I helped my parents move to Fort Worth (about 350 miles away)this weekend. I got there on Saturday about noon and noticed something on the inside of my front driverside tire. Diff Fluid. I didn't have any tools or anything, not that I could have done anything in the driveway, so I started driving looking for a place to take it. I ended up ata Firestone. They told me they could fix it, but not until Monday because they couldn't get the new seal until then. I offered to go to the Dodge dealer and get the seal. The first dealer didn't have one, so I had to drive about an hour to find one that did. I returned to firestone and they already had it torn down to the hub. They kind of laughed and said they had no way to get the axle nut off because they needed a 42mm socket (wrong). I drove all around Saturday night looking for one with no luck. I finally found one about noon on Sunday at a Northern Tool. I took it to firestone and what do you know it wasn't the right size. I needed one size bigger. I went back to northern tool and looked for a 43mm. No luck. The next size was 46mm, so I decided to try a 1 11/16" socket. I had to drive to another Northern Tool to get this. I went back to firestone and it worked. I watched them pull the axle and look at it for a while. The manager came back and said they would have to dismantle the whole front axle (remove passenger side shaft and gears) to get to the seal. They said it would take about 6 hrs. They closed in 2 hrs. I was supposed to be at work on Monday. My wife flew home ($150)and I stayed with the truck. I came back to check on the truck Monday morning and they had replaced the seal and were starting do reassemble everything. The manager said they would have me ready by noon. I came back at noon and they hadn't done anything else. He explained how they had stripped one of the bolts on the back of the hub. They finally ended up going to Tractor Supply and buying a new bolt and cutting it to fit. I left there at 3:30 pm Monday, $600 poorer, and1 day less of vacation at work. Just thought I would let everyone know that it takes a 1 11/16" socket to remove the axle nut and that a new seal is about $28 if you go to Dodge (firestone was going to charge $60).

 

lol, thats a well told story! sounds like a BAD weekend for!!! atleast you filled us with the knowledge of axle nut needing a 1 11/16 socket and the price on a new seal

 

Sucks man. Yeah, that's the right socket size. My local napa had it. A 1 3/4" will work though if that's all you can find.

 

Dude, that place sounds shady at best, I would have taken it straight to the dodge dealer...

 

that does suck, sounds funny that they had to yank all of that off to get to the seal, was it the one on the end of the housing? (sounds like it) a seal puller should have pulled it right out...

 

I woulda had a few choice words with them. they screwed up they could of discounted a lot!!!

 

and that is why I do all my own work

 

Man that is bad but it could have been worse. The transmission in my old truck started slipping when I was in Dallas on a monday by thursday I figured I had better get it home (250 miles) It coasted into my driveway and that was as far as it was going $1900 later it was fixed.

 

for sure a SH*TY weekend!

 

Sounds like another on for the FAQ's, so now all we need is pictures of it being done the right way