BTW, my front diff does not have seals at the end of the axle (both) where the U-joint meets the wheel hubs. Fluid was clear and full tho.

 

Yeah, the design on the front dana axles was stupid, and the seals are internal..... passenger side, you just need to pull the cad apart, drivers side though, you have to pull the carrier out. I would like to slap the engineer that thought THAT was a good idea.....

Ok, rear diff. If you weren't in 4x4, but, were heavily loaded, that could account for strange noises from the suspension.

If you don't have air tools..... doing that seal is a pain. With air tools, it's cake. Getting the pinion nut off is the hard part. If your e-brake works REALLY well, you *might* be able to break the nut loose by hand.... but, I MUCH prefer an impact wrench for that kind of behavior.

If you still have warranty left, that should be a covered part. (weren't you the one with the extended warranty?)

 

1. I have air tools. So this would be a good reason to get some more hardware. However my stuff is with the movers right now. GOOD NEWS, I can go to the Post Auto skills center with all the necessary tools. Although asking them for a puller gets me weird looks.

2. Yes, I am the warranty guy. The problem is this: I have to wait for authorization. Sometimes that took me a while. I know gaskets are not covered, not sure about seals. However, if the bearing is bad...then the labor and part for THAT will be covered while they throw in a new seal.

I looked at the manual and it seems like a whole LOT of special puller tools. Youtube might be the way to go to figure out what to do without the puller. Usually that means "Buy a new bearing kit because you will need to beat the heck out of it." Much like doing a front U-joint. I should have gotten a new hub assy. There is no way to "gingerly" get the hub off with a BFH.

I'll probably:
1. Do a quick fluid change.
2. Bow to the professionals and use the warranty.

Thanks for the help though. I think this might be too much of a job for me. Is it easier than replacing a front u-joint? That yoke has a lot of precise things to mess up. Like backlash and torque increments.

 

Backlash and such is set by shims behind the inner bearing. Pulling the yoke, and reinstalling it won't change that. The trick is, Putting it back, just a hair bit tighter than it was when you took it off. I have been doing it a while, so, I spin it by hand, see what it feels like, mark the nut, and pinion, then just pull it apart. I have a "bolt" puller.... just thread it into the yoke, hit it with the impact, and things come right off. Yank the seal with a big screwdriver, drive in the new one with a big socket..... and stick it back together. I run the bolt down to just past its original position, see how it feels. Run with it from there. Usually less than an hours job.

 

Its got a crush sleeve. Otherwise you just torque it back to spec. But with the crush sleeve you cant do that unless you install a new one by going all the way trough the carrier.

but many a seal has been done just like hey you said. do it right and youll be fine. It is recommended to use a new pinon nut though. You can also count the number of turns it was one. and when reinstalling you go to that. then about a quarter turn past that. Its just adding a qualitative measure to HeyYou version.

 

So my 1500 has a crush sleeve while the 2500 doesn't?
Ok, so to replace the seal, I need to take out the spider gears, take off the c-clips and pull the axles, then take out the posi unit. Then use a brass punch to drive the pinion through the back of the carrier. Once that is out I can take out the outer seal and bearing?
Is that what you meant by going all the way through the carrier (the back of the carrier)?

Do I really need to drive the pinion out to get the seal out? I MUST be misunderstanding.

 

More like remove rear driveshaft, remove big nut under ujoint still on rear end, then pull yoke, then pull seal. Install new seal, install yoke and nut, retighten nut back to where it was, which is why you mark the position of everything, then turn it a 1/4 more, the nut. And install driveshaft.

 

This. No need to pull everything apart for that seal.

 

Ok, that's what I thought with the emphasis on marking. My head hurts from this darn move. I can't even read correctly.

Sounds pretty easy.
Few easy questions:
1. Does the outer bearing come out with the seal? I might want to replace that as well.
2. Is the U-joint the same for the rear driveshaft as it is with the front (hubs)? I got an extra u-joint and might want to replace the one at the yoke while I am at it.

Thanks. The more questions I ask the dumber I feel because this seems/looks (from videos) really simple.

 

I doubt they are the same.... But, they aren't really all that expensive. Might not hurt to have it on hand, and see what the old one looks like when you have it out. If it isn't bad, don't replace it.

The seal will come out by itself. The tapered bearing can usually be fished out pretty easy, but, the race needs to be driven out from the back. (which means, complete tear-down) If the bearing doesn't show signs of wear, leave it.