Lowered my SCrew at the beginning of the year. Have towed a boat and utility trailer with it and also hauled a load of dirt in the bed of the truck. A few weeks ago I had a leaking axle seal and ended up replacing both of them. Took the truck in this morning to another shop and they are telling me tha axle seal is leaking again.

Could lowering and towing the truck have some affect on these seals or is it more likely that I did not get a good install??

 

Lowering shouldn't affect the axle seals in any way.
If you think about it, the axle has not moved in relation to the ground at all.
The truck body has moved lower to the ground (and axle)
The wheels are still in the same place and the axle U Joint between the propshaft and differential will take account of any height difference there.

You need to look somewhere else for your problem.

 

The seals leaked because the outer wheel bearings have too much play. The person who changed the seals should have suggested outer bearings as well. If they did not, that is a shop you probably don't want to go to again. The alternative is the technician didn't put a light oil or grease on the new seal causing them to burn up. Either way, a shop to stay away from.

You will need a blind bearing puller to get the bearings out. The labor should be the exact same as just replacing the seals plus the bearing price.

Dana/Spicer rear ends are natorious for axle seal leaks because their tooling is not very tight. They are within spec. for manufacturing, but on the loose end. I highly recommend TRW or Timkin bearings.

Good luck.......

EDIT: If any gear oil got on the brakes, they will need to be replaced also.

 

False alarm - this was a different shop and they did not realize that the seals (and bearings) had recently been replaced. Apparently the other shop ddi not do a good job cleaning up the previous mess.

Thanks for replies!!