k.

I've never heard of them going out so soon. I'm betting that's why you got no action in the forums. It's not a common problem.

I just looked under mine and I can't tell if they're seated or not. How can you? You say nothing's leaking? What makes you think they're bad?

 

Well, the inner seal (engine side of the u-joint), I can move around with my finger. Its not seated in anything. On the outer seal (wheel side of the u-joint), I can get a fingernail on it and pull it away from the knuckle(?), exposing bare metal. Again not seated, or not pressed all the way in place. Also I brought it to the dealer, and they also said they were shot.

Gotta call Ford customer assistance and see if they will do anything for me.

Thanks,

-Shawn