Shift Rod Seal Issues on a D-18 Xfer Case

I am having an issue with the single-lipped seals on the shift rods in my D-18 I just rebuilt. I polished the rods until they are almost mirror-like, and lubricated them when I put the seals over the top of the shafts. But after shifting them a couple of times, the seals seem to want to roll. I saw a number in here about some double-lipped seals made by National, I think it was, but when I went to NAPA and we looked them up, they were shown as single lipped seals, too.

The recesses in the D-18 look deep enough to install two seals in each, but I don't think that would necessarily gain me anything. I assume the original seals were installed with the seal lip facing outward, but in a way, that seems incorrect, but all diagrams I have seen seem to show them that way. Can anyone help me? I would like to get this thing back in the Jeep, but I don't want to do anything until I have a reasonable assurance that I have this working as I should. The old seals were destroyed so I couldn't really tell much about them. Thanks in advance...

 

the seals must be lip side in . flat side of seal out . also must be all the way in bore

 

Thanks. I will go install them as they should be and see what happens. The ones I put in were actually the way you state, and not the way I stated in my post. I will polish the shafts a bit more and try a different lubricant to ensure the seals are not damaged sliding over the shaft on their way in. Have a good one, in whatever it is you may be up to today. Later...

 

Hi,
When I re sealed my Jeep this winter, I just tapped the old seals till they bottomed, and drove new ones on top of them. They stick out a bit, but I couldn't justify taking the front cover off.

 

I went ahead and double-sealed mine. I will let all know how this works out. Did yours work ok? I think this should work and last a while. I will be putting the whole thing back in the Jeep tomorrow. Then I have to rebuild the clutch linkage. Always something...

 

So far, so good. Only a few hours of run time. I thought about pulling trans/transfer case out, but that's how things snowball. Already have one frame off going. Jeep hasn't lost a drop of anything in months, but we shall see how long that lasts.

 

Good luck with that. Seems like the D-18 is leak-prone... Once I get mine rolling, I will let you know how it worked out for me.