Did I mess up my inner axle seal?

JeepDrum

JeepDrum

New member
I had to pull out the driver side axle shaft on my Dana 30 two weeks ago. I was replacing the ball joints and unit bearing. Everything was fine after the install. Yesterday (two weeks later) I did the same job on my passenger side. When I jacked up the passenger side to take the wheel off, I noticed diff oil dripping off of the C on the driver side. There was a small puddle on the ground that wasn't there five minutes earlier. I was very careful when I removed and reinstalled the axle shaft two weeks ago. There was a little bit of sand in the tube, but I ran a vacuum down there before reinstalling the shaft. This has been the biggest job I've done to the jeep so far so my knowledge is limited. If my inner axle seal is leaking, why did it take two weeks to show? I drive the jeep every day.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Are you confident that the plastic axle guides weren't stuck in the tube still when you put the shaft back in?
 
JeepDrum

JeepDrum

New member
I used a write up I found on here so I was aware of them before I started. When I did the driver side a couple weeks ago, the guide ring(s) came out with the shaft. I didn't think to shine a light in there to make sure everything was out. I didn't know at the time there could possibly be more than one. When I did the passenger side yesterday, they stayed in the axle tube. I was forced to shine a light and fish them out. There were two in the passenger side. It made me question if I saw one or two on the driver side. I feel like I saw two but I honestly don't remember. Let's pretend I did leave one in the driver side, is the seal ruined or could the leak be fixed simply by getting the mashed up guide ring out?
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
JeepDrum said:
I used a write up I found on here so I was aware of them before I started. When I did the driver side a couple weeks ago, the guide ring(s) came out with the shaft. I didn't think to shine a light in there to make sure everything was out. I didn't know at the time there could possibly be more than one. When I did the passenger side yesterday, they stayed in the axle tube. I was forced to shine a light and fish them out. There were two in the passenger side. It made me question if I saw one or two on the driver side. I feel like I saw two but I honestly don't remember. Let's pretend I did leave one in the driver side, is the seal ruined or could the leak be fixed simply by getting the mashed up guide ring out?
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Either or. Strange that no symptoms showed up until now though. Luckily the driver's tube is shorter. It may be worth pulling the axle and shining a light down in there. It really isn't that much work compared to doing the ball joints. If you have all the tools ready, you can probably get the axle out in 30 minutes or so.
 
JeepDrum

JeepDrum

New member
WJCO said:
Either or. Strange that no symptoms showed up until now though. Luckily the driver's tube is shorter. It may be worth pulling the axle and shining a light down in there. It really isn't that much work compared to doing the ball joints. If you have all the tools ready, you can probably get the axle out in 30 minutes or so.
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That's what has me confused. There were no puddles where I normally park. It seriously waited two weeks until I jacked up the other side to come dripping out. I might see if I have time to pull the shaft before work tomorrow. I'm hoping I don't need to replace the inner seal. I've looked at videos and stuff and the shims around the carrier make me nervous. Thanks for all your help by the way. Your responses in other threads really helped while I was doing the ball joints and hubs.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
JeepDrum said:
That's what has me confused. There were no puddles where I normally park. It seriously waited two weeks until I jacked up the other side to come dripping out. I might see if I have time to pull the shaft before work tomorrow. I'm hoping I don't need to replace the inner seal. I've looked at videos and stuff and the shims around the carrier make me nervous. Thanks for all your help by the way. Your responses in other threads really helped while I was doing the ball joints and hubs.
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No problem. If you do have to pull the carrier, just keep the shims in the same spot and make sure you have the correct torque settings when you put it back. It's more time consuming than anything.
 
zimm

zimm

Caught the Bug
Pulling the carrier was scary, but easy. The shims are huge flat washers. I tapped them into place with a plastic hammer when re-installing the carrier. You don't have a locker to worry about the plunger.

I'd keep an eye on it, if you keep getting puddles, you know what needs to be done.
 
JeepDrum

JeepDrum

New member
WJCO said:
No problem. If you do have to pull the carrier, just keep the shims in the same spot and make sure you have the correct torque settings when you put it back. It's more time consuming than anything.
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zimm said:
Pulling the carrier was scary, but easy. The shims are huge flat washers. I tapped them into place with a plastic hammer when re-installing the carrier. You don't have a locker to worry about the plunger.

I'd keep an eye on it, if you keep getting puddles, you know what needs to be done.
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Thanks guys. Do the shims just come flying out, or is it somewhat easy to tell what side each shim came from?
 
zimm

zimm

Caught the Bug
They Don’t fly out. I loosened the bearing caps so just a few threads of the bolts were still in. Then pop carrier loose and it won’t fall on your face. Then catch everything in your hand.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
JeepDrum said:
Thanks guys. Do the shims just come flying out, or is it somewhat easy to tell what side each shim came from?
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After the carrier is a little loose and the caps are removed, try to insert an index finger on each side so you can keep the shims and bearing races on your finger as the whole assembly comes out and you set it down. The shims are on the outboard sides of the carrier bearing races. They look like this and can stick in the housing sometimes:

removing carrier.jpg

DSC08220.jpg


Also make sure you mark the caps or look for marks ahead of time. The caps have to go back in the exact same spot. JK caps should already be marked though. Ours had an upright letter on one side and a sideways letter on the other:

DSC08211.jpg

DSC08212.jpg
 
A.J.

A.J.

Active Member
Just wait and see if it stops on it’s own. It is likely you just had some spillage in the tube from pulling the axle that finally dripped out when you jacked up the other side.


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