Leaking Rear Axle Seal Dana 44

J

JeepinJake

Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2019
Messages
45
Location
Michigan
I’m really at a loss here…

Leak at the rear drivers side axle seal. Replaced the bearing and seal a few years ago, held up for awhile, and then started a very slow leak which appeared to be coming from the back of the dust shield. Went on a long trip a few weeks ago and the leak increased to the point it was flinging onto the frame.

Talked to a mechanic friend who suggested I just replace the whole shaft which came with the bearing and seal already pressed on. I made sure to clean up the old Rtv with a razor blade, had the area of the axle where the seal lives bone dry and clean, and used a thin coat coat of rtv on the new seal. Torqued the four nuts that hold retaining plate to 45lbs, gradually and using a star pattern.

Still leaking, although now it seems to be coming from in FRONT of the seal. The back of the dust shield is bone dry.

I have heard about the vent hose being clogged but didn’t check it since I never mud/ off road with this Jeep. I just went to take a look at it and it had a cap on the end which I removed, but now see is supposed to be on there.

Is the retaining plate easy to NOT get oriented just perfect, causing the seal to be set incorrectly? Can I pull the shaft and reset the whole thing, or once the seal is set it’s done? Should I try to tighten those nuts a little more? I used blue thread lock last time, FYI… Finally, I did notice a tiny Knick in the axle tube, where the seal sits…could this be the issue?

Attached is a pic of the new shaft with bearing and seal, and cap that I pulled off breather hose.

9BB7329C-4D18-4EEC-8596-59EBA1CFA787.jpeg


51E71DC4-A508-44F3-93B2-E232E587E5A6.jpeg
 
I've never done this job, but I believe there are 2 orientations that backing plate can go on with. There are definitely discussions here on that topic. As far as the seal goes, did you install it dry? Usually you want to lightly pre-lube a seal, and I think that's the case for this seal. I know on the Dana 30 the seal is near the pumpkin so it gets lubed automatically, but on the Dana 44 the seal is on the tube end, so it doesn't see as much fluid....although that yours is leaking would suggest it is definitely seeing fluid. :)

The cap on the breather makes it hard for stuff to get into the tube, so I would make sure the tube is clear, and then put the cap back on.

As always, pictures tell the story, so let's see what we're looking at.
 
hear said:
I've never done this job, but I believe there are 2 orientations that backing plate can go on with. There are definitely discussions here on that topic. As far as the seal goes, did you install it dry? Usually you want to lightly pre-lube a seal, and I think that's the case for this seal. I know on the Dana 30 the seal is near the pumpkin so it gets lubed automatically, but on the Dana 44 the seal is on the tube end, so it doesn't see as much fluid....although that yours is leaking would suggest it is definitely seeing fluid. :)

The cap on the breather makes it hard for stuff to get into the tube, so I would make sure the tube is clear, and then put the cap back on.

As always, pictures tell the story, so let's see what we're looking at.
Click to expand...
I installed it dry from oil, but I did apply a thin layer of rtv to the outer surface of the seal.
 
Yeah, was the RTV part of the instructions? Usually RTV is to seal up two fixed components, but a (lubed) seal is used to seal up a rotating component. The seal should press in w/o RTV required, and the inner lip (that the axle spins on) should be lightly lubed. I would not think RTV is what you need in this application, but I was wrong the other day about something and I'll probably be wrong again about something. Maybe today is the day. :p
 
hear said:
Yeah, was the RTV part of the instructions? Usually RTV is to seal up two fixed components, but a (lubed) seal is used to seal up a rotating component. The seal should press in w/o RTV required, and the inner lip (that the axle spins on) should be lightly lubed. I would not think RTV is what you need in this application, but I was wrong the other day about something and I'll probably be wrong again about something. Maybe today is the day. :p
Click to expand...
 
I saw a lot of people on here, including the legend himself Jerry Bransford say to use a light coat of rtv on the outer edge of seal. The center of the seal seemed to be pre lubed.
 
JeepinJake said:
I saw a lot of people on here, including the legend himself Jerry Bransford say to use a light coat of rtv on the outer edge of seal. The center of the seal seemed to be pre lubed.
Click to expand...
Like I said, I've never done this job and I've been wrong at least once before. Is the other side leaking similarly?
 
  • Like
Reactions: JeepinJake
I've installed them with and without RTV and didn't see any difference. The only thing RTV helped with was, when wet, it acted like a lubricant to more easily seat the seal. The flip side is when you go to remove it, the RTV makes extraction even harder, generally resulting in this..... 🤬

If all else fails, including checking the vent, it wouldn't hurt to verify if the axle tube is bent.
 
hear said:
Like I said, I've never done this job and I've been wrong at least once before. Is the other side leaking similarly?
Click to expand...
Yes, I believe the other side is where the leak is actually coming from now. Back of Dust shield is dry until the very bottom
 
well it pretty much has to be the seal or seal seat, I would think. You're probably going to have to disassemble & take a look. At this point I don't have any good advice for you. Actually that was probably true a few posts ago. Somebody else needs to chime in. Sorry.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JeepinJake
hear said:
well it pretty much has to be the seal or seal seat, I would think. You're probably going to have to disassemble & take a look. At this point I don't have any good advice for you. Actually that was probably true a few posts ago. Somebody else needs to chime in. Sorry.
Click to expand...
All good, Dude. Appreciate the help
 
I guess my biggest question is can I remove the shaft and RESET the seal to make sure it’s seated correctly? It’s only been in there for a few days…
 
There is a big post about the different seals available, likely a good read. Not sure where, or I would post a link. Just read it the other day though.
 
Don’t forget to check the axle vent hose for debris plugging the breather end, if plugged excessive pressure can build up and force oil out of the weakest spot.
I had a pinion seal leak so bad it was running down the housing and dripping on the floor, a quick check found mud clogged the vent breather and once cleared, the leak stopped 100%
 
  • Wow
Reactions: hear
Vinman said:
Don’t forget to check the axle vent hose for debris plugging the breather end, if plugged excessive pressure can build up and force oil out of the weakest spot.
I had a pinion seal leak so bad it was running down the housing and dripping on the floor, a quick check found mud clogged the vent breather and once cleared, the leak stopped 100%
Click to expand...
Not only did I check it, but I removed the cap. Not sure how that breathes with the cap on…
 
Irun said:
I've installed them with and without RTV and didn't see any difference. The only thing RTV helped with was, when wet, it acted like a lubricant to more easily seat the seal. The flip side is when you go to remove it, the RTV makes extraction even harder, generally resulting in this..... 🤬

If all else fails, including checking the vent, it wouldn't hurt to verify if the axle tube is bent.
Click to expand...
Not only did I check the vent, but I pulled off the cap on it…not sure how it breathes with that on there…
 
  • Like
Reactions: Irun
Top Bottom
Back