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Rear axle seals

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  me1magoo 
#1 ·
Last weekend the right rear axle seal went out. It was a good show, smoke out of the wheel well, oil spewing, etc. I had it towed to a dealer because it was smoking and didn't want to roll when the clutch was pushed in. Service guy calls back a few days later and says the inner and outer seals went out and everything got so hot that it blued the discs and also took out the calipers. The part I don't understand is that he said everything got so hot that it took out both seals, discs and calipers on the left side as well, but never saw any oil coming out on the left side. Does this make any sense at all or am I getting :spank: ??!! Has any one ever experienced the same problem? TIA!
 
#2 ·
an axle seal going out might cause failure of the bearings in the hub... but has no effect on the brakes... oil on the rotor and pads would cause them to grab... and as the oil heated up... the oil would smoke off... that happens at around 300 * F. and that's an acceptable temperature for both the rotor and pads... its common on a very hard stop for the working surface of the pads and the surface of the rotor to exceed 450* and at time approach 500*....

I can believe that the boots on the calipers were damaged..... now if the piston was prevented from retracting... and the pads were locked against the rotor than the rotor and caliper could be damaged....

What I would believe is that the locked caliper, where dirt has damaged the boot.. and thus the piston was locked... did damage the rotor... and with that excessive heat the seal on the hub was damaged and allowed the oil to escape... the smoke you saw was the pads on that side overheating and starting to crumble....

Most dealers like to spend your money on both sides of the truck to make it a complete job....

I owned and ran a HD clutch, brake shoe, and air compressor rebuild shop for years... I can't of course give you an exact cause and effect without seeing the parts.... hope this helps..
 
#4 ·
Gosh.. left AZ for our other home in WA.... I'm sitting in an RV Park outside Yellowstone National Park... High today... 41* low tonight around 20*.... does my thought about how this started and happen make sense to you......
 
#6 ·
I have the same issue right now, but in its infancy. My right rear brake is dragging and overheating slightly and only intermittently. I know that excessive heat could melt the axle seal so I hope I have not gone that far. I am tearing my wheels and brakes off this weekend to check it out. I would bet yours started as brakes and then melted the seal. I have to agree though with the dealer on one part- it is best to do both sides to keep the brakes even and also if one caliper is sticking the other needs to be repaired or replaced also.
 
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