Ford 9" Axle Seal question

VortecJeep

VortecJeep

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Aug 24, 2005
Location
Concord, NC
my 9" was leaking fluid out the end of the axle tubes. I had to take it apart anyway since I busted the center section. Can the rubber on the seals that are on the shafts be replaced without pressing off and on the bearings? Can I put gasket maker on the backing plates to seal it, or would that mess up the alignment of the bearing and bearing race?
 
VortecJeep said:
my 9" was leaking fluid out the end of the axle tubes....
Click to expand...

Just a thought...

generally...when an axle seal is leaking, it is because a bearing is going, due to...slop...heat...something, or an axle may be bent.

At the very least, consider..."grease can get out...grit can get in".


Press the bearing and seal and replace em both while you have the rear end apart! I would even recommend doing both sides as long as it is apart!
 
You will have to split the bearing retainer (metal collar) and press the bearing off to change the seal. Then you will have to press the bearing back on and get a new bearing retainer. I usually heat up the retainer before pressing it on. It is a ridiculously tight interference fit (due to obvious reasons!).
 
OnlyOneDR said:
You will have to split the bearing retainer (metal collar) and press the bearing off to change the seal. Then you will have to press the bearing back on and get a new bearing retainer. I usually heat up the retainer before pressing it on. It is a ridiculously tight interference fit (due to obvious reasons!).
Click to expand...

These are great to do if you only have a hammer and piece of pipe. Put if you've got a ~20 ton press, just press the bearing/retainer on and off without doing anything else. Really old/rusty ones might make a bang though.

For the price of a 9" bearing/seal it's dumb not to replace it. Not something you want to fail as that's what holds your tire to the vehicle.
 
I was having an issue with my ARB in my 3rd section and must have pulled the shafts out 4-5 times to address the issue. The shafts/bearings/seals had less than 2,000 miles on them and I started to get a slight leak. I called Moser engineering (the company I used to make my shafts) and their techs advised me to adhere a slight layer of RTV around the interior lip of the seal. Worked perfectly. I ran a tapered bearing set-up (torino ends).
 
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