I rebuilt a Dana 80 out of a 96 and put it in my first gen. The hub seal on the driver side I've replaced 3 times and it still weeps. The surface the seal rides on is fine, no groves or nicks. I've installed a seal saver anyway and it still weeps. I was wondering if anyone else has/had this problem and what you did or does StemCo make a seal for this axle?

 

I've seen a couple cases where the bore in the hub that the seal is pressed into is no longer round, or someone has scored it trying to drive out the old seal. In this case, it actually leaks around the outside of the seal. You can smooth out any burrs around the outside of the seal, then install a new seal with a thin layer of RTV sealant around the outside.

I assume a seal saver is the same thing as a wear sleeve. If so, that would have been my first suggestion to try.

 

Check the vent tube on the diff. I lost a pinion seal and two wheel seals before I found that it was plugged.

 

torquefan: ALL surfaces are smooth to the touch and are visually in perfect shape. I always put a thin smear of sealant on the steel side of the seal before installing them but, the seal is definitely leaking on the rubber side of the seal. Thats why I installed the seal saver/wear sleeve. This is also why I'm at a stand still. Nothing "looks" like it is the problem. Im thinking of taking the backing plate off and installing a dial indicator to check the seal surface of the axle for roundness....but that's just me in a mild state of desperation.

Tate: I have less than 5k on the rebuild so I cant see how it could clog in that amount of time but, I will check it anyway. Thanks!

 

If everything else checks out, a bent housing comes to mind. But I have found that the axle bolts tend to work loose from the axle flexing before the hub seals leak. A quick way to check this is to slide the axle in and make sure it fits flush to the mating surface all the way around.

 

Just for grins, how did you install the hub? FSM calls for 120/140 Lb.-ft. torque then back off 1/8th turn and put lock on.

I know it sounds excessive, but that's straight from the manual.

Could it be yours is looser and allowing the hub to move around?

 

I installed it this way the first two times. It actually feels to loose this way. So, last time I installed it I torqued it down and then loosened it 1/8 turn. Then (while spinning the hub) I tightened it a little till it felt like the slop was out. It didn't seem to make a difference.

 

Spec is 0-0.010" end float on the hubs. After setting it to 140 then backing off 1/8th turn, it still feels like 0 end float. Haynes specifies 90 ft-lbs and back off 1/3 turn. Even that doesn't feel like excessive end float.