charger 69

By the amount of baked on gear oil I found around the rear brakes I am assuming that the axle bearings are lubricated by the axle grease and are not PACKED like front wheel bearings are and I didn't find any residual grease in them. Am I correct? Thanks

wannadiesel

When you put them back together you should pack them, it takes a little driving to get gear oil slung in there.

When you put it back together, make sure the axle is not overfilled. Full is 1/2" to 3/8" BELOW the bottom of the fill hole. "Extra" oil often ends up in the brake drums.

charger 69

Ive got to make an appointment to find a cliff I can jump off .I KNOW I filled the rear till the oil was running out.I never would have thought of that. Thanks wannadiesel that'l save me from another brake job.

wannadiesel

Don't feel bad. I overfilled mine before I found out about that, too.

I made a dipstick out of a coat hanger to make checking it easier. It's just a u-shaped piece that hooks in the fill hole. The end of it is 1/2" from the bottom of the "U", and at 3/8" I cut almost halfway through it with diagonal cutters to make a notch. If there's oil on the tip and it's not over the notch, life is good.

Beats me why Dodge didn't put the fill hole 7/16" lower.

infidel

First joint on my pinkie makes an excellent dipstick

wannadiesel

But then you have a stinky pinkie.

That limited slip additive is nasty, it smells like rotten grapefruit. I really caught heck for soaking the clutches in the stuff down in the basement when I rebuilt the Powr-Lok.

RCW

You are correct, the rear bearings are oil bath and there should be around a tablespoon of diff oil in each hub race.

I never use grease but dip the bearings in a bath of clean diff oil, and reassemble with new seals. When you set the torque on the bearings you do not want grease in them as it is thicker than oil and will give you a false torque reading on the preload.

Once everything is assembled, fill the diff to the full level and then take it easy to the nearest large parking lot and spend a few minutes cutting corners. That will slop enough oil out the axle tubes and into the bearings to keep them lubed in the future.

If you are getting oil in the brakes, and the diff is at the proper level, check your vent. A bunch of them are fitted with a spring loaded cap. That will allow the diff to build pressure and force oil out past the seals, and is particularly a problem where trucks change altitude frequently or are backed into lakes while loading a boat far enough to rapidly cool the diff housing. The best solution is to remove the spring loaded cap and install a tube that loops up and over the frame, then plug a cheap lawn mower fuel filter in the open end of the tube to keep out dirt.

charger 69

I was going to use the tightnuff wrench. What do you( set) the axle nut at?

wannadiesel

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...n&onlynewfaq=1