DaveD1944
New member
ahm, Yes. You got it right. You must have crushed the new inner ring down into the upper bearing with the press. In my case I tried to install it with minimum force and when it didn't go investigated the OD of the inner surface, found it too large, and removed the inner ring of the new seal, never suspecting that the old seal was structured the same way and that the old inner ring had been left in place. I incorrectly assumed a redesign. As I stated, there wasn't any visible wear on what was actually the old inner ring, so installing the way I did is probably OK.
Another consideration before you go changing seals again. Oil shot out under force when I removed the bottom drain plug, probably several ounces, then continued draining slowly. This means that the front axle case had a positive pressure inside and that was probably the reason for the leaks (both seals were leaking, one more than the other). If I had had my wits about me I would have realized what the real problem was and left it alone--over time for some reason the axle case had built up pressure and the leak was probably because of the oil working itself out under pressure. And, as I stated, I eventually found little evidence of wear on the inner ring. So I pulled the yellow dipstick/filler plug and found that it had no "breathing" capability, being tightly inserted with an O-ring sealing it. I drilled a small hole in this plug from the bottom up to about 1/4 inch from the top and drilled a second hole on an up-angle from just above the area where the plug meets the metal of the axle case, meeting the first hole, then stuffed a bit of cotton in there. So it will now breathe but will not allow water or dirt in (unless I submerge the front axle, which I do not intend to do). That should fix the pressure build-up, although why that would happen I haven't a clue. The day I did this it was relatively cool, so heat would not have been the reason.
Another consideration before you go changing seals again. Oil shot out under force when I removed the bottom drain plug, probably several ounces, then continued draining slowly. This means that the front axle case had a positive pressure inside and that was probably the reason for the leaks (both seals were leaking, one more than the other). If I had had my wits about me I would have realized what the real problem was and left it alone--over time for some reason the axle case had built up pressure and the leak was probably because of the oil working itself out under pressure. And, as I stated, I eventually found little evidence of wear on the inner ring. So I pulled the yellow dipstick/filler plug and found that it had no "breathing" capability, being tightly inserted with an O-ring sealing it. I drilled a small hole in this plug from the bottom up to about 1/4 inch from the top and drilled a second hole on an up-angle from just above the area where the plug meets the metal of the axle case, meeting the first hole, then stuffed a bit of cotton in there. So it will now breathe but will not allow water or dirt in (unless I submerge the front axle, which I do not intend to do). That should fix the pressure build-up, although why that would happen I haven't a clue. The day I did this it was relatively cool, so heat would not have been the reason.
) seal in hand, i can't reassemble until the bearing comes in.. ordered the lower one to while i was at it (the 3rd one at the bottom seems to have survived)..