On my 2001 1500 4x4, the front passenger side axle seal has been leaking for about 2 years, coating the end of the axle tube. I'd check the oil level now and then but it was never low, so more of a weep than a leak. It never left a drip until recently. After a few months of an occasional drip I needed to get this taken care of because I can't be dripping gear oil in people's driveways.

I damaged 3 seals trying a puller with a cut down hole saw and threaded rod, like this:
The seals just weren't going in straight, They'd get part of the way in then get cocked to the side, Even if I tried to adjust the puller to compensate for the crookedness, they still continued in crooked. The 3rd seal I got in most of the way, but as soon as one side was in all the way I stopped and hoped for the best. Nope, it now almost pours gear oil out.

So only being out about $100 for the parts for the puller and 3 seals ($18/each), I said screw it, $250 isn't that bad of a price to have somone else do it at this point (that I've seen multiple times as the approximate cost to get the seals on both sides replaced). Visit the 2 dealers in the area and I was blown away. $180 per side, plus parts. To do the 2 outer seals I was quoted at $360 labor, and to expect the total price to be a little over $400.
To do all the seals, inner and outer, expect $450 in labor and about $600 total....

This seems VERY high. No local independent shops will do it so I'm kind of stuck with the dealer at this point. Is it me or is $600 to have the seals replaced outrageous? Shop rates are $90-100/hr which is probably why its so much more than I've seen elsewhere.

 

regarding inner vs outer. the outer seals (if present) are just dust covers and not really seals. mine never even had those, and there is no need to replace them. just remove them and throw them away.

having a seal seating tool is key. the hole saw cup isn't really the right thing. a harbor freight seal tool, or a custom dana tool makes this a breeze. you were almost there.... but fell of the cliff by having the wrong tool.

the extra work is that you have to remove the differential to replace the stupid seal on the drivers side.

have you seen this?
http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-3.html
http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-5.html

 

believe it or not, its not a bad as it seems.
remove brake caliper brackets with pads still loaded. back side bolts. maybe rotate the whole assembly just enough to free the rotor.?
remove hub bearings with axles still attached. back side bolts.
mark and remove differential bearing caps.
remove cad. release intermediate shaft.
remove diff. come along helps.
remove old seals.
remove intermediate shaft.
remove intermediate shaft bearing or bushing.
use sheriff's scraper tool to clean the tubes.

install drivers side seal.
install drivers side axle.
install intermediate bearing.
install intermediate shaft.
install passenger side seal.
install collar. very important...
install passenger side shaft.
install cad.
done.

 

Ok, so mine doesn't even have outer seals then.

That makes a lot more sense because I was confused when the service manager asked if I needed the inner or outer seals replaced because I was under the impression that there were only 2 (not 4), one on each side of the pumpkin (or CAD in dodge's vacuum controlled 4x4 garbage). I told him outer because, the seal on the outer side of the CAD is the most outer seal that I know of... The only other Dana axles I've taken apart didn't have the CAD, and only had 1 seal on either end of the pumpkin. I used to go wheeling a lot when I had a toyota and helped repair plenty of Dana 35/44/60s on Jeeps and have never seen that outer 'dust' seal.

I guess I'm just going to order the $200 puller from http://www.quad4x4.com/qk4620.html unless anyone knows of one cheaper. Even just doing that one passenger side seal is going to be quite expensive (>$200) (EDIT: Its about $140 shipped for JUST the passenger side, $200 shipped for the tool that does both sides. Its the whole kit with seals and a new CAD gasket). I figured that since the hole saw+threaded rod tool seemed popular it worked out most of the time. Oh well. Only lost about a day of work messing with the axle so far. With the correct puller I should be able to get it done in no time. I'd try Harbor Freight but there are non around here, and if I'm going to order a puller I might as well order one that I know is the right one.

Thanks for the info.

 

I did this job on my Dana 60 (same process as for the Dana 44) and you really need the proper tool to pull the inner seal in place. I called Quad 4x4 and was going to order just the custom puck (since I already had some 5/8" threaded rod, nuts and a steel plate) to install the seal, however, they did not have them in stock at the time. I decided to go with another option, which was to take the new seal over to a machinist friend of mine and have him make a custom puck on his lathe, along with drilling a 5/8" hole in the center of the puck. The puck fit perfectly inside the seal, which allowed the seal to be installed correctly, with a bit of patience. Perhaps you can check to see if there is a machine shop in your area that can make the puck for you.

You may find this video helpful regarding the seal replacement process:

 

no personal experience using this, but here's the harbor freight seal driver thread.
they ship...

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...seal-tool.html

 

I just used a 1/2" piece of 1 1/2' ID exhaust tubing with a washer welded on and a nut welded on the washer for mine, works fine.

 

i cobbled this together, but it was trial and error to weld a smaller washer onto a larger washer and then grind the diameter of the larger to fit inside the seal area and not get stuck.

i like your exhaust pipe idea.

 

The machined thrust plate and right seal installer from quad4x4 came in last friday. Material and finish quality are great.

I decided to get the thrust plate just so there was no chance of screwing up again because I need this truck for work and didn't want to waste any more time taking things apart or leaking gear oil which would probably eventually damage the bearings the axle from getting low. While I was at it, I ordered a couple seals from them as they were the cheapest I've found ($8ish), and I know it is exactly what the installer was designed around. I've seen enough 'aftermarket' brands with parts that are just slightly different that fitment is an issue, even the same brand that sells to OEM (god damn VW and dodges).

I compared it to a friend's harbor freight seal puller kit that I found out he had and I like the idea behind the quad4x4 installer much more. There literally is no way to screw it up unless you pull the seal too far. It took less than a minute to get the seal in place. With the thrust plate there was no guessing because it fit right into the end of the axle tube, and the installer piece could not wander in the seal giving un-equal pressure. You could tell it was perfectly straight because less force was required to turn the nut to draw it in. Highly recomended. I thought the price was reasonable for a machined part. I've used lathes, I have friends that use lathes to make special tools/parts and its time consuming.

I really need to get a welder. I have a feeling if I had a welder I could have easily made a tool that would have worked better than JUST a cut down hole saw. I have a few friend's that weld but with it being a nice summer so far everyone is super busy including myself.

 

I also bought the Quad 4x4 tool after many failed attempts at installing the seal properly. Very nice tool.