Inner axle seal experimenting

G

GreggNY

New member
My inner axle seal experience started when I pulled half of the seal out with my driver’s side axle during a ball joint install. You can read the back story here:

Part ID, and how screwed am I?
https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=54031

I ran to the dealer and bought the vin specific replacement seals seeming like that was the right thing to do for my ‘16 JKUR. The seals were exactly the same as the one that came apart on my axle and was completely stuck to it. I needed to split it with a hacksaw and hammer it off.

IMG_1027.JPG

Pretty easy to see something isn’t right there. Well I installed the same seals again taking a chance and had a real tough time getting my axles back in through them (ten factory chromoly). A little driving around town and I thought everything was good until I parked on a down hill and came out to find diff fluid basically running out of the axle.

I started researching different seal options and found references to a few older designs and decided to hit the dealer to see what they had. I had them run a few part numbers and left with 2 older seals. According to the parts guy, Jeep apparently switched from these to the new two piece designs for the jk in 2013. As soon as I saw them I knew the old design was the way to go.

The new two piece design is on the left and the older one piece is on the right. Notice the inside of the new design is hard metal and has no give to it at all. The older seal is pliable rubber with a spring collar. I was convinced this was the way to go for aftermarket shafts.
IMG_1105.JPG

New, metal seal on left and older rubber seal on right:
IMG_1108.JPG

Test fit of newer seal on my ten factory shaft. You can see that the seal bumps the first shoulder of the shaft and gets stuck. There’s no play in it at all and this is why it gets jammed. The second time I opened my diff, the replacement seal was pushed into the housing from the shaft not fitting through it correctly:
IMG_1110.JPG

Older rubber seal slides right on with a firm fit but conforms:
IMG_1111.JPG

Side view of new seal on left, old on right:
IMG_1109.JPG

Maybe someone knows why jeep switched the design but it doesn’t seem to make sense to me. The shaft fit has no room for variance at all and when you pull the shaft, if the new seal is too tight, it’s getting ripped out from the housing and then you’re screwed as it comes out still on the shaft.

So initial driving is showing no leaks with the older seals installed and I’ve been leaving my Jeep parked on crazy angles to test it. Hopefully they stay solid. Just thought I’d put this info out there for anyone that’s having issues and wants to try a different solution. Maybe I’m the only one? lol



Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
Maybe the aftermarket ten factory shafts are slightly larger in diameter than the OE shafts, making the newer style seals problematic.
 
Thanks for the input. I'm doing my seal change and axle shaft upgrade tomorrow, I'll report back. I'll be using revolution shafts. Good idea to test fit the seals before installed.

What did you use to press them in? I'm thinking a proper size socket and hammer. Is there room to swing a hammer in there? Or do I need to do the broomstick trick?
 
fiend said:
Maybe the aftermarket ten factory shafts are slightly larger in diameter than the OE shafts, making the newer style seals problematic.
Click to expand...

I’m assuming they are but didn’t measure the diameter when I had them out. The older style one piece still seems like a simpler and better sealing design than the newer one. To me anyway. But I’m definitely not a Jeep design tech so who knows what I’m missing


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
zimm said:
Thanks for the input. I'm doing my seal change and axle shaft upgrade tomorrow, I'll report back. I'll be using revolution shafts. Good idea to test fit the seals before installed.

What did you use to press them in? I'm thinking a proper size socket and hammer. Is there room to swing a hammer in there? Or do I need to do the broomstick trick?
Click to expand...

The first time I did them, I used one of the press bushings from the ball joint kit that fit into the seal perfectly. The second time, I used a big socket (36mm I think?) to fit the seal. Both times, I used a long thin pipe from the opposite side to tap them in. I held everything in place through the diff and had someone hit the end with a mallet.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
Interesting. I also would assume that the aftermarket shafts may be slightly different. I'm running Dynatrac shafts on mine, so if I ever have to replace the seals, I'll likely have both versions of seals on hand and then take back whatever I don't use later.
 
GreggNY said:
I’m assuming they are but didn’t measure the diameter when I had them out. The older style one piece still seems like a simpler and better sealing design than the newer one. To me anyway. But I’m definitely not a Jeep design tech so who knows what I’m missing


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

FWIW, I run Ten Factory shafts with the old style seals and haven’t had any problems.
 
Slimebones said:
And I will add, I am running Revolution shafts with the old style seals w/no problem.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this information. I am in the process of changing the Ball Joints on my 2013 JKUR and ran into the same issue. Glad to know I’m not alone dealing with the seals. :thumb:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom