Shredding front Inner Wheel Seal (passenger)

I have replaced axles twice due to torn boots. Each time the passenger front wheel seal is destroyed. The passenger axle was replaced about 5k miles ago and I noticed the seal is already worn again while replacing ball joints. This is the third seal that has been damaged in 30k miles. No issues on the driver's side.
2013 TRD Sport - Double cab
Aftermarket import direct axles from Oreilly's
No play in wheel bearings
Everything torqued to spec
3" suspension lift

Hoping someone here can point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

 

Do you have aftermarket upper control arms or stock? Some can get stock to stay relatively close while others can’t. Still hard to imagine it would cause your boots to get jacked.

 

Stock UCA currently. Will be getting SPC or JBA UCAs soon. It has been aligned twice in the past 2 years and currently sits on the edge of being in spec.

 

I’m trying to figure out what I am looking at?
Mine doesn’t look anything like that? My axle goes into the extension tube?

 

The seal sits on the inside of the knuckle where the axle is fed through. Attached pictures of seal and location.
(Not my truck in the picture too dark to take a photo)

 

Aftermarket seal from Orielly's. They mate up fine, with no dents or deformation on the dust flange on the axle. Same parts on both sides, only the passenger seal wears prematurely.

 

Axle nut is torqued to 178 ft-lbs (approx, torque wrench maxes out at 150) I will try OEM seal next time I replace axles. Just strange it only happens on the passenger side.

 

Has it done it with different axles?
The seal on the axle rides inside that one. Maybe the seal on the axle is off set or damaged, and causing the issue?

 

Looked like this when I bought the truck, I have put in 2 axles since. Makes a total of 3 different axles and 3 new seals. All of them have looked the same. The seal on the end of the axle appears fine with no deformations, the seal is seated properly in the knuckle.

 

Nothing is shredded in that photo. You have two separate springs that hold tension of the rubber seal lip against the CV hub. They sometimes fall out or off their perch when loose and not under tension. I use a couple dabs of bearing grease to hold them in place. The outer shown in the pic above is an easy fix, but the inside spring can only be reset by removing the seal. You COULD reuse the seal if you remove it but be gentle. Ensure you place some grease on the inner spring to hold it in place when tapping back in the seal.

 

Hard to see in the picture, but the spring is loose because the rubber groove it sits in wore through. The last time I replaced the seal, I packed red sticky grease in the groove the spring sits and coated the inside with white lithium for lubrication.

 

The spindle not the diff. I was confused as hell at first too lol

Maybe take a pic of the axle too?

Honestly its hard to tell from that pic. Is it actually the rubber thats coming apart or is it just grease? Ive only been in there once or twice (actually hope to be installing new hubs myself this weekend) but Ive seen where sometime the grease will get spun around into little globs and look similar to that

 

Hmm… odd… show us the cv side. I’d think something on the cv seal isn’t right and it’s tearing it up. Maybe put some grease on this one and see if it helps. I don’t know what Toyota says as far as grease is concerned

 

Acknowledged. I would be willing to bet the CV outer seal is not fully seated causing an uneven rotation and wear. Check for an even seat around the outer CV hub pictured below.

 

The seal is seated, and tolerances were verified with a micrometer. Thank you for your suggestions and input, much appreciated! I pulled the driver's side apart and have the same issue with the seal as well for the first time. I am leaning towards aftermarket parts (Oriellys's axles and seals) being slightly out of spec. Or possibly the angle of the CV axle with 3" lift without diff drop. I will soon replace the seals with Toyota's OEM parts and reluctantly drop the front differential. I have been opposed to dropping diff due to the limited effect on CV axle angle in comparison to the loss of clearance. I will check the seals every 1k miles or so after replacing them with Toyota parts and diff drop. I will update this thread with results.

 

What tolerances did you verify with a micrometer?

I would install OEM inner and outer seals on both sides and see if the issue comes back. Be sure to keep everything clean during the process and install to avoid any dirt.

As far as the CV angle, thats not going to help you here. The big 35mm axle nut holds the outer CV stub housing firmly against the wheel bearing. This keeps everything in place from the CV to the bearing itself. The inner seal (pressed into the spindle) and the outer seal (pressed on the CV stub housing) are also held in place by the axle nut. Something will break before the CV angle causes any play at the seals. Hopefully that makes sense how I explained it

 

Yes, this does make sense. It was actually the inner seal (Differential) that I measured with a micrometer. The wheel seal is completely seated in place and even all the way around. I am leaning towards OEM parts next time, I am thinking the combination of aftermarket seals and axles may be the issue.