For posterity, these were the axle tube seals I used

 

Since you cleaned out the axle tubes of all of the dirt and debris that got into them, did you use any sort of debris shield for the end of the open axle tubes to keep mud and dirt out going forward?

 

I, personally, am 100% opposed to such. I have a 2011 SuperDuty that gets that from the factory. At some point the PO had sunk the truck enough for silty water flow over the "seals." They're just like a dam - if water flows over a dam, it struggles to find its way back out.

When I pulled these "seals" there was a WALL of silt and sand literally from the bottom of the axle tube ID to the axleshaft.

NOW, if you're CERTAIN your vehicle will never be in a situation where this could happen, ok, fine.

Me, I don't see the need. Solid axles went for decades with no seals here. Your seals in your pumpkin (or CAD) are the only seals that matter and the only seals that do anything.

I know some will disagree. That's fine. Everyone should do whatever blows their skirt up. Me, I'll never run tube seals.

Unless you are POSITIVE nothing can get in, you want to give it a way OUT when it does. Welders know this when water fills a tube, freezes and swells.

Again, YMMV

 

Also, I'm confused by the apparent mentality that axle tubes get gunky because of a lack of dust seals. Tubes get dirty because of years of weeping gear oil. If it's a concern, fix the leak

Why do engines get super grimey and dirty? Oil leaks! If your engine is leaking, you fix the leak and de-grease it. You don't try to encase your entire engine in a dust-proof environment.

Again, fix the leak and clean it up. If it's dry of petroleum lubricants it won't attract any dirt worthy of mention.

But I could be terribly mistaken....

 

I replaced both seals on my Dana 60 front axle several years ago. I also cleared the tubes of dirt & debris by scraping it out, then running a drill powered wire brush through the tubes to get them nice and clean. Once the tubes were cleaned, I coated the insides of the tubes with Zero Rust. My truck really doesn't see off-road use, so I was curious about others experiences with sealing the tubes. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

A buddy of mine went the EMS shaft route and they give you replaceable seals that go in the end of the axle tube.

 

It used to be, that the seals were at the end of the axle tubes. Made them a WHOLE lot easier to change. The idea of paying labor to what amounts to rebuilding the differential, to replace a leaky 10 dollar seal, just seems like a bad idea to me.

 

Yeah that was really dumb on there part. But then again you would need for diff fluid which probably over the years would equal one or more seal changes.

 

On disc, open knuckle? What applications?

 

I know GM did it for quite a while. (late 70's Blazer, the Full Size fellers.)