Ok I was poking around under the truck today since I brought it in to have the tire rotated and chassis lube. I noticed a few things 1) amazingly few zirc fittings as a matter of fact I found only two on the u-joints for the front hubs and 2) there is a rubber seal that appears to be loose in the area where the axle shaft penetrates the axle tube. It's just kinda hanging there. I would love to know if that is supposed to be that way. there is another seal that is installed on the axle shaft itself that looks like it is intended to ride up against the one that is loose. If needed I can post a picture.

Please do post a pic. All the service techs are working so tonight you should get a definitive answer to your question.

not my truck but this is what I am talking about. The pic was posted on another forum. How is that for lazy?

A pic is a pic man....I see what you're sayin with that....my guess is that seal is to keep grime water or whatever out of your axle housing and to prevent premature bearing/seal failure to the internal chunk parts. But that'[s just my guess. Like I said, the techs will be on soon and you can get a more definitive answer.

That seal keeps dust and dirt out of the tube. Half the trucks on the road are that way. There is another seal inside that keeps the stuff out of the front diff. If you want to get it changed i'll do it when you come this way again.

d-kuzmen said:

That seal keeps dust and dirt out of the tube. Half the trucks on the road are that way. There is another seal inside that keeps the stuff out of the front diff. If you want to get it changed i'll do it when you come this way again.

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That seal is more of an annoyance than what it helps.

Yeah now looking at a few other pics the seal appears to be split, in other words, it is not supposed to be in two pieces. Thanks Dave I appreciate the offer. If you guys do not feel that it contributes a lot to longevity of the running gear up there I am not sure it would be worth the time/effort. There is another seal I am sure the dust seal just prevents stuff from accumulating in the recess area....

suprdtydvr said:

Yeah now looking at a few other pics the seal appears to be split, in other words, it is not supposed to be in two pieces. Thanks Dave I appreciate the offer. If you guys do not feel that it contributes a lot to longevity of the running gear up there I am not sure it would be worth the time/effort. There is another seal I am sure the dust seal just prevents stuff from accumulating in the recess area....

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If you are notorious about driving through a lot of mud/water/grit, I would suggest replacing it though.

My '05 is the same way on both sides. Since I don't run in a lot of mud I'm not worried. It's a heck of a lot of work to change them out for very little if any gain.

blacksnapon said:

If you are notorious about driving through a lot of mud/water/grit, I would suggest replacing it though.

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I am mostly "on road" however we do get plenty of snow and subsequently salt here, probably worth it for that reason alone.