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Front axle oil seals

601 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  macx, 
M
My 08 is due for ball joints and U joints.

Over 150k.

I suppose it's wise to replace those oil seals?
I don't imagine they last forever and that would
be the obvious time to do that.

Why can't things be designed simpler so it doesn't
take $1xxx worth of tools to replace a $10 seal!?

I have the tools and could do the ball and U joints myself,
but not those oil seals that take all those special tools to
replace.

Any history of high incidence of leakage at higher miles?

Thanks!
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JGray.proaudio
My seals have been leaking for 15,000 miles. Never any drips of oil, just enough to keep the passenger C wet. I did my BJ's and UJ's recently and left the seals alone. I was quoted $500 by a good axle shop to do them and I just left them be. I did change the oil in the front tho. Figured it'd be good to keep it fresh.

It's quite common for people to damage the seals when putting the axle shafts back in. (I think that's why mine are leaking from the shop that did the U joint the first time..) Just be careful. If they arnt leaking leave them be.


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K
Had the passenger side axel tube seal on my 2nd Gen leaking. Discovered that i needed to replace both upper and lower ball joints. Had a ton of slop. Replaced axle tube seals at same time. Found that the lip of the seal had worn away down to the seal lip spring in just one spot. Shaped sort of like an egg. Positive that the ball joints were worn out for a long time causing the seal to wear uneven.

If the ball joints still feel good then you could probably get away without replacing the seal. If the ball joints are totally gone like mine were, its a good bet the seal is toast. Would also hate to replace just the ball joints and then have to tear apart again to do the seals a few month later.
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M
That's for sure!

The joints passed the state safety inspection but my wife was informed they were "on the edge" - and this was a diesel pickup specialty shop, so probly is accurate.

180k miles, don't know the service history.

He didn't say they were leaking, so maybe they're OK yet.

Was thinking of making 1 somewhat longer trip on them,
but after your experience that maybe doesn't sound like
such a good idea.

Sounds like I'll go with the Raybestos Pro from Rock Auto from
responses I got on a post on the subject I made.

Thanks for the info! Sounds like it makes sense that if the shaft
doesn't wobble and wear them, it might be worth leaving them alone
versus the cost of having them replaced and taking the chance of
the new ones leaking from being damaged during installation.
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