Turns out the soaked right rear wheel/tire was the axle seal. I think this was catalyzed by parking it in a new spot, on a slant, tipped toward the right side, which wasn't doing the 25 year old axle seal any favors.
This theory was kind of confirmed because the bearing/axle was in good shape, meaning a worn bearing didn't cause the seal to fail. Given the mileage, this checks out.
Pics later, but steps go like this:
- Jack up, pull wheels
- Pull diff cover and drain axle
- Pull drum. This required a little heat and lots of wiggling. Would have been helpful to back the adjuster off but the wiggling method worked.
- Remove lock shaft bolt from diff carrier. This diff is like identical in design to the GM corporate axles. I don't think it's posi (pics later)
- Pull out lock shaft enough to clear axle shafts
- Push axle in and remove C clip
- Remove axle
- Disassemble drums (shoes were soaked so they need to be replaced)
- Pry axle seal out using the C clip end of the axle shaft which works easily
- Install new seal and the rest is the reverse of disassembly
- Anger and laziness kicked in - we didn't touch the left rear drum
It took a tad under 2 quarts, 80W-90. I used 75W-90 because that's what NAPA had.
Ranger axle seal
Re: Ranger axle seal
Ford 7.5". I can't tell if this is a posi carrier.
It could be an Auburn, with the back of the axle spider gears acting as a clutch on the carrier housing. Hard to tell.
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Re: Ranger axle seal
If it was posi, wouldn't it have preload springs with plates in there? I think this is an open diff. It behaves like one anyway.
Re: Ranger axle seal
Was there a tag on the axle? If so, there are some numbers that correspond to the axle type/part number, gear ratio, and if it has limited slip. Plus other stuff like build plant and date.kevm14 wrote:If it was posi, wouldn't it have preload springs with plates in there? I think this is an open diff. It behaves like one anyway.
You care about the lower line of characters. If it is something like 3 L 73, that's a limited slip 3.73:1 ratio axle. No L means no limited slip. The next number over is the ring gear size, you should see 75 for the 7.5".
Re: Ranger axle seal
There is a tag. I did not look at it. But it's an open diff - did you see the picture?