DANA 60 mod

[Dirt Rider]

Been having issues with water getting in the pumpkin of my front dana 60, added high breathers and new inner seals, but it still get inside, they dont make a good outer seal. Was thinking I would drill a 1/4 hole outside the axel seals on the bottom of the axel tube to let water drain out. Since this is outside the seal it would let water drain out before the axel tube filled with water and let water drain out after water crossings before it worked into the axel seals. Any thoughts on why this would not work?

 

[1stDeuce]

The water drains out of the tubes plenty fast anyway, since they are completely open on the ends... Wheeled a LOT in college and we all had solid axle rigs. None of us had issues with river crossings or the like, only when submerged for significant time at fairly impressive depth did we get water in axles... If you are getting water in the axle during fairly quick crossings, you might re-check the seals. If the seals are that bad, I would think you would also have issues with oil coming out, but that might take a while to show if you just replaced the seals... In my experience it is fairly easy to cut the inner seal of the long shaft when you install the shaft. Also had a friend install the seal backwards, and then roll off the spring when he pushed the shaft in. Sucks to change it out again, but might be something to watch for. If oil leaks out that side, you probably nicked the seal putting the shaft in...

I would NOT drill a hole in the axle tube. You are just letting water in to the seal area faster, and if the seals are bad for whatever reason, you'll have just as much water in the axle, and a hole that you don't need weakening the axle tube...

Good luck!

 

[Dirt Rider]

Water gets in if I sit for a while in deep water, such as an engine stopped running, short crossings are not a problem. Yes those seals are a pain to change and its hard to get quality ones, like everything else its poorly made imported junk.

 

[Superduty]

I would ONLY use Dana/Spicer parts and Timken bearings on a Dana 60 that is destined for any serious use. Those will all be the best quality parts you can get for a Dana axle.

If you are sitting in water for any length of time, then you should be draining your axle, cleaning the inside and putting in new oil. The maintenance advice for Ford (and likely other vehicle mfg) is that if your axle is submerged in water, then a full service is suppose to happen ASAP. The axles are not built to be waterproof (particularly a steering axle).

 

[Betarocker]

Make sure your breather is venting well. Driving in cool water with a hot differential and poor venting can suck in water through the seals as everything cools off.

 

[Metcalf]

You could add a few psi of air pressure to the vent during the water crossings to balance the pressure over the seal. 1-2psi should be good for a few feet of water over the seal.

 

[1stDeuce]

You could add a few psi of air pressure to the vent during the water crossings to balance the pressure over the seal. 1-2psi should be good for a few feet of water over the seal.

I had looked into this at one time. There are several 5psi electric pumps that could do this. It would help the axle, but in times where I sat in deep water for a while, the axle housing was usually ok while the hubs were full of water. No way to easily pressurize the hubs, so I quit caring. I would just pull the dials off as soon as I could and run it for a bit with no covers so the water would fling/evaporate out. I ran red grease that turned pink when it got too water contaminated. If I pulled the dials and the grease was pink, it was time to repack...

My money is still on a torn axle shaft seal unfortunately. Overfill the oil level a bit and it'll run out the bad seal.

 

[javajoe79]

You can try outer seals from Seals It. Why are you just parking in water though?