bobbywebb

Went to the Dodge Dealer and he says it'll be about $900.00 to fix my seals on the front of my dodge. How hard it is to replace 2 leaky seals on a 3500 4wd Diesel. Is it worth that much money or should I try it myself.

amartinson

In a nutshell, yes it is worth the money unless you can do it yourself. That job involves removing both axles (and all the fun of getting the hub bearings out on both sides) and removing the differential out of the pumpkin. The seals are deep in the axle tubes and all of the above is required to get at them. Then of course, reassembly. You can save some big money if you can do it yourself, but if you need to have it done, I can understand why they would charge $900.

bsbpaint

The seals are a real PITA to install. The brakes, rotors/bearing assemblies,and axles must be removed. They are installed from the inside out. The ring gear carrier must be removed to install the left seal. The right seal is installed thru the axle disconnect hole. Dodge makes some special installers for this task, however it can be done without them. Once the carrier is removed the left side is pretty easy. The right side seal is difficult to install due to the limited space in which to do it. A 3\4" drive socket and a pry bar will get it done with a lot of patience. It must go in straight or the seal will be damaged and leak. Ask me how I know I think the seals cost me around $30.00 at the parts store. You'll need RTV sealant and 3 quarts of gear oil and thats about it. I would think any competent mechanic would install these for a lot less than $900.00. I'd shop around and check before I got it done.

2500

good grief! sure hope my frt seals don't puke...

nitrousn

I am sure the dealer is doing more work than just installing 2 seals for 900.00 dollars.

the496rocket

the 900 probably includes the labor time, parts, and replacing the front diff fluid, which, if synthetic, is fairly expensive. new bearings may also be in the price

ratchet67rsss

Check out this link.

http://dieselpowerman.tripod.com/Fro...xle%20Tech.htm

Not sure if the author is on the site or not but kudos to him or her.

I used the instructions when I did my seals a couple weeks ago. The write up pretty much covers everything I just have a couple of tips to add.

1. The CAD housing is aluminum so be careful with it. I broke off a corner when I was prying on it.

2. The surface in the axle tube where the seal rides is pretty soft (at least on the passenger side) so be careful when knocking the old seal out. I scored the surface on mine.

3. When removing the carrier if prying doesn't work you can use a ratchet strap hooked to the carrier and the tie rod. I was worried about bending my tie rod but it only took a couple of clicks on the strap so there wasn't much force on it.

Anyway, hope this helps. It is not really difficult just time consuming.

Richard

Edit: I have since updated my sig but the truck is a 98 Dodge Ram 2500