I wish I would have searched for this last week and done over the 3 day weekend but it looks easy enough to do on just a saturday with your pictures ovcourse.

I don't have noise so I will only do the seals. I was going to do just one but since they are $7/ea and i'll be half way there I guess it doesn't make sense not to.

I do have a compressor but i'd be blocking the alley, so i'd rather do it in a parking space with alot more room with hand tools. Is the compressor just a time saver or are their clearance issues with a breaker bar and some of the bolts?

Oh, why did you add the friction modifier in a seperate place? Is there any reason not to put it in the fill hole with the oil?

Thanks for the writeup, btw :rocker:

great write up. I have a 2001 screw 4.6 2wd with 179000. I just noticed a puddle around one of my tires so I came here and found this article. Got everything apart and then got stuck. I have an 8.8 and my spyder gears have a funky "S" (spring?) holding all 4 gears in place. How do I remove this? Are the "C" clips behind this S spring? If any one has picts or suggestions I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Thank you Quinton. Great write up. I am waiting on new gear lube now to seep past axle so that I can get that last 1 1/4 quarts in. Truck is tilted to one side. 1998 F150 4 X 2. 8.8 3:55 rearend .

when doing a LS diff is there any risk to screwing up the clutches? if i put the pinion shaft bolt back in right away to keep anything from turning am i going to be ok?

Spider Gears
 

And what if I didnt put the pin back in and my spider gears fell out while I was working on it? Any help would be great!

im guessing its all the same idea for your front 4x4 8.8 correct? 97-03
drivers side seal leaks

Please for the love of God please don't delete this thread. I'm gonna need it big time!!!!!!


Is this very similar to a 2001 f150 4x4?

I have a bad axle seal as well

GREETING TRUCK MANIAC.....:beers:

FRIEND´S.....
REVIEW AS FLUID LEVEL REAR AXLE MY 2006 F150??
THANKS IN ADVANCE:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Save a Buck or Two:
 

Well, not really. If the axle bearing race is cratered and rough a set of repair bearings can be installed. They are bearing/seal integrated assemblies that move the roller contact on the axle outboard the width of the roller to an area that has no wear.

Repair bearings are: SKF R1559 for the 8.8" differential.
SKF R1561F for the 9.75" differential.

The repair bearings run 35-65 bucks each depending on the application which is much cheaper than the cost of new axles. :thumbsup:

Great thread--same situation
 

The article was EXACTLY what I needed to help save me alot of time and aggrivation. I joined this site because of this post. I had planned on doing brakes and seen the RR leak after closer inspection. Going to do both seals this week and will decide on bearings after inspection. My truck is a 2004 F-150 XL 4.6L 4WD 4WABS with tow package and 6000+ springs. Only has 55,000 miles but I do pull a heavy boat around in the spring. Thanks a million for taking the time to document the job.

Did my seals at around 70k now doing them again at 110k. The first time I just replaced the seals and not bearings. I got seals from car quest the first time. Now for the second time im replacing both seals and bearing and using ford parts. Its a pretty easy job if you have some mechanic knowledge.

I just rotated the tires on my 04 this weekend and noticed some play in the right axle. Definitely some up and down which is certainly the bearing, but also what seems like excessive in and out. Question is, how much should these axles move in and out? Would a worn C-clip cause this? I want to do the bearing myself, but if I end up needing something else like a new clip, are they also readily available at most auto stores?

What a great thread just want to thank quinton for putting it together it cut my work in half and everything worked well. I went with timken bearings/seals and auto zone loaned me the puller.

Excellent write-up!!!!

I was much more confident going into the job with the detailed explanation and photos. Changed my seals out a couple of weeks ago - no more leaks, the differential cover isn't leaking (I was afraid it would and I'd be out 60 bucks worth of oil doing it all over again), and I saved some money by skipping the gasket.

Really appreciate it!

:beers:

my a4wd 99 expy is about to roll 199k and my left rear seal is leaking and right rear starting to leak, i was wondering if its any different changeing them on the expy?

I can't think of anything that would be different.

I've replaced my rear wheel bearings and I'm trying to put everything back together. I'm having a terrible time getting that S-spring back into place in the diff. Question: Is it really necessary? What could happen if I leave it out?.

Keep up the good fight for that spring. Leave it out & you face severe damage to your rear end. IE replacing the whole thing. They are about $300.00 at a junk yard should you find the correct 1. You may end up in a few. Just sayin.....

I want to thank you for posting the process. The passenger rear side of my F150 was making a whining noise it was getting loud. Today I followed the process you posted pulled the rear shaft out and the bearing was bad and damaged the shaft. Pulled the drivers side and the shaft was still good. But since I had it all apart I replaced both shafts and installed new bearings. What was making me nervous was when I pulled the diff pin I had to rotate the diff slightly to pull the pin and when I did the gears shifted a little. Ownce the pin was pulled out I did not attempt to turn it any more. Installed the bearings greased them reinstalled the shafts c clips verfied that they were seated. Then I shifted the tran into neutral and slightly turned passenger drive shaft to get the gears to center on the hole and the pin slid right in. Put a new locking diff pin in. Changed the rear breaks also. Never did this before Fron start to finish about 4 hours.

Cost was $550 to have a shop do it would have cost me $1600.

Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

axle seal
 

thx 4 great post . is there any thing more detailed if the trk has limited slip?

FYI Lisle make a pneumatic adaptor for that. I just used it and its so much better than a hammer and has much more control so you drive the bearing and seal straight in just a few seconds.

Excellent job!!!
 

Had to replace the left rear parking brake shoes and dust cover following a catstophic failure of both that resulted in a huge chunk being blown out of the inside disk hub! The pics and explainations you provided allowed me to svae $300.00 on what the shop wanted to perform the same work. Actually went ahead and replaced both rear disks and pads while I was into it. COuld not have doen it without y'all!
Thanks!!!

I am in the process of doing mine as we speak although it started raining so I am on a break. I would like to gice a heads up to a problem I ran into. I had taken the pinion bolt and shaft out, then the passengers side axle but when I got to the drivers side and pushed it in it didn't seem to go far enough in to remove the c-clip, I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get in far enough, I went back o0ver to the wheel side and realized the wheel stud, where it goes through the hub was bottoming itself out on the back, I just turned it a small amount and it pushed in the rest of the way.
I am having difficulty getting the bearings and seals out even with the bearing slide puller but I will be back at it tomoorow.

Is there any way that you can put a rag inside the axel housing and put some crushed ice inside and around the bearing for a few minutes to help shrink it. Then after a few minutes use a small propane torch on the outside of the axel housing to just warm it up?

I used a bit of heat on the axle and it came out

If you will put the bearings in the freezer for a couple of hours it will make them go in and much easier to install.

2001 F-150 rear axle seals and bearings
 

Quintin,
I have a rear seal that is ruptured on my 2001 F-150, 2WD, 4.2L V6 with limited slip. I was hoping that these instructions are similar, if not identical to the 2004+ that you wrote about here. Can you confirm? I want to know first if I have the 8.8 or the 9.75 axle? Any idea? I just ordered a replacement differential Gasget and the guy thought that I should have the 8.8.

Secondly I wanted to know if my bearings replacement would be similar to what you have shown here? A guy at Goodyear seemed to think that the bearings were actually pressed into the axle and may need to be sent out to a machine shop for removal/installation. It would be cool if mine were just like this article.

Lastly I am having a loud hum in the rear end at speeds of 35 MPH and higher. Any clue what that is? I was thinking that it was the bearings but not sure. If I am going to be doing this repair on the right side, does it make sense to replace the wheel seal, bearings, brake pad and emergency drums on both sides or just the affected side?
Thanks!

Quinton, I stumbled across this post today and it is exactly what I am going to need for my project in two weeks. Great post and the pictures really help a lot. Thanks, keep them coming.

I think I missed a step. How do I remove the hub to get to the seal?
Attachment 11195

Hub is welded to the axle shaft. Got to remove the axle shafts.

Okay, so I need to remove the rear axle cover to do so? Sorry I'm a rook at this.

Yea, you have to remove the c-clips to get the axles out. Plenty of online videos on that.

Driver side seal was leaking. Replaced both today and filled with fresh 75W140 synthetic. I also added a little moly paste to the bearings and ring and pinion surfaces (it's OK because I have an open differential). These axles are idiot proof simple to work on. I used this guide for the torque values, thanks!

VTX, did you add any friction modifier to the 75w140? My seals are leaking but i'm a little hesitant to crack the pumpkin. I've read stories on here of people having nightmares because the rearend can be temperamental with which fluid you use. Let me know how it goes.

No, because I have an open differential, so there would be no point. That's also why I was able to add moly to the mix. Moly doesn't play well with any type of clutch material (such as the limited slip clutch packs). However, it is extremely well suited to extremely high pressure metal interfaces, such as are found in wheel bearings and differentials.

It's likely mostly a placebo effect, but it feels like the truck rolls so much easier now after lubing the bearings and differential with moly. Some day I'd like to put a Detroit Locker in there. They are much better than the stock limited slip, but I don't have money for that right now. If I do that, I'll have to get the moly out because the locker needs a certain amount of friction to operate correctly.

I used the Walmart brand full synthetic 75W140 gear oil. The old oil came out looking very clean, although the gears and differential were stained black. I had put a little moly in the old oil, so that was likely the cause. The hardest part was getting the old axle seals out.

Great write-up, Quintin! Replaced my seals, bearings, and one axle shaft this weekend by following your guide. Thanks a lot!

This write-up is fantastic. Just one quick question from a newb/rookie: Are there any complications to this process for a limited slip differential? Any issues with pulling the axles and doing any harm to the clutches?

thanks again and ahead of time!

Sorry to bring this back up but I read through the whole thread and didn't find my answer. I have an 05 Lariat 2wd that has a rear axle leak on the driver's side and I found this thread. My question is why do you have to remove the axle shafts? I just need to replace the seals and I've already done the rotors a couple months ago. I can't remember correctly but if I just remove the rear drum would I have access to the leaking seal then? Also, lately after start up after its been sitting a while when I brake there is a squeaking noise, could it just be the leaking oil that causes this?

Edit: I figured it out, I strike my dumb question from the thread

One of the best write up - How-too's I have ever used.
Thank you Quintin!!!
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...3a75f04021.jpg

I rotated right rear axle a little to remove brake rotor, left axle is out pinion shaft temporarily in place, did i possibly screw anything up in there. Great tutorial by the way. My first post in forum, Thanks in advance for any info on this.