98 D30 Inner Axle Seal Replacement

For those of you who have replaced the inner axle seals on you front Dana 30 or who have ever removed the front differential gears-

How difficult is it to remove the differential gears? Do I need a housing spreader to reinstall it or can you just bang it in?

My front driver side axle seal has been leaking for sometime and I think it is time to replace it.

Thanks!

Its not hard, you don't need a housing spreader, just unbolt, replace seal, and just torque down the carrier bearing cap bolts...

i had a hell of a time trying to get the new seals in.. getting them out was no big deal... but the case isn't exactly roomy

XgeekstarX said:

i had a hell of a time trying to get the new seals in.. getting them out was no big deal... but the case isn't exactly roomy

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Yup, replacing D30 seals requires a rich 4 letter vocabulary and an immerasurable amount of patience.

If you have access to a lathe it is easy to make a tool.
A friend of mine made one based on my drawings in a couple of hours.
One thing I have done is to put a small bead of RTV on the radius the seal goes against.
When the seal is all the way in it touches the RTV and forms a perfect seal.
I had seals replaced by proffessionals that leaked, since I started using the tool and RTV combination I have done 3 in my Jeeps plus another couple for friends with no problems.
Get a real big dead blow hammer, it will help you get the Diff in.
For pulling it out use a chain or cable and a long bar. It gives you pretty good leverage.

Crowbar
All-thread + washers + nuts
34 mm socket (used for pressing seals)

kubtastic said:

Crowbar
All-thread + washers + nuts
34 mm socket (used for pressing seals)

Click to expand...

I tried this setup, sometimes the seal tilts and distorts the seal skirt.
Then it leaks.

I'm interested in this "tool" you speak of.

I saw that completeoffroad.com sells a tool for $59.00 that install the inner axle seals on Dana 30, 44, and 60 model differenials. Would it be worth the headache to get it?

kubtastic said:

I'm interested in this "tool" you speak of.

Click to expand...

http://www.members.cox.net/sailman2/d30tool.htm

Check this out. This link is temporary.
If you need dimensions I can measure it.
Basically the base fits where the case bearing goes on one end, and the pusher part was made slightly smaller than the seal.

Am I correct in thinking that as long as the shims go in the same way that they came out with the carrier, the ring and pinion should be still perfectly set up? I have to do this soon and wouldn't for the life of me be able to set the backlash and spacing up in my driveway... which is made of gravel and mud. I'm not blaming the driveway... I would have no idea how to do it...

Shims are pressed on behind the bearings so nothing will change when you take the carrier out and reinstall it.

Here is a nice write-up on replacing axle seals on a D30:

http://www.madxj.com/MADXJ/technical/technicalfiles/ARD30shafts297andSeals/D30shafts297andSeals.htm

Here's another writeup: http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/d30seals/seal-1.htm

Thanks for the answers and links. Muchly appreciated

montanaman said:

Here's another writeup: http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/d30seals/seal-1.htm

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You can see that as he is pushing the new seal in, he doesn't have good control and the seal is not starting straight. That can distort the trailing edge of the seal and cause leaks. Of course given enough RTV, any method works.

Are you referring to this picture?



It's hard to tell if it is starting straight or not. If you look carefully, you will see a notch at 12:30 on the opening that's accepting the seal. That can make it appear cockeyed, when it fact, it isn't necessarily so. Also, if you look at the first picture (the one with the seal chewed up from the broken axle), you'll see that the RTV was used in the previous seal, not the one he's installing in the later pic. The installation pic looks like there is only some residual RTV left around the edges, not any fresh RTV used for installing the new seal.

I've installed a lot of axle and shaft seals in various applications, and I've never used a special tool. Never had a leak. Perhaps the D30 is different. I've never done that one before, so correct me if I'm missing something.

In general, I think the important thing is to get the seal seated properly. If it starts in not quite perfectly, that shouldn't be a real problem, as long as you don't break the outer layer of rubber where the seal touches the metal lip around it, or bend the metal ring inside the seal. Then, once it's in, you can tap it around the perimeter to make sure it's seated and properly "square" with the seat and lip. Having a finessed and gentle touch is key.

But ... again, I've never done the D30, so I might be missing something.

falcon556 said:

You can see that as he is pushing the new seal in, he doesn't have good control and the seal is not starting straight. That can distort the trailing edge of the seal and cause leaks. Of course given enough RTV, any method works.

Click to expand...

montanaman said:

Are you referring to this picture?

It's hard to tell if it is starting straight or not. If you look carefully, you will see a notch at 12:30 on the opening that's accepting the seal. That can make it appear cockeyed, when it fact, it isn't necessarily so. Also, if you look at the first picture (the one with the seal chewed up from the broken axle), you'll see that the RTV was used in the previous seal, not the one he's installing in the later pic. The installation pic looks like there is only some residual RTV left around the edges, not any fresh RTV used for installing the new seal.

I've installed a lot of axle and shaft seals in various applications, and I've never used a special tool. Never had a leak. Perhaps the D30 is different. I've never done that one before, so correct me if I'm missing something.

In general, I think the important thing is to get the seal seated properly. If it starts in not quite perfectly, that shouldn't be a real problem, as long as you don't break the outer layer of rubber where the seal touches the metal lip around it, or bend the metal ring inside the seal. Then, once it's in, you can tap it around the perimeter to make sure it's seated and properly "square" with the seat and lip. Having a finessed and gentle touch is key.

But ... again, I've never done the D30, so I might be missing something.

Click to expand...

I am sure you are not missing anything, it seems to me that the tube is not level and the seal edge is not parallel to the 9:00 position. Even the pipe that pushes the plate seems a bit crooked.
I had some bad personal experiences with proffessionals using the socket method that leaked. When I examined the removed seals, it looked like tipping was damaging the skirt and I beleive it was the only reason for the leaks.
YMMV