Safari 1988 y60 axle seal leaking, help?

[sg8380]

hey guys i have just bought a 1998 y60 safari SWB and it failed the warrant on leaking axle seals, i was wondering how easy this is to fix and how much it costs as i have never worked with a solid front axle before, thanks

[mudlva]

basic tools with and axle stand is all you should need

allow your self two hours per side, and an experienced chap should have the axle out and back in well within 30 to 45 minutes

[T-mo]

Hey mate,

As mudlva said not too hard. Most difficult thing I found was is actually pulling out the oil seals.

Read this post - http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/ ... 25&t=33535

T-mo.

[mudlva]

seal removal tool or a slide hammer with a hook

[sg8380]

is it much harder to do the whole swivel hub kit, would it be something causing the axle seals to leak since it just started on both sides?

[FORGE1]

I just did my axle seals today was pretty easy. I used a flat head screw driver and a hammer and collapsed the seal casing ( being careful not to damage the housing ) then used pliers to get it out and used a 30mm socket and hammer to put the new ones in.

If you have the patients to do the whole lot then it will take about 2hrs for the first side then 40min on the other side. Haha well that happened to me when I did it on my old safari.

[mudlva]

depends really the seals are old

and it also depends on how much the diff is being used now verse previously etc

if its just the seals then just replace them and check the half axles for pitting etc

also check the diff breather as if its blocked it will blow oil out of the seals when the oil heats up and expands

[T-mo]

is it much harder to do the whole swivel hub kit, would it be something causing the axle seals to leak since it just started on both sides?

The only thing that can cause the diff oil to leak out through the swivel hubs onto the ground is the inner axle seal.

The "kits" contains all the seals from the inner axle seal out to the seal behind the rotor. As well as, the needle bearings and king pin bearings.
So if you wanted to in the process of doing the inner seals you can use a whole kit if you want to renew everything. When I did it I replaced the bearings on condition and all except two of the seals. Make sure you've got a decent amount of grease to repack the CV's.

Doing the seals themselves is easy, couple of really good ways to get them out have already been mentioned. Off memory I resorted to pliers.

Half day job to do everything if you've got the tools and supplies ready and don't have to dart to the shops.

[sg8380]

hey as soon as i took the manual hub cap off i noticed that the axle could move in and out? is it supposed to do this?

[Taz]

Yup.

[T-mo]

Check your PM's mate.

[Filthy4x4]

Easy fix for a wof is brake cleaner

Spray it round the corner before you go in for a recheck.

[coxsy]

axle move in and out , no, limited movement, there is a circlip there to stop movement of the axle