hya;

dealership wants $425 to replace the $20 worth of a front axle seals on the ram.

i havta believe someone else has thought of this, which is finding seals that will work on the outer ends of the axle tube instead of replacing the inner seals...what seal did u use, and how did it work...

years and years ago the axle seals on the solid front axles were on the outer ends...i havta believe it can be made to work again like that with some careful measuring and a seal book with dimensions in hand...

hard to believe ppl are all paying over $400 to replace these things, but i may be wrong...am i?

thoughts?

thanks for the imput.

 

Yeah, whoever had the bright idea to move the axle seals should be taken out behind the wood shed and shot.

To my knowledge, no one has converted to the other style seals..... I am not entirely sure what all it would involve, but, if it was easy, I would think that some after market company would be selling kits by now.

 

Ive gotta do axle seals on my truck. It isnt that bad of a job. You will have to make some tools to do set the seal in the CAD, but the rest is pretty straight forward. If the driver side seal is leaking you will have to pull the C Clips and axles, as well as unbolt the carrier bearings and remove the whole assembly. The seal is right inside the pumpkin. From what I have read, there is also a bearing on the CAD side to support the Int. shaft. Just keep up with what shims go where and put it back exactly the way you took it out.

 

http://mad4wd.com/index.php?main_pag...roducts_id=485


You will still have to replace the inner seals though, as these only help protect them and make them last longer.

 

ok, as a machinest i havta ask...y would one still havta replace the inner seals if this works to stop gear lube leakage? would be way cheaper to replace these every so many years than to spend $425 to replace the inners just once..and even tho we are talking '97 to older, the housings are still solid, and the pumpkin area still has a resouvor to collect the lube, and gravety says what goes up must come down so the lube will always find its way back to the resouvor as its lower than the axle tubes, and lube the carrier and bearings...seems to me like this not only stops moisture and debris from getting in the housing, but also gear lube from leaving...

what am i missing or mis-understanding here?

 

Okay, after replacing my hubs i noticed my passenger seal was leaking. I read that beating on the hubs to get them off will interrupt the seal. if just the passenger seal is leaking your in luck. 4 bolts to take the cad assembly out. and the seal is right to the right. Of course you will have to remove the hub and the axle shaft. If the driver side is leaking then you will have to remove the pig assembly which is a real pain in the ***. It turned out my cad fork was toast, and also there is a bearing that is called the intermediate support bearing, which was not recognizable and the little bearings were everywhere in my axle. note the reason why my 4x4 was not operating correctly. I found this site on Google. Its www.quad4x4.com , click the dodge parts link, and on the left side it will say dodge ram front axle, and click the 94-01 dana 44 parts list. You will see everything you need. The passenger and driver side axles will be different. Also check you fork and see how long it takes to retract after you pull on it. Also autozone lends out a tool to install the seals. and make sure you blow your axle out before reinstalling everything. Hope this helps. any questions just let me know

 

quad4x4.com looks good! I will use them when I rebuild. I think those bearing are why my 4wd doesnt work. I would replace them with the plastic bushings. New fork sounds good as well while Im at it! I think they over rate their tools a little though. A ton of people do those seals with a driver set, some allthread, flatwashers, and the corresponding sized nuts for the allthread.

 

I was going to replace the metal bushing with the new improved plastic one, but when i called they said the plastic one is used with 98-01 rams and the metal one is used with 94-97 , but mine is an 01? so i was thinking that the P/O had replaced my front axle before and just used a 94-97 axle? or then again they could be wrong, idk but i just used the metal one again.

 

The way I understood it, the bearing could be replaced with the bushing. I may have read it wrong though.

 

And a ton of people also take them apart numerous times, because they made a tool, and it doesn't seat the seal correctly. And, you can get new shoes for the fork, instead of replacing the fork itself.