factory ten axle seals, dirt in axle

Hi, my 1990 Cherokee that I just bought and am going thru went thru some dirty muddy high water. it has a dana 30 front end, with solid axles, the stock vacuum operated two piece passenger side axle replaced with solid, and manual locking hub.
the axles have a lot of pitting where the oil seals go, maybe I can polish it out, else new axles I suppose. anyway, looking at the Factory Ten greasable axles seals to keep the axles dry and clean inside the tube. are these a great thing? my concern is if water ever did get in, it wont easily come out with these seals, its not like they drain, if so, everything inside will rust. is this a problem?
Note my jeep did not have the hard plastic mud slingers on the axles, this is why so much mud and sand got in. should I go with the stock plastic slingers, or is the Factory Ten seal the best way to go?

Thanks!

You have the right concern about those seals. That which gets in can't get out.

I am running them and they do a great job of keeping out the fine desert dust that I am usually playing in, however, I am going to be facing a wetter climate soon, and that has me thinking I will pull those seals out.

I think the greatest water intrusion happens when steering in a water crossing. In that situation the axle can move out of the center of the seal and create an opening through which water can enter. And then of course it will not get back out unless you pull the seals out.

If I were sticking with desert dust I would definitely keep them, but that probably applies to a small minority of the population.

Those seals don't really keep much out.

They do stop you from knowing when you have an axle seal leak though.

Would not advise.

I don't believe in them, I think they keep as much in as they keep out! I've had my ARB locker in for 15yrs now with a issue and I play hard in dirt, mud, and water!

Cal/RCP Phx,

Would you say these are not as good as the old Superior Axle outer tube seals? I ask because I've run a set of the Superiors for years and never had any complaints (and they still seem to seal good, so maybe YRMV).

I think no matter who marketed them they are all very similar. All the axles I've seen that run them have had serious rust inside. They may block dust but are notorious for letting water in, but not out!

They are all exactly the same. And they are all equally useless.

I ran them for a while, they offered zero benefit but are another maintenance point.

Ok, makes sense what is said, I not get them. I will look for the plastic gravel shield that came stock, they allowed water a way in and out, but kept gravel and such from pouring in. Save me some money for other jeep stuff, I got a long list as it is.

Thanks for the replies!

was a good idea, but failed in execution. avoid.

There just wasn't a reason for them to begin with. Dirt and water getting into the tubes doesn't hurt anything, and there are already much better seals at the diff for keeping the things that care about being clean free of contaminants.

The reason front axles have the seals at the diff is that with u-joints the axle will run in an oblong pattern when the wheels are turned. Basically it will wobble in the bore. The farther out the more wobble. Having the seals as close to the diff as possible means the least axle shaft runout and the least chance of leaking seals. The ones at the outside end of the tubes simply don't stand much of a chance.