Just tried to get my durango inspected and was told that the right rear axel seal or something like that is leaking axel grease all throughout my brake drum, so naturally my durango failed inspection. How do I replace this? I have a new seal because that is what the mechanic said I would need, so how do I go about replacing this? I am mechanically inclined, when it comes to motors-tires-brakes-trannys-electrical-and what not, however I have never worked on the axels or housings or drive shafts or anything like that. Thanks for your input

 

Raise the truck,

remove the tire,

remove brake drum,

remove diff fluid by opening the rear differential cover,

inside you will see the axle sticking end sticking into the carrier. There is a C clip on the end of the shaft holding it into the carrier,

turn the carrier until you can loosen the center carrier cross pin set bolt and slip out the large cross pin in the center of the carrier,

go to the axle hub (where the lug bolts are) and press the axle hub further into the carrier (like you are trying to push it in to the other side of carrier) and you will feel it move in slightly in,

take off the C clip from the carrier side,

pull the axle out of the housing,

remove the seal with a flat screw driver or small pry bar,

lubricate the outside lightly with grease to ease installation,

place seal on housing flat and take a flat piece of wood and a hammer and place the wood over the seals surface (so you don't hit it directly) and smack the wood hard so it forces the seal to set,

Ensure the sealing section on the axle is clean of corrosion or pits, sand if necessary to smooth,

place a small amount of grease on the lip of the seal and insert the axle (being very careful not to touch the seal lip so you don't scar the new seal,


The rest is reversal.

Use 7oz Friction Modifier (if you have a Limited Slip) (no Friction Modifier if no LS) and top it off to the bottom of the fill plug with 80W-90 weight conventional gear oil or 75W-90 Fully Synthetic (I like Mobil One Fully Synthetic LS).

 

i suggest using a seal removal tool instead of a screwdriver

but a screw driver will work as long as you don't damage the housing.
(i only say this because i've seen dumb mechanics do some crazy **** and only make bigger problems when the right tool could have saved thousands of dollars)

 

I did this on an older Dodge Ram charger that had a limited slip differential and the splines on the Axel would only go back into the rear end gear case one way,so just in case it might be wise to mark the exact position of the hub before you pull it out with chalk if you might have this situation.In other words the spline on the Axel was not even all the way around there was a gap at one point on it.I went crazy trying to figure it out till an old timer told me why.

 

Well that is a good idea, however the rear axles on these just line up with regular splines so it doesn't matter. But again that is a great idea than thanks for sharing!

 

Me too !