Mystery solved!!!

I started this thread recently about replacing the axle shaft seals in my Dana 30 front axle. http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75194 The new seals were bigger than the originals, and I couldn't find any the right size.

Turns out that the seals are a two-piece assembly. There's the actual seal, and then there's a steel "shell" that the seal is pressed into, the part that has the "guide bell" on it. Then the whole assembly goes into the axle tube.

When I removed the old original seals, I only popped out the seal portion, the steel shells remained in the axle tubes. Popped the shells out, and lo and behold, the new seals fit now!

Huzzah!!! All you rookies, like me, might want to file this little tidbit away for future reference, and save yourself some grief. This was driving me nuts.

 

good deal mang!

 

Got to love a simple ending.

 

Simple fix + simple mind = good thing!