ARGH!!! Is this normal?.....

[JD_975]

Hi all, I`ve been getting the truck all sorted for winter, fitted some new front brake pads this afternoon, thought I would check and adjust the rears time I was on and too my horror found both halfshaft oil seals are leaking really badly, not just weeping the rear drums were dripping with oil!

I know they were not leaking a couple of months ago when I last had the wheels off so was quite surprised to see both appear to have gone either at the same time or within a short space of each other, is that normal behavior or is there something more serious wrong?

[NiftyNev]

Things wear out, but check the diff breather is not blocked. That will cause pressure in the diff, which has to go somewhere and that's out the seals.

Nev

[JD_975]

Cheers Nev that makes sense, just astounded me how both had went so dramatically in such a short space of time, there was not even a hint of a leak a few month ago and then both rear drums are dripping with oil, thought there had to be a reason. I`ll get the breather checked tomorrow and some bearing and seal kits ordered.

[JD_975]

Managed to have a good check under the truck today and found yes, the rear axle breather was blocked solid, looking into solutions to extend the breathers now. Also found i have a leak from the tranfer box at the front prop output now too, found the breather for that and it`s fine so probably just wear and tear on that but what sort of job are the seals to replace?

[knicko]

Managed to have a good check under the truck today and found yes, the rear axle breather was blocked solid, looking into solutions to extend the breathers now. Also found i have a leak from the tranfer box at the front prop output now too, found the breather for that and it`s fine so probably just wear and tear on that but what sort of job are the seals to replace?

Did my front and rear T/Case oil seals a couple of months ago, after front started leaking. Did mine just by crawling under vehicle without jacking/axle stands. You will have to remove the propshaft and good idea to mark which way round it fits to T/Case and front diff flanges. I marked with dot punch on mine before taking apart.
Hardest bit was removing the 30mm nut holding the flange that the propshaft fits onto. This nut is hammered into a groove on the threaded end of the output shaft and you will need to beat this out of the groove with a chisel. Then the nut itself is 'kin tight ... I had a breaker bar with a trolley jack underneath the handle before i got it to move!! On that subject, I didn't want to lever this force against the 'park' transmission lock, so i made up a rough and ready metal rod with a plate on the end to fit against the flange in such a way that it could be firmly bolted to the flange using the propshaft nuts. You will obviously need to have a hole in the middle of the plate so you can still access the nut with your 30mm socket! The other end of this rod will then butt against the ground/vehicle chassis to stop the output shaft spinning as you undo the nut.
CARE ... the nut MUST be re-positioned the same, so count the turns off ... and on again. The hammered part of the nut will help with this as it will obviously line up with the groove in the output shaft when you re-assemble.
The seals themselves are the easy bit compared to the above! Hook the old ones out (obviously drain the T/Case oil first) and carefully and evenly drift the new ones in.
Refill with correct oil (just over 1L of SAE 75W/90 gear oil on mine), refit flange, nut (hammer back into groove) and propshaft .... Robert's your father's brother!!

Mine is 3rd gen ... not sure how 2nd gen compares.
Roughtrax supply front & rear seals (they are different) ... about £12 each.
Front seal code TR014
Rear seal code TR013

Hope this helps - good luck