hello
ive got an 01 3.0 2wd. im pretty sure my rear driver side axle seal is bad. when i get out i smell gear oil. only on my drive side. i have not been able to pull the wheel off yet, but im pretty sure thats it. any help? how hard is it to replace, and do i actually need to remove the axle?
thanks

 

You can do it. Pull the wheel and diff cover off. Then take the center pin retaining bolt out and slide out the center pin. Make sure the spider gears stay in there. Then push the axle shaft in and pull the c clip. Slide the axle shaft out and work on the seal. Use locktite on the center pin retaining bolt.

 

I did a job like this a few years ago and kept replacing seal after seal and couldnt figure out why it kep leaking. It turns out the vent hose was pluged up so all the heat and pressure had nowhere to go but out the seal. I put on a clean vent and solved the problem without having to replace another seal. Check that first before you tear apart your axle.

 

so. lines not clogged. its leaking out of a little square hole in the back of the backing plate. how in the world to i get the drum off?

 

Brake drum? Pull it off.

 

NO WAY. it wil not come off. parking break is not set. i smashed it with two different mallets and tried pulling and everything.

 

Just keep working on it.

 

Adjust the internal adjuster to pull the pads away from drums.

 

too bad its not the vent, that would have been an easy fix. spray some PB Blaster around the center of the drum (around the axle) and get a big hammer..... that sh*t is got some rust build up on it im sure. Just bang on one side then the other and it should slowly work itself off.

 

i heard there was a special tool? just mash the **** out of it with some wd40? about how long you expect this to take? (the whole replacement of the seal)

 

You need a slide hammer or another tool that looks kind of like a hammer but at the end it has "picks." I used the pick type and all it did was shred the seal. Try to get a slide hammer.

 

You have to pull the little rubber thing off on the inside of the drum. ( near bottom) then stick a flat scewdriver or other tool like it and uncrank the little wheel in there ( your adjuster) untill its loose and the break drum will come off.

Make sure you crank it up some when you put it back together or it'll take forever to re adjust

 

Like everyone else said, back the brake shoes off to make it easier to get the drum off. Another possible way the seal is leaking is a bad bearing causing movement in the axle.