2018 Willys rear axle seal leaking

68jcode

68jcode

New Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2022
Messages
6
Location
MA
My son’s 2018 JKU Willys has a leaky rear axle seal. looks like a straight forward procedure to remove the axle and replace the bearing and seal (thank you forum members for some great technical writeups). My questions are:
1) which axle does this Jeep have, is it the Dana 44? Is there an easy way for me to verify before I order parts?
2) I usually like to order parts from Rockauto, but is there a recommended place for getting quality parts at good prices? I’m sure we will have many maintenance and upgrade projects ahead for this Jeep and like to do the job once with good parts.
3) does his differential require a friction modifier to be added when refilling the fluid? If so, what type?

Thanks in advance for helping a new member with some of the basics.
 
Did the same on my wife’s 2015 JK recently. I ordered the bearing and seal from Rock Auto. The process is fairly straight forward but is a little time consuming.

1. The old bearing assembly is required to be cut off with a die grinder wheel or similar.
2. The new bearing is required to be pressed on. Since we have four JK’s in the family I picked up a 20 ton press from Harbor Freight. Depending on the model of press the axle is too long as the bottom brace on the press may be in the way. To get around it I bought some steal flat stock and added it to each side and cut the brace out of the center. I made the flat stock the length I needed, drilled the holes and then cut the metal brace out. Which I was glad I did as the base of the press fame went in. So I was able to line up the holes etc. and get it back to normal. The frustrating part was is I was in the middle of pressing the bearing on and had to stop, go to the store etc.

The HF press has already paid for itself between the bearing and bending a skid plate back into shape. I picked it when it was on sale, I think $50 dollars off. I know have to be careful of HF stuff, but it’s basically a steel frame and 20-ton jack, so a little hard to not get right.

Regarding the friction modifier, it depends on if you have an open or LS system. I believe an open does not require a modifier, but the LS type systems do. I used Royal Purple which had the modfier in it. If you add the modifier, but it is not needed, no harm. But if you don’t add it and do need it then there is harm done.
 
Danarch said:
Did the same on my wife’s 2015 JK recently. I ordered the bearing and seal from Rock Auto. The process is fairly straight forward but is a little time consuming.

1. The old bearing assembly is required to be cut off with a die grinder wheel or similar.
2. The new bearing is required to be pressed on. Since we have four JK’s in the family I picked up a 20 ton press from Harbor Freight. Depending on the model of press the axle is too long as the bottom brace on the press may be in the way. To get around it I bought some steal flat stock and added it to each side and cut the brace out of the center. I made the flat stock the length I needed, drilled the holes and then cut the metal brace out. Which I was glad I did as the base of the press fame went in. So I was able to line up the holes etc. and get it back to normal. The frustrating part was is I was in the middle of pressing the bearing on and had to stop, go to the store etc.

The HF press has already paid for itself between the bearing and bending a skid plate back into shape. I picked it when it was on sale, I think $50 dollars off. I know have to be careful of HF stuff, but it’s basically a steel frame and 20-ton jack, so a little hard to not get right.

Regarding the friction modifier, it depends on if you have an open or LS system. I believe an open does not require a modifier, but the LS type systems do. I used Royal Purple which had the modfier in it. If you add the modifier, but it is not needed, no harm. But if you don’t add it and do need it then there is harm done.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I probably have the same HF press already👍 Cutting the old bearing and race seems straightforward etc. I think it has an LS differential so will get the modifier just in case. i checked a couple of the Jeep parts suppliers (Quadratec and Extreme Terrain) and their prices are much higher then rockauto and a lot of parts are out of stock, so will probably go rockauto. Only 1 side is leaking, but Jeep has 75k miles. Should I replace both sides or just wait until the other fails?
 
The wife’s has 95K on it. I just did the one side as the other side was fine, no signs of leakage. It is straight forward cutting it off, didn’t know if you knew. It took a little force to get it out, but in the end figured why do both if it’s not leaking. When it starts leaking I’ll pull it out and replace it. This is the mod I had to make to the press. Thought I’d use some 2x4, but they just started to crush so I stopped did the mod. I’d estimate it picked me up at least 4” since its on casters.

5BCDD26E-824E-4332-88E8-1F34DC592DF4.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigAL07 and 68jcode
Danarch said:
The wife’s has 95K on it. I just did the one side as the other side was fine, no signs of leakage. It is straight forward cutting it off, didn’t know if you knew. It took a little force to get it out, but in the end figured why do both if it’s not leaking. When it starts leaking I’ll pull it out and replace it. This is the mod I had to make to the press. Thought I’d use some 2x4, but they just started to crush so I stopped did the mod. I’d estimate it picked me up at least 4” since its on casters.

View attachment 122776
Click to expand...
Way more functional being on casters too, well done!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Danarch
Can buy the axles complete with bearings already pressed on and ready to install. But of course more$$
 
BigAL07 said:
Can buy the axles complete with bearings already pressed on and ready to install. But of course more$$
Click to expand...
Not a bad option most days. You can get a set of chromoly shafts with bearings pressed on for $500-600. Swap done in 1hr.

Or you can buy a OEM replacement with bearings for like $220 (per side).

Depends if you have tools and time. Personally I wanted to keep my old shafts intact as spares so that helped my decision.

Scott
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrjp, Dirty Dog and BigAL07
FishFam JKU said:
Not a bad option most days. You can get a set of chromoly shafts with bearings pressed on for $500-600. Swap done in 1hr.

Or you can buy a OEM replacement with bearings for like $220 (per side).

Depends if you have tools and time. Personally I wanted to keep my old shafts intact as spares so that helped my decision.

Scott
Click to expand...
Good option, but I have the tools including a press to just do the bearing and seal. Thanks for all the input guys!
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrjp, Dirty Dog, BigAL07 and 1 other person
I am ready to order parts from RockAuto.com but would like to verify I am making the right/best choices here. I know my son's Willys has the Dana 44 axle. Thoughts on these parts:

Timken Wheel bearing
Timken axle seal OR
Dana Spicer axle seal

I know I will need to also get fresh differential fluid with friction modifier. Any particular brands you recommend? Anything else I will need other than patience? Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dirty Dog
That is the bearing / race I bought worked great. Just pay attention to which side faces inwards.

I got the national seal just because we used them a lot when I worked on semi-trailers

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=257635&cc=3309817&pt=1860&jsn=12

For the fluid I used Royal Purple with the weight recommended for towing since we have a small utility trailer we used on occasion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dirty Dog, mrjp, 68jcode and 1 other person
Top Bottom