[bharris68]

Good afternoon, All


I'm having a set of Dana 44's from a 1976 Wagoneer that had a Quadratrac case built out for my YJ (Yes - I'm using a Dana 18 so the output shafts are on the correct (Passenger) side).


Question - I will be transiting water reasonably often given that the river between my property and the road floods reasonably often, are there proper Axle Tube seals available? I've seen the "Generic" Dana 30/Dana 44 seals around but wanted to know if they would fit in the Wagoneer 44 front?


Thanks all!!:nerd:

 

[jeepdaddy2000]

The only axle seals are the spindle seals which protect the spindle and wheel bearings and inner axle seals which keep contamination out of the front diff housing.
If the inner seals aren't leaking diff fluid, then they should be OK.

Wouldn't hurt to get into the spindles and lube the needle bearings and inspect those seals. The spindle bearings and seals can be had separately or on a kit. Both are cheap, however, the spindle bearings can be a bear to get out.

 

[Fourtrail]

No, the generic Dana 30/44 axle tube seals will not work. The knuckle is different on the YJ/XJ/TJ/JK and you have more inner axle shaft sticking out and a place for the seal to ride.

As long as the seals at the differential are good, there is not problem getting a little water in the axle tube, it will run right back out after you hit dry land. If you feel the need to have a seal at the outer end of the tube, you could have the tube/knuckle machined for a seal that sits flush with the knuckle like these images of a Ford truck front axle.

 

[StanF]

+1 - the inner seals will keep out any water. Adding an outer seal will likely result in water getting trapped between the two seals, and probably causing more problems.

Also, as mentioned above, the lockouts and wheel bearings are MUCH more prone to water damage than the axle seals. I'd recommend all new seals and o-rings and a regular schedule of teardown and inspection.

Make sure that both your axle vent lines are properly clamped and terminate up high in the body. And replace the hoses, if you aren't sure how old they are - cheap insurance. Depending on the depth of the water, you should also look at your transmission and transfer case vent lines.

Finally, you might find it useful to get diff covers with a drain plug, so you can more easily inspect\drain the fluid. ARB is one choice:

 

[Lynch4570]

So where does the end of tube get its seal from

 

[jeepdaddy2000]

There is no outer seal. As stated in my first post, there is only the inner axle seal for the diff and the spindle seal for the spindle.
The tubes are simply left open.
Ford tried using outer axle seals on their early open knuckle D30's and discarded it after a couple of years.