Possible water proof seal for front axles

[superswamper]

I have been having problems with axle seals working on my dana 60 and now even on my jeeps dana 30 front axle. The problem is that water gets into the tube and at times goes past the one seal that only works to keep the gear oil in. Also mud gets into it and wrecks the axle shafts by wear grooves causing seal failures! What i'v been thinking of was something in the axle tubes to stop or at least help prevent damage or water entry. I thought of using 1" thick rubber cut to the inside diameter of the axle tube and a hole in that for the shafts, I couldn't find any rubber so since i'm a carpenter then i'll use the gasket foam that goes between the concrete and the sill. Its a perfect fit, its about 1/2" thick and about 5-6" wide and its a hard white plastic based foam which is very snug around the shaft and the insides of the axle tube and with ample bearing grease all around it the shafts slide right in with no room for debris to enter. The only thing that could be a problem is that maybe the grease could deteriate the plastic since its a petrolium based product but its a chance i'll take. The foam goes in several inches so its a huge seal and the plastic foam perfectly wraps around the axle shaft both in the dana 60 and the dana 30... Time will tell if it works as good in theory as it does in real life situations. Big dodge deisel has the same problem with his 2500, just a bad dana design, not offroad friendly. But as long as the seal is protected from the mud and sand then a possible cure. :-)

I like the idea....i hope it works....sand/mud/water are a pain in the but on the factory seal. lets hope this works.---Big_DD

[superswamper]

I just finished the other side today. Now both sides have new axle shafts with ujoints and new seals with the added protection of the greased up plastic foam pad. Now time for playing again after the break in time gets over for the replaced 5:13 front gear that I had to pay for again... Mud, rocks, cars and vans and hill climbs, so many obstacles/ so little time! :-)