I determined that my tractor has the ball bearing front axle with a snap ring to hold it together, and so replacing the seal should be easy. The first I thing I noticed upon draining the oil was that it was milky, suggesting some moisture in the front axle, but surely not much, as there is no indication of any bearing or gear damage. How could it get in there? I'll have to carefully flush it out with fresh oil.
The second thing is that the seal appears to be cocked in the housing, maybe a 1/16" at the rearward side, suggesting it was pushed out a little. Is it possible that the moisture in the oil allowed it to freeze and thereby pushed the seal out? Is this too wild a theory? Of course, the drain plug on the affected side has been swaged over, probably by a rock encounter, and I can't get it out. Should I drill it and use an extractor? Removing the axle housing was easy, but I haven't gotten the axle assembly apart yet. I have two snap ring pliers, but neither is the right size. Off to the tool shop tomorrow. It still looks like a simple fix, but we'll have to see what develops. BTW, the JD replacement seal is a new design, and is supposed to protrude about 1/16" when installed, which means it will take up essentially all of the hub to housing gap.
The second thing is that the seal appears to be cocked in the housing, maybe a 1/16" at the rearward side, suggesting it was pushed out a little. Is it possible that the moisture in the oil allowed it to freeze and thereby pushed the seal out? Is this too wild a theory? Of course, the drain plug on the affected side has been swaged over, probably by a rock encounter, and I can't get it out. Should I drill it and use an extractor? Removing the axle housing was easy, but I haven't gotten the axle assembly apart yet. I have two snap ring pliers, but neither is the right size. Off to the tool shop tomorrow. It still looks like a simple fix, but we'll have to see what develops. BTW, the JD replacement seal is a new design, and is supposed to protrude about 1/16" when installed, which means it will take up essentially all of the hub to housing gap.