Nick on axle where inner seal resides

I found a nick on the axle while replacing seals and bearings on my Dana 44 flanged rear axle. The nick is directly on the axle rod where the inner seal seats against the rotating metal surface. It's very small at maybe 1/16" wide and 1/16" deep and 3/8" long. It appears smooth accross the top surface but I'm concerned that it will cause premature wear on the seal and allow leakage.

Can this be fixed with something like JB Weld and sanded smooth?

I still don't understand how the outer bearings are lubricated. Seals on both sides of the bearing lead me to believe the bearings need to be packed but all they had on them was a messy bit of gear oil. Maybe the grease deteriorated over time.

 

Don't know about yours but mine is a Dana 44 tapered and the axle housing has a zerk (grease) fitting each side for greasing the wheel bearings.

 

Walt, could you post a pic of the grease fitting on the axle?? I would grease mine if I could find that fitting.

 

Flanged axles dont have that.

To the OP-I had the same issue with mine. I got a speedi sleeve to repair it. The trick was, nobody listed a speedi sleeve for that application. I took the axle shaft to a local bearing supply house and they were able to measure the diameter & find one that way.

 

I'd say JB weld is worth a shot if the surface prep is done carefully.. Personally I would try to find someone to lay brass in it but that comes with risk. The localized heating may warp the shaft but if it's done right it will be a good fix...


BUBBA

 

I would say a thin layer of silicone sealant around the seal would take care of it. I typically put RTV sealant around seals anyway because the mating surfaces are rarely perfect.

 

If I visualize that corectly, it will indeed cause an imediate seep and could be expected to rapidly degrade any sealing function that remained-you are continuously scraping across the sealing lip. I'm with Doug-put a speedy sleeve on it. I think I would also fill the indentation with JB Weld (make sure it doesn't stick above the surface) and then give it a light touch of RTV right before pressing the sleeve on.

 

Could do it tomorrow if you still need pic. Like said, not all tapered units came with this grease fitting (ref FSM).

This ref to jeepcj post.

 

RTV? I thought RTV hardened. Maybe I'm wrong but anything that prevents the seal from being flexible against the axle shaft doesn't sound right.

 

I misread this initially, if the nick is on the axle itself then you'll definitely need to fill it in. I was thinking you had a nick on the seating surface.

 

Nope...RTV does not harden. If it is exposed to extreme heat for long time it might get crusty tho. Not the type of heat you would expect from the axle

 

The nick IS on the axle itself and obviously it rotates underneath the inner seal. I do not understand how the outer bearing is lubricated since it's sandwiched between the outer and inner seals. It doesn't have a grease fitting as was mentioned above.

 

There should be a grease zerk just inside of the flange. It is hard to see in my picture because it is painted black but the yellow arrow shows it. Yours should be there, maybe covered in grime or broken off.

 

The picture tells me your axle housing is different than mine. My axle is a flanged dana 44 and doesn't have the grease fitting.

 

It's lubricated by the grease put in at the factory or by the Technician installing the bearing.

 

Ok, I'll check out the RTV for the seal after I fix the nick on the axle.

 

Sounds like i need to grease it up when i install new bearings. What grease is recommended?

 

My 70 has the flanged 44 and it has the grease zerk.

I usually hit it with a little shot from the grease gun every year or two.

I recently worked on a flanged 44 from a 50's ford. It was about the same but I couldn't find the zerk fitting.

 

BTW the speedi sleeve I ended up with came with a cup shaped installation tool. I had to cut a hole in it to slide down over the axle shaft. In other words, it was a PITA, but that was 6 or 7 years ago & no leaks so far (knocking on wood).