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1G 1g FWD Axle + Seal Replacement

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91Bomb

15+ Year Contributor
909
7
Jul 15, 2003
US, New_Jersey
My passenger axle is bad and found out raxles don't rebuild ours anymore. Does anyone know any good aftermarket replacements? (car is free/cheap modded only) I bought Duralast gold but didn't put it in yet since I'm waiting on oem axle seal and could return it if I thought there's much better options. Although many places require a core but not AZ so that's why I got it and unsure whether I should be worried about saving my bad oem axle now. I did count splines and make various measurements comparing this one to oem and everything seems good. The wheel side of axle seems a bit stiff though especially compared to transmission side, autozone said it's normal and they loosen up after driving awhile, is that true?

On axle seal, do I need to drain all the tranny fluid before install? Will seal only tap in so far before it can't go any further because not sure but thought i seen somewhere 1g fwd seals are tricky to install. I was thinking of running a bead of red rtv inside transmission to a make better seal, is that a good idea and if so how long should I wait before adding tranny fluid + starting car? Any tips is appreciated for 1st time install, Thanks!
 
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Yes, new axles are very stiff at the joints. Yes drain transmission first or else it'll all start coming out when you pull the axle out. No i would not use any rtv on the seal. When you remove the old seal you'll see there is a lip that will only allow it to be installed so far in.
 
When installing axle seal should I lightly coat all 4 surfaces with tranny fluid? Like in the same way I'd coat an oil filter gasket?

Btw I'm seeing quite a few threads saying dsm axle seals can be placed in too far on install. Some are talking about leaving it out 1/8" instead of being flush with trans case. Is that possibly an early 1g awd thing compared to my '93 fwd tranny? Now I'm getting nervous OMG
 
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Take pictures of the old axle seals before you remove them so that you can visually see how far in the new seal needs to seat.

Ok I'll be looking closely at old one before removing it.

For a smooth install I do know to lightly coat inner part of seal that touches axle but what about the other 3 surfaces?
 
No you don't need to lubricate them. It's not going to hurt anything if you do though

The rubber on an oil filter needs to be lubricated because when the filter spins onto it's mounting surface it needs to slip in order to tighten it down. a dry rubber gasket would crack or break. You coat the seal where the axle slides only to make sure it doesn't pinch the seal when it slides through
 
Just got my axle seal and should there be a metal ring included? Because from reading threads on removing old seal I was under impression there's a metal ring that gets pried out with screw driver or pick tool, so I thought a new seal would be encased in one. Am I mistaken because I did watch a lot of axle seal vids including non dsm's.
 
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From the website of the good folks at JNZTuning. Left is AWD driver side (with the metal ring), center is AWD passenger side all years and FWD both sides up to 92 cars, right is FWD both sides 93 cars and later...
 
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From the website of the good folks at JNZTuning. Left is AWD driver side (with the metal ring), center is AWD passenger side all years and FWD both sides up to 92 cars, right is FWD both sides 93 cars and later...

Oh I see, awd (driverside only) has an integrated metal ring but fwd doesn't? There's not a separate metal ring that comes out of transmission case for these fwd seals, is there?
 
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Ok thanks! So I'm guessing these fwd seals should pop out and install a bit easier than the metal ones?
 
You still have to drive them in straight and flat. I located some PVC hydraulic pipe fitting of the correct size and used it to push the seal in evenly using a mallet. Can't remember the size of that specific pipe, I just walked in Home Depot with the seal and sized the pipe accordingly. Which I also did with a number of other seals (crankshaft front seal, cam seals etc.). Cheap and effective.
 
I'm going to tap in with idler pulley which is just slightly smaller than seal.

Does the seal wind up exactly flush with transmission case and when I'm tapping it in will it feel obvious when it's seated all the way?

Just to make sure again, a little tranny fluid on inner seal that touches axle is needed and a light coat on all other 3 surfaces of seal is good too -or- isn't going to be detrimental, right? And no need for red rtv or any sealers either?
 
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Not sure how it seats, I converted GS-T to equal-length half shaft back in 2000 so I can't remember, but the other side looks like it is flush. The service manual only specifically mentions to apply gear oil (API GL-4 or higher) to the inner lip of the seal.
 
Changed axle + seal and after 1 day of driving seal shows no sign of leaking :)
 
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