TJ Dana 44 rear axle seal leak driving me crazy

I guess I spoke too soon

So about another 50 miles on the jeep and i noticed this AM

that dreaded puddle of rear diff fluid on the inside of the passenger rear wheel

took the wheel off to take a look
and the seal is leaking on the inside part where the lip of the seal meets the axle shaft

the bolts on the retainer plate were still snugged down properly (i checked them with a tq wrench)

at this point i am kind of stumped

when i installed the new seal
i lubed the hell out of the inside of the seal and the axle shaft with white lithium grease
should i try a different lube instead if i install a new seal ?

the axle is literally brand new
the surface is clean as clean can be
no nicks or marks etc

i used the rite stuff sealer around the outside perimeter of the seal
(it is not leaking on the outside portion)

everything went back in to place nicely on reassembly and was nice for about 345 miles
and now all of a sudden its leaking again

Does anyone have any ideas what i should be looking for at this point ?

I absolutely cant have it leaking fluid
 
Hey @Jerry Bransford how can I tell which retaining plate I need to use? I have a Dana 44 but I'm fairly certain it was converted to disc brake at some point since it was a swap from somewhere else. It has a strange setup with one plate having 4 holes and the opposite side only having 3 holes in it. I'm replacing seals and bearings and want to get the correct plates on there. I ordered the Yukon ones with no lip but I'm not sure if they're the right fit.
 
c_anthony27 said:
I guess I spoke too soon

So about another 50 miles on the jeep and i noticed this AM

that dreaded puddle of rear diff fluid on the inside of the passenger rear wheel

took the wheel off to take a look
and the seal is leaking on the inside part where the lip of the seal meets the axle shaft

the bolts on the retainer plate were still snugged down properly (i checked them with a tq wrench)

at this point i am kind of stumped

when i installed the new seal
i lubed the hell out of the inside of the seal and the axle shaft with white lithium grease
should i try a different lube instead if i install a new seal ?

the axle is literally brand new
the surface is clean as clean can be
no nicks or marks etc

i used the rite stuff sealer around the outside perimeter of the seal
(it is not leaking on the outside portion)

everything went back in to place nicely on reassembly and was nice for about 345 miles
and now all of a sudden its leaking again

Does anyone have any ideas what i should be looking for at this point ?

I absolutely cant have it leaking fluid
Click to expand...
Maybe your axle housing is slightly bent?
 
Bringing back an old thread, but are the only two parts I need to order to do a rear Dana 44 non rubicon drum brake bearing and seal for a leak the following:
Timken 10S bearing set
Timken 1192s

Do I need anything else? The retaining plate can be reused, correct? @Jerry Bransford

C744C719-76AE-4555-8525-C22AFD32DE8D.png
 
jazngab said:
Bringing back an old thread, but are the only two parts I need to order to do a rear Dana 44 non rubicon drum brake bearing and seal for a leak the following:
Timken 10S bearing set
Timken 1192s

Do I need anything else? The retaining plate can be reused, correct? @Jerry Bransford

View attachment 193777
Click to expand...
You also need the shaft collar. If you order it as a Set 10, the shaft collar is included.

Yes, the retainer can be re-used. Just flip it over since it deforms into place once the bolts are tightened.
 
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mrblaine said:
You also need the shaft collar. If you order it as a Set 10, the shaft collar is included.

Yes, the retainer can be re-used. Just flip it over since it deforms into place once the bolts are tightened.
Click to expand...
If the same side continues to leak, what’s the next component to replace? The axle shaft itself?
 
So, this backwards retaining plate is likely the cause of this leak. It happened in less than 50 miles - I feel for my mechanic...
IMG_6316.jpeg
IMG_6368.jpeg
 
mrblaine said:
What backing plate is being used with those non stock rear discs? That determines which retainer to use.
Click to expand...

Not sure - that plate was already on there from the guy I bought it from. Problem is driver's side and the passenger's side is fine. I just only took it in to have the seal replaced as it was a very slight leak. I'm under the impression the plate is now backwards because after 2 attempts at new seals, it keeps dripping like crazy - nothing like the slight leak before. Would you agree the right next steps is to reverse the plate? Unfortunately with new seal, bearing, etc.

I should also add they did their best to determine the correct seal and bearing size for the (I think Superior) axle and Dana 44.
 
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I'm running into this same issue with my driver side seal. I snapped this axle shaft over the summer, so got a brand new shaft through Ten Factory and also ordered a replacement bearing, retainer, flange, and seal kit from Crown Automotive. While the passenger side was fine and showed no signs of wear, I also decided to service this side as well with the same Crown Automotive kit.

Upon reassembly, the passenger side is fine - no signs of leaks. My driver side is leaking rather badly though. Keep in mind this is the brand new Ten Factory shaft, so I can't imagine that is the issue. The Crown Automotive kit comes with Timken bearings, so I assumed the rest of the kit's components, including seals, were quality as well. I removed the axle shaft assembly, verified the retaining plate and seal were oriented correctly, put some Permatex tacky gasket maker (the stuff applied with a brush) on the outside of the seal, and reassembled. It is still leaking quite badly - so much to the point it has a very slow drip even after sitting for several days in the garage.

Now, I will admit to overfilling the diff, by probably around a pint. I have a Poison Spyder diff cover, and according to their website, you can fill to the fill plug for the correct level. However, based on a comment above, their older covers had the fill higher, so this doesn't hold true. I believe I have an older one as I added more than 2 quarts of oil upon my second reassembly, and is one reason why it's leaking even worse than it was the first time around (in which I added exactly 2 quarts).

So in summary, I don't believe this leak is due purely to overfilling. That is contributing, but like I mentioned, I added 2 quarts exactly during the initial reassembly and it still ended up leaking fairly badly.

At this point, to properly fix this, it sounds like I need a new bearing kit with seal, but I'd like to pinpoint exactly what went wrong so I don't make the same mistake.

Anyone else used these Crown service kits? They're specified as OE replacement and made in the USA so seemed like a safe bet.
Is it possible I pressed the bearing and retainer too far down (outward) on the axle shaft, in turn causing the seal to sit too far outside of the axle housing?

20201013_075854.jpg
 
After reading the problems with the seal I'm nervous about the one I just replaced. So far it seems to be fine after driving the jeep to and from a vacation destination in the Ozark National Forest and Buffalo National River area.
 
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PaulCC said:
After reading the problems with the seal I'm nervous about the one I just replaced. So far it seems to be fine after driving the jeep to and from a vacation destination in the Ozark National Forest and Buffalo National River area.
Click to expand...
I knew the first or second day of around town driving that I still had the leak. Don't use my situation as a reason for concern - I'm asking the dealer to get the retaining plate installed with the raised lip towards seal (the center of the vehicle) to see if it'll help my leaky seal. I'm no expert here, but you are clearly in better shape than others if you made it on a trip without issue.
 
c_anthony27 said:
For anyone following along or that might have the same issue

I have about 300 miles on the jeep since i replaced the sealed with the Timken 9912S seal (i had a national seal in there before)

So far so good
I used the rite stuff on it around the seal and tilted the axle so the fluid ran down to the other side after i put the new seal in and let it sit like that for 24 hours

hoping that it got the job done this time
Click to expand...
The right stuff is doing more for you than the seal.

The right stuff is wicked good sealer. It's why it's a million dollars a can.
 
GJK said:
I knew the first or second day of around town driving that I still had the leak. Don't use my situation as a reason for concern - I'm asking the dealer to get the retaining plate installed with the raised lip towards seal (the center of the vehicle) to see if it'll help my leaky seal. I'm no expert here, but you are clearly in better shape than others if you made it on a trip without issue.
Click to expand...
Do you have disk or drum brakes and which axle shaft retainer bracket are your running? With disk brakes the retainer must be the flanged version with the flange facing inward toward the seal. Without the flange facing in toward the seal to hold it all the way in it will leak.

The flat flange on the bottom is only for drum brakes.

Axle retainer Disk Brake.jpg

Axle retainer bracket.jpg
 
unfortunately I have the same issue. Replaced all seals and brackets and upgraded to chromoly's only to have another leak in the rear passenger seal. Driving me crazy and is riddling gear oil all over my tire. At this point still using it as a DD and just hoping nothing goes wrong since I don't have the funds to fix it right now lol.

IMG_5496.jpg
 
What brand seal is everyone using? I am running the Crown D44TJDB-BK. It has Timken bearings (which are great and obviously not the problem), but I am unsure of who makes the seal in the kit. Again, the components are made in the USA so it seemed like a safe bet, but this appears to be quite a common problem. Like Haaris Khan, my axle shaft is a brand new chromoly as well, so this can't be the issue.

It seems unlikely, but could we have damaged the inner axle tube with the slide hammer while removing the race?

I'd like to try a different brand seal for my next attempt, but this could be one of those deals where there is only one mfg that brands it for several different companies.
 
LJRubi said:
What brand seal is everyone using? I am running the Crown D44TJDB-BK. It has Timken bearings (which are great and obviously not the problem), but I am unsure of who makes the seal in the kit. Again, the components are made in the USA so it seemed like a safe bet, but this appears to be quite a common problem. Like Haaris Khan, my axle shaft is a brand new chromoly as well, so this can't be the issue.

It seems unlikely, but could we have damaged the inner axle tube with the slide hammer while removing the race?

I'd like to try a different brand seal for my next attempt, but this could be one of those deals where there is only one mfg that brands it for several different companies.
Click to expand...
The timken bearing and retainer is separate from the timken seal. I just had my rear axle seal done due to a small leak and I brought both to my mechanic. He used the timken bearing but did not use the timken seal as he said he didn’t like how it seated. It was too loose. So he used a a Napa seal which he liked (it was his first time using a Napa seal). So far it’s held up. Only has been a month though.
 
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jazngab said:
The timken bearing and retainer is separate from the timken seal. I just had my rear axle seal done due to a small leak and I brought both to my mechanic. He used the timken bearing but did not use the timken seal as he said he didn’t like how it seated. It was too loose. So he used a a Napa seal which he liked (it was his first time using a Napa seal). So far it’s held up. Only has been a month though.
Click to expand...

I've done a little digging on the Crown kit. The seal in it is a Crown part, made in-house.

My local O'Reilly's carries their Chinese MasterPro seal (pass), as well as a National seal (I believe this is the same as Timken).

Thanks for the tip on the Napa seal. I'm going to file a warranty claim for Crown kit in hopes of receiving a new bearing and retainer for free, scrap the Crown seal from the kit and seek out this tighter seal from Napa.

It's all mileage and temperature dependent, and I'm not sure what sort of driving you've done since the replacement, but I'm betting if it has held up after a month, you're probably in the clear and will be leak-free until the actual seal eventually wears out many thousands of miles down the road.
 
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