Last night and earlier today I did the rear axle seals and gaskets on the 1650. I did it with the whole rear end on the bench because that's where I am in the project, but if this is the only task at hand, you only need to jack up one side of the tractor at a time and remove the wheel to do it.
After removing the diff cover and draining the Hy-Tran, you'll go in with two screwdrivers to remove the clip that holds the axle in place. The clips will likely fly off into the diff somewhere, so you'll be fishing them out from the bottom.
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and the axle shaft pulls out easily:
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I'm going to replace the carrier gaskets as well, so I removed them:
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There was quite a bit of old gasket material stuck to the surfaces, so I did some reading around the web and found that a razor blade (gently,) some WD-40, and a green 3M scrubbing pad work well to clean them up. I also read that there is a gasket removing spray available at auto parts stores, but I didn't feel like making the trip.
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And here's how they looked when I was done:
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The differential surface needed cleaned up as well:
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Now on to those seals. The service manual talks about splitting the metal ring with a cold chisel. I think that's crazy talk. No way do I want to be hammering a chisel down along the inside surface of the seat.
So I stripped out the rubber and spring parts with a screwdriver and some needle nosed pliers, and that leaves you with just the metal outer ring to contend with. Then I put a screwdriver under the rim and went around and around, prying it up. You'll destroy the ring, but it's going in the trash anyway - and you won't damage your carriers surface. There's probably a nice puller for these things, but I don't have it.
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With the seal out, you can get a look at the needle bearings (mine looked solid) and then clean up the surface to prepare for the new seal. Here's mine pre-cleaning:
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I lubed up the new seal in fresh Hy-tran, put it in place, and tapped it flush using a block of wood and a rubber mallet:
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Then I used a socket that was just slightly smaller than the OD of the seal to tap it in the rest of the way (again, there's a tool made for this - but like Alton Brown, I don't like uni-taskers.) Be gentle here, as you don't want to hit it too hard, or keep pounding after you've bottomed out as you may deform the seal. It helps to study the old one before you remove it, to get an idea how far you'll be tapping it down beyond flush.
Here it is, ready to go:
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Here's a nice, thorough write-up (
PDF Document) that I read about seals. It helped me get more comfortable with them before I tackled this job.
I'm waiting for the new carrier gaskets to arrive in a few days. In case I don't write up re-installing the axles, I just wanted to note that when they're put back in, they should be lubed with Hy-Tran and then gently rotated back and forth as they are inserted, to avoid damaging the seal.