Excessive grease inside rear rotor...Axle seal failure?
02-10-2013, 12:31 AM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Excessive grease inside rear rotor...Axle seal failure?
I was doing the rear brakes on my 04 4x4 when i ripped in to one side i noticed a lot of grease caked on the inside of the rotor as well as all over the dust plate, the other side was dry. There has to be a seal in there protecting the axle bearing correct? i assume it has failed on that side. whats the procedure for fixing this? do i have to tear into the rear end and take the axle shaft off to do this? if so its probably safe to say its time to change the axle bearings as well?
02-10-2013, 09:00 AM
#2
Had this happen to me recently also on my 04 fx4. Its pretty simple as long as you have some basic tools. If your just doing the axle seal the most expensive part is going to be the new fluid for the rear end lol.
Yes you do have to open up the pumpkin and remove the whole axle. Here is a picture of mine:
As far as the process to do it.
You need to start by taking off the brake assembly (disc and caliper, you can leave the dust shield from the drum on there along with the drum brake assembly) so its just the hub on the axle that's sticking out.
You then have to open up your diff (loosen the bolts in a cross pattern to be sure and not flex the cover). Be ready with a large bucket because there is a decent amount of fluid in the differential that is going to come out.
Next I believe there is a clamp under the cover that needs to come off which holds down a moon clip, after you get the clamp off you can pull that moon clip out and the axle should be free.
At this point you should be able to pull on the hub side of the axle and slide the axle out of the differential. When you are pulling it out try and not let it rub on the insides of the housing, same goes for putting it back in.
Now you should be able to pull the bad seal out of the axle housing, i think we used a screwdriver to kind of pry it out.
Now if your just changing the seal then you basically do everything in reverse of what I just said. If your doing the bearings then your going to have to look into it more cause I have never done that before, Maybe somebody can continue on what I said and show how to do the bearings.
Quick Tip, when your putting the bearing back into the axle housing use a very large socket or another tube that is just smaller than the axle housing so that you can tap the seal into there straight and reduce the risk of ruining it when it goes back in. Cover the seal with a rag or some cloth when you are taping it in also to reduce possible damage.
Another tip, When we were taking my break disc off it was rust welded to the axle hub. To remedy this we took a mapp gas torch (available at ace hardware) and heated the area until it was smoking (might sound bad but you shouldn't hurt anything, the smoke is from the fluids that you are replacing anyways) then after taking the flame away we sprayed around the studs on the hub with some penetrating fluid. If this doesn't work you can heat again (watch for flame as the penetrating fluid is flammable) and try to quench it with some water or one of those air cans for cleaning computers held upside down.
Honestly getting the break disc off was the hardest part of the whole deal. We ended up using a fly wheel puller to get it off. If you go this method put the puller on the disc and put a towel over it because it has a chance of breaking a chunk out of the disc depending on how tight it is on there
here is a link to the guide I used to do mine: http://www.f150online.com/forums/art...lots-pics.html
Hope it works out for you, its a pretty easy job to do. About the same difficulty as putting a leveling kit on. Just take your time and make sure everything gets back into the right place the right way.
Yes you do have to open up the pumpkin and remove the whole axle. Here is a picture of mine:
As far as the process to do it.
You need to start by taking off the brake assembly (disc and caliper, you can leave the dust shield from the drum on there along with the drum brake assembly) so its just the hub on the axle that's sticking out.
You then have to open up your diff (loosen the bolts in a cross pattern to be sure and not flex the cover). Be ready with a large bucket because there is a decent amount of fluid in the differential that is going to come out.
Next I believe there is a clamp under the cover that needs to come off which holds down a moon clip, after you get the clamp off you can pull that moon clip out and the axle should be free.
At this point you should be able to pull on the hub side of the axle and slide the axle out of the differential. When you are pulling it out try and not let it rub on the insides of the housing, same goes for putting it back in.
Now you should be able to pull the bad seal out of the axle housing, i think we used a screwdriver to kind of pry it out.
Now if your just changing the seal then you basically do everything in reverse of what I just said. If your doing the bearings then your going to have to look into it more cause I have never done that before, Maybe somebody can continue on what I said and show how to do the bearings.
Quick Tip, when your putting the bearing back into the axle housing use a very large socket or another tube that is just smaller than the axle housing so that you can tap the seal into there straight and reduce the risk of ruining it when it goes back in. Cover the seal with a rag or some cloth when you are taping it in also to reduce possible damage.
Another tip, When we were taking my break disc off it was rust welded to the axle hub. To remedy this we took a mapp gas torch (available at ace hardware) and heated the area until it was smoking (might sound bad but you shouldn't hurt anything, the smoke is from the fluids that you are replacing anyways) then after taking the flame away we sprayed around the studs on the hub with some penetrating fluid. If this doesn't work you can heat again (watch for flame as the penetrating fluid is flammable) and try to quench it with some water or one of those air cans for cleaning computers held upside down.
Honestly getting the break disc off was the hardest part of the whole deal. We ended up using a fly wheel puller to get it off. If you go this method put the puller on the disc and put a towel over it because it has a chance of breaking a chunk out of the disc depending on how tight it is on there
here is a link to the guide I used to do mine: http://www.f150online.com/forums/art...lots-pics.html
Hope it works out for you, its a pretty easy job to do. About the same difficulty as putting a leveling kit on. Just take your time and make sure everything gets back into the right place the right way.
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Rteas48134 (02-10-2013)
02-12-2013, 09:33 PM
#3
Member
Thread Starter
the only thig that has me scratching my head is the fact that this was caked like wheel bearing grease, not like gear oil. So im kinda confused about that, i wish i wouldve taken a pic, it mustve been a whole tub of grease in there, again the other side bone dry.???? WTF
02-13-2013, 12:27 AM
#5
Well axle grease is pretty thick to start with, mine was also caked like you describe.
Tradesman, thanks! Couldnt tell you what brand it is or anything but its out both sides like that and sounds great lol
Tradesman, thanks! Couldnt tell you what brand it is or anything but its out both sides like that and sounds great lol
02-16-2013, 12:11 AM
#6
Senior Member
Man I would like to see and hear that exhaust. Looks awesome brother! If you don't replace the seals on your axles then the fluid will destroy your brake shoes and your e-brakes will be shot to f**k. That's how I ended up with a huge bill at my last visit to the dealer. What started off as a rear pinion seal leak, turned out to be an e-brake rebuild and more... 