Rear Axle seal

[halfpast3]

Greetings everyone. About 2 weeks ago I picked up a 2012 1500 4x4 Laramie Longhorn, upgrading from a 2006 Dakota 4x2. It has 166,000 miles on the clock so there are a few little things that need to be done to it. I wanted to get your opinion if this looks like the rear axle seal is leaking. Initially I was thinking it might be someone tried to clean/lubicate the parking brake mechanism, but I feel like it might be the bearing seal and possibly a bearing. I do hear a very slight whine from the DS rear. I feel like if it was someone trying to free a stuck parking brake mechanism there wouldn't be as discolored up as high as it is.



Thanks

Carl

 

[EdGs]

Looks like it might've been sprayed with penetrant or something.

Was the rear end ever serviced? That should be on the to-do list, IMO. It should be checked either way. Axle bearings and seals aren't super-expensive, and deserve being looked at, and even replaced. I did mine around 190k, and my driver side bearing was stuck in the axle tube.

Both OE beaings ran me $60 @ RockAuto, and the National Seal brand seals were $20 ish for both. Do you have other issues? Hard to say, but that whine should be checked out.

 

[halfpast3]

Thanks. I’ll probably go ahead and do the bearing and seal. I have no service info other than Carfax entries which showed regular interval oil changes. Transmission fluid didn’t smell burnt and the oil was change recently.

Only other issues are minor oddities like DS lumbar support doesn’t work and 3 of the 4 heated seats don’t heat very well.

 

[EdGs]

If the seal is leaking, I'd like to think you would see evidence of it once you remove the rear tire and brake rotor.

Does the other side look similar?

At the least, the diff oil condition and level needs checked out.

 

[Daw14]

Looks like it’s leaking , pull the wheel and get a closer inspection.

 

[halfpast3]

Thanks everyone. I'll go ahead and pull the wheel for a better inspection and go ahead and change the fluids in the transmission, transfer case, and front and rear diffs. I just confirmed the transfer case is the BW44-44 (sticker still attached but I have the 4WD Auto on the switch) and the build sheet indicates it has the anti-spin differential. I assume that is fancy speak for limited slip differential.

 

[Grams]

Thanks everyone. I'll go ahead and pull the wheel for a better inspection and go ahead and change the fluids in the transmission, transfer case, and front and rear diffs. I just confirmed the transfer case is the BW44-44 (sticker still attached but I have the 4WD Auto on the switch) and the build sheet indicates it has the anti-spin differential. I assume that is fancy speak for limited slip differential.

Be prepared: I had a 2012 Ram 1500 4x4 and when the rear axle bearing began to make a bit of noise…. (100K miles)….We discovered that bearing has rollers that run DIRECTLY upon the axle-shaft. NO RACE in the design.

This created a wear-scar on the axle shaft and necessitated axle replacements.
Problem: Ram didn’t have any axles.

We installed YUKON axles. No more problem. Ran those another 120K before wrecking the truck.

 

[halfpast3]

With the really cold temps, I’m fairly certain it’s the seal. While I’m in there, I’ll do the bearings as well, however, when I went to look up the part on rock auto, it shows the Mopar part for a 245mm axle but the build sheet indicates I have a 235mm axle.

To make things worse, when I go to the various online mopar parts and use the VIN to whittle down the part options, it says i need the part number that indicates it’s for the 245mm axles, but it’s shown under a section that indicates a 235mm axle. Also, the site says I have the 545RE automatic transmission when the build sheet says 645RE.

Part number 52111197AB is what things say I need, but rock auto says it’s for a 245mm axle with a 3.21 ratio. They do have a kit for the ZF 235mm. Build sheet indicates I have a 3.55 rear end.

How can I determine which axle I actually have? Thanks!

 

[huntergreen]

With the really cold temps, I’m fairly certain it’s the seal. While I’m in there, I’ll do the bearings as well, however, when I went to look up the part on rock auto, it shows the Mopar part for a 245mm axle but the build sheet indicates I have a 235mm axle.

To make things worse, when I go to the various online mopar parts and use the VIN to whittle down the part options, it says i need the part number that indicates it’s for the 245mm axles, but it’s shown under a section that indicates a 235mm axle. Also, the site says I have the 545RE automatic transmission when the build sheet says 645RE.

How can I determine which axle I actually have? Thanks!

Go to the vendor section and find all moparts. Call and ask Benny to see if can figure out what part you need. There is a forum discount.

 

[halfpast3]

Thank you. I’ll do that

 

[mullet6577]

Go to the vendor section and find all no parts. Call and ask Benny to see if can figure out what part you need. There is a forum discount.

The name of the vendor didn't seem to be typed correctly, it's this one

All Mopar Parts

Offering Genuine Mopar Ram Parts & Accessories at discounted prices! www.allmoparparts.com

www.ramforum.com

www.allmoparparts.com

 

[halfpast3]

Tore into things and the driver side axle shaft needs to be replaced as well as the seal and bearing. The axle is apparently is on national back order. Thankfully RockAuto had one and delivering today.

Any tips on cleaning the axle housing to get the metal bits out? My diff is the anti-spin (LSD) so not sure if brake cleaner would affect the friction pads if it rinses down into the differential housing.

I plan on doing a diff fluid change again in the next few weeks as well.

 

[EdGs]

IMO, you are better off doing both bearings and seals, and servicing the diff as well since the diff oil lubes the axle bearings.

As far as cleaning the bearings in the diff, I have no clue.

You can lift one side at a time to flush the axle tubes toward the diff houing. Maybe lift the front of the truck to flush the front of the diff housing toward the rear cover.

I'm not sure what you can use to flush the tubes and the diff housing. A thinner oil would be my guess, but it is just that, a guess. Not sure about brakleen or solvents

Please wait for others with more experience to give their opinions on this.

Keep us posted.

 

[halfpast3]

I already got the bearing and seal in on the passenger side, waiting on brake shoes to deliver as well as those are extremely thin.

I’ve wiped the bearing surface and area as best I can already. I like the idea of a thinner oil to “rinse” it down and if no one chimes in, I’ll probably do that especially if I plan on draining and filling again in a couple of weeks.

Thanks!

 

[Hagar1]

Tore into things and the driver side axle shaft needs to be replaced as well as the seal and bearing. The axle is apparently is on national back order. Thankfully RockAuto had one and delivering today.

Any tips on cleaning the axle housing to get the metal bits out? My diff is the anti-spin (LSD) so not sure if brake cleaner would affect the friction pads if it rinses down into the differential housing.

I plan on doing a diff fluid change again in the next few weeks as well.

Try to wash from the diff side to out. Then wipe with clean white rags. When you think it is clean, wipe with a black rag and inspect it for sparkles. Once you have no sparkles, you should be good.

 

[Wild one]

Diesal fuel and a wash gun makes short work of washing out the inside of a diff housing

 

[Hagar1]

Try to wash from the diff side to out. Then wipe with clean white rags. When you think it is clean, wipe with a black rag and inspect it for sparkles. Once you have no sparkles, you should be good.

One other thing ...... On a lot of diff housings, there is a passage cast into the upper side of the housing to facilitate oil flow to the pinion bearings. Make sure that area is flushed out thoroughly.

 

[halfpast3]

Got everything put back together, including the spider gears and one of the friction disc clips. The DS axle was essentially stuck and would not push in. I guess somewhere between my son and I trying to push it in and eventually using a small 3lbs hammer, it rotated enough that they fell out of place. I rotated the drive shaft several times manually to make sure there wasn't still something out of place that was hidden and everything seemed to function properly. Had to leave town this morning so fluid will go back in tomorrow or Thursday. Thanks for all the help and advice.

 

[FaceDeAce]

What typical mileage life are folks getting out of the rear axle bearings and seals?
My truck goes through the front wheel bearing hubs at about 100K. It is on its 3rd set now. However other than regular diff oil changes the diff components and the rear axle outer bearings and seals are original. Just starting to get a bit of howl/growl back there now and will be checking those tube bearings soon. 320K on originals. .....
I tow regularly and the truck is almost always overloaded at the back.