ala.frosty
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- Joined
- Nov 1, 2015
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I'm not sure that sanding the shafts where they contact the seals is good practice. I agree that it is important to protect the seals during installation of the shafts, but a sanded shaft, depending on the grit used in the sanding, could tear up the seal after installation. In my experience, the shafts I've had to deal with in axles have never had much, if any corrosion, probably because the axle oil coats them in use. The splines on the inner end of the shafts can damage the seals, and you have to be very careful when inserting the shaft.
If I wanted to clean up the surface of the shaft that rides on the seal, I'd use the finest 3M pad, or, install a speedy sleeve.
Hope I did not misunderstand the post I've quoted.
I cleaned off the rust with 120 grit and then used 200 grit to smooth it down. To your point, to clear the rust and polish the surface, I only run the sandpaper parallel with the seal. The seals were leaking already. In my experience, the reason the seals leak is that they got a bit torn from wear and abrasion against the axle. To clean the axles up, with the axles out a bit from the seals, I grabbed a wheel lug and spun it while holding the sandpaper against the axle. Similarly with the driveshaft, I put the truck in neutral with the rear wheels off the ground and spun a wheel with my foot to spin the driveshaft while I held the sandpaper in place. I wiped the surfaces with a rag afterward.
I agree that it might be a bad idea to sand either of these surfaces perpendicular to the axle seal.