Ford 340B Rear Axle Shaft Oil Seal Help Needed!

[SixSpeed5]

Hey Guys,

I went through the rather, lets be really kind and say....involved process to replace the rear axle oil seal on my 1986 Ford 340B and imagine my disappointment when I get it all back together and it leaks worse than than when I started, and believe me it was leaking pretty bad. Now I consider myself a seasoned mechanic, albeit not in the tractor world. So I'll bite...what is the trick here?

The service manual states "After assembly, compress the shaft seal, then stake the seal retainer at four equally spaced points to the axle housing."

I did complete this stuff, though maybe it wasn't compressed enough?

 

[RickB]

Probably. Is it leaking between the seal and shaft, or between the seal and trumpet housing?

 

[IH3444]

Was there a groove worn into the axle shaft? Did you get the correct seal? There is usually a fine small spring around the inside of the seal which keeps the seal in contact with the shaft. Or was it just a lip seal without spring. Did you get an OEM seal, or aftermarket?

 

[RickB]

If you don't get enough crush on the inside face of the seal where it contacts the housing, it WILL leak.