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Axle Seal Keeps Leaking

i dont think that groove is gonna make a difference... it sits too far inside trans to affect the seal or it leaking...
 
Alwayssideways, thanks for the offer man, but I just ordered another axle yesterday that I will be trying out.

Also, I pulled the seal I had replaced and the cylindrical metal piece in it came apart from the outer piece fairly easily during removal, which doesnt seem good to me at all. The original seal was a hell of a lot tougher. I hope the new seal + new axle combination doesnt leak. Otherwise, I'm about to give up and take it somewhere.
 
I got some axles from AxelsforLess. They were GCK IIRC and the drivers side leaked three time (three new axle seals) in six months on me. Finally I decided to have it swapped out for what my mechanic could get (pretty sure it's not GCK) and I haven't had a problem for over a year. A couple who have worked on my car said that the drivers side axle, when it was a GCK axle, was harder than any other axle they had worked with, to get in and out. I think they might have a run of these with the wrong sized drivers side axle. It's close, but it's enough to wear out the axle seal very prematurely. I may be way off, but that's the feeling I got.

Edit: I always used Ford OEM seals.
 
No more leaking axle seal! Thanks everyone for your help and tips.

I dont have a definate reason why the seal works now, but I suspect I damaged the seal during axle insertion on the previous two attempts. This time I put in a new seal (2nd one) and axle (2nd one also).

For people searching in the future, causes of axle seal leaks are as follows (I know several are similar and could be grouped together, but this list is to help the less experienced):

- axle not fully seated (see pics earlier in thread)
- axle seal spring popped off during install of axle or seal
- rubber on seal torn or contaminated during axle insertion
- circlip damaged causing axle to slightly come out
- seal (rubber part) to axle mating surfaces damaged or dirty
- seal (metal part) to transaxle mating surfaces damaged or dirty
- defective axle with smaller diameter mating surface
- hole punched in transaxle during removing of axle
- seal not centered or not fully pressed into transaxle
- sand, metal filings, etc in tranny fluid wearing away at seal over time

If I missed any feel free to add.
 
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