Got tired of seeing the 98 bumper rust hole. Covered it with 200 mph duct tape, after all it's our towns home coming today and I need to look my best. K.

 

Noticed something on the drivers front mud flap, some gear oil, looks like some new axle seals in the next little while. Glad I only changed the rearend oil instead of both when I did.

 

Front axles seals on these things suck. It was a stupid design, with the seal inside the axle..... passenger side, you can get thru the CAD housing, drivers side though... gotta pull the carrier...... Like I said, Stupid design.

 

Ya, not looking forward to it, but at least it's not pouring out, just yet. So I have a bit of time, checked the fluid earlier today and still practically full. Not sure how long it's been seeping out, but no stains on the driveway

 

You can put those axle seals off a long time if you want too. Just check the diff. level every so often so it doesn't go dry. I think they just leak down to the bottom of the seal and quit, still leaving a lot of oil in there. Like Hey You said, a stupid design. Check and/or replace the bearing/bushing on the intermediate shaft while you're in the passenger side, and the bushing in the end of the outer axle. Also a good time to disassemble the CAD and give it a good cleaning, especially the shaft, check the pads on the shift fork. It just goes on and on. When you're through, don't forget to shoot a few ounces of oil in the CAD through the hole for the 4WD light switch.
Drivers side a PITA because of having to pull the carrier. A case spreader makes it a lot easier, but guys have got them out using a come along and put them back in with a hammer. Whatever you do, be real careful putting the drivers side axle in so you don't knock the seal out of place in the process, or you'll be pulling the carrier again.
Just thinking about this makes me glad it's not me this time. Been there,... enough.

 

Hmm, looks like I don't want to do this anymore than I did earlier lol. Maybe I'll just put it off, as I'll be parking it soon and getting a Mini Truck and turning the Dodge into a toy, so, axle swap is in order anyway

 

Installed the Bilstein shocks that have been taking up space in the garage for a month, along with the Timbren helpers for the rear. 163,000 miles on the original shocks, with stamped dates of 3/4/99 and 3/5/99. Rides much better.

 

^ Love the sig Orange K.

Had to warm up the 98 today, touring a friend on log roads. I'm with Ham Bone on Hurculiner, (just paint the bed).

 

I thought that was funny, too. I got the pic from a guy who posts a lot of Dodge diesel stuff on Expedition Portal. Every time I work on my truck I feel like all I'm doing is polishing a turd.

 

What axle has a better design? To the best of my knowledge all front straight axles I know of have the axle seals at the side of the diff. I'm curious to know if there are any front axles with a different design since you are saying this design sucks.