That's the shaft to the left of the cad unit if your looking at the axle housing from the back right? In that video the guy removed the passenger axle then the CAD assembly then there was a gear cog piece in between . He removed that then proceeded to installing the seal

 

I stand corrected and it's been a long time since I watched that vid. If there's room for the TK installer and a nut, then you're good.

Although personally, I'd want to know the condition of whatever supports the intermediate shaft. If it's a bearing, rollers should NOT be able to fall out. If it's a bushing, it's probably perfectly fine.

Others feel ignorance is bliss. That's ok, too. Whatever lets you sleep at night.....

 

When I did the passenger side seal replacement, I did not have to remove the intermediate shaft to perform the seal replacement with the puck style installer. You do have to go in through the CAD cover and remove the fork/cover assembly and the axle locking collar, in addition to the axle itself. I did end up removing the intermediate shaft to check the bushing/bearing, and the bushing was fine.

 

Exactly what I was wondering thank you ! Also when you install the new seal. Do you put any permatex or grease around outside diameter before installing ? Or just install dry ? Also is the intermediate shaft short can you just pull it out through the passenger housing side?

 

Just FYI, my front differential is a Dana 60, however, the Dana 44 process is the same. I installed the seal dry into the bore, but I did lubricate the rubber part of the seal prior to the install. As for the intermediate shaft, it will come out of the passenger side of the housing without issue.

 

Gotcha. Also does the bearing or bushing pull out with the Intermediate shaft ? Which was the culprit? Do these dana 44 only have 2 seals or is there 3?

 

Press fit and 2

 

As Keith mentioned, there are two seals in the differential, one for each side/axle.

 

Ok good to know. There just the one near the pumpkin for the drivers side then. Is there anything else that can cause you to leak gear oil from the end of axle housing? 2 weeks ago I got the truck stuck in deep snow pretty bad. Was working it pretty hard back and forth. Next day when it was parked I noticed oil dripping on my tire. Who knows maybe was doing it before. Checked the level and it's still pretty full. So I dunno if I should wait it out or break everything open.

 

It's entirely up to your time, budget and tolerance for such problems.

Even when these seals go they tend to leak slowly. Much of this is because 1) gear oil is quite thick and 2) the fill level tends to be near the bottom of the seals. Once you lose a little, the fill level can drop to a point where it's unlikely to leak unless you're parked on a slope side-to-side.

I suspect most people limp these leaks along for awhile because they're not mission critical and they're a minor PITA to fix.

Furthermore you're not dealing with a rear axle where your wheel bearings rely on gear oil for lubrication.