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Re: Fwd: Differential oil seals - easy or hard

To: Vsnively@aol.com
Subject: Re: Fwd: Differential oil seals - easy or hard
From: "Robert M. Lang" <lang@isis.mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 11:31:53 -0400 (EDT)
Hi,

Inner axle output shaft flage removal is a royal pain in the @$$. Like the
outer axle flange, the inner one is a tapered shaft with a woodruff key.
Over time these parts tend to become "married", and (apparently) quite
happily so.

To remove the flange from the axle, you will need a tool similar to the
so-called "churchill" tool for the outer axle, but as luck would have it,
the bolt pattern is different that the outer axle.

You can make a plate from thick steel (1/2" min.) that has a hole in the
middle to allow an arbor press to contact the stub axle point and is
drilled to mount all four of the bolt holes for the sliding axle mount.
Tighten the plate to the flange with grade 8 bolts (and washers and nuts)
socked up tight - figure 70 - 90 ft/lbs. Mount the plate on your bench
arbor press and have at.

If you are lucky, the parts will seperate. If you are not lucky, you will
bend the output flange or the center of the axle stub will crack - or
both.

There is another way to get to the seal, but it is also "destructive". You
can "crack" the inner bearing off the shaft and then withdraw the seal and
mounting plate towards the splines. Of course, you need a seal _and_ a new
bearing to do it this way. Theoretically, you should be able to remove the
bearing using a bearing collar, but for some reason the bearings are also
tough to remove.

When I responded to the orignal poster, I suggested merely picking up a
spare differential and swapping the axle stubs over and then sending the
leaky ones to a shoppe like TRF or one of the other folks that rebuilds
these things. They would be more likely to have the factory tools which
really do make the job easier.

Or you can be like most of us and wreck a few axles stubs or flanges
trying to get these suckers apart. I have two or three bent flanges in my
"collection". I also have two spare differntials (now).

:-)
rml
p.s. I generally try to use the leaky seals/replace the fluid method
untill all remnants of the original seal are gone. It's cheaper and less
aggrivating to place an empty Castrol 20/50 box under the diff. when I
park in the garage and then fill the diff. every 1000 miles or so. YMMV.
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