2012 Front Axle Seals Leaking

[zipbowhunter]

New Member long time Lurker
I need some help from this knowledgeable group of individuals. My front driver side axle seal is leaking pretty bad. I am not a mechanic but am not afraid of working on my truck. Can you guys that have done this give me some pointers on things that you have done to change these seals that have made it easier for you? I went to the dealer to get a quote on labor and talking to these guys did not give me much confidence they will be able to handle the job. What did some of you guys use to install new seals? I am having a little trouble finding a good parts diagram an most do not even show the locker, where do you guys find these diagrams? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[Retired BLM Rig]

Start by getting yourself a factory service manual (I got mine on Ebay for $10) 10,000+ page PDF document filled with proceedures, illustrations, specs, diagrams and charts, usable on my phone and laptop. It's year specific and covers every truck model from 1500-3500, gas and diesel (including Power Wagon specifics), so you have to look for the info you want, but it's all there. If you're going to try this yourself, the two specialty tools that I can think of that you'll need are a dial indicator and a 1/2" torque wrench, the rest can be improvised with common shop tools. The first obstacle you have to overcome is getting the wheel bearing hubs out of the spindles, which can be a major challenge if they're rusted. It takes me 4-8 hours depending on all the variables. Mark everything carefully as you take it apart (especially the bearing caps and adjuster nuts, so you can set backlash and bearing preload), then put it back together the same way.

Here's a Youtube video to give you a basic idea. This is a much smaller non-locking axle, but the theory is the same. You might be able to find other videos that are more vehicle specific.
Good luck and welcome to the

phpBB [video]

Clickable link for Tapatalk

Here's another video on a non-locking 3500 (same axle housing as yours).

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Clickable link for Tapatalk

[zipbowhunter]

Thank you for this information. I believe I am going to attempt this repair myself.

[zipbowhunter]

I wanted to say thank you again for the help. I did complete this project. Sorry no pictures, I was by myself and it was raining the whole weekend. I will say this was not a horrible project but it had its moments. This took me about 2 days to complete....working by yourself is no fun when the wrench you need is on the other side of the truck. I did purchase the seal installation tool which made life easy once I was to that point. I also utilized the factory service manual which helped tremendously. If anyone is attempting this I have the pdf's that pertain to this if you pm me I will email them to you.

[Retired BLM Rig]