I have a axle seal leaking on our backhoe and want to tackle the job myself the axle has about 1/16" play in and out and up and down it went from not leaking to leaking bad in one day. I have the wheel off and the back plate off now I need to remove the axle housing from the rearend........... thats is where I am at should I be looking for any other problems when I have it apart? Thanks Ryan Hajek
I would recommend the removal of the transaxle assembly to carry out this job. To do so you will need a forklift with fork extentions or a concrete floor with a serious transmission jack to do the job. There are pics in this thread of doing the job without removal. You basically have to remove the transaxle & lower it down far enough to clear the chassis to remove the axle housing & then work under machine = nightmare! - You will need to replace axle bearings - a tool is required to tighten a slotted nut - can be made pretty easily. You should also reseal the brake pistons while you are there & I would recommend doing the same work to the other axle while the trans is out. The axle housings are HEAVY, you will need a floor crane or hoist to handle them.