Axle seals weeping?

I realize there are a lot of threads about the leaking axle seals but my situation is a little different. At about 79,500 miles, I replaces the seals and o-rings while installing a new 3rd w/arb last weekend. The old seals never gave me a problem. Hell, I didn't even know there was a chronic problem until I started reading 3rd member threads. I removed the old seals with the claw of a hammer, being very careful not to let it contact the interior of the axle housing. I DID NOT move the hammer around and work the seal out gradually; I just did it from one point: the bottom. New seals were driven in with an old idler pulley that was just the right size. I was very careful in seating the seals deep enough by feeling for a slight machined ring in the axle housing just outside of the seal. On Wednesday I noticed what I would call "weeping" around both flanges, moreso on the passenger side. I sprayed everything off with brake cleaner, cranked down on all the axle retaining nuts, and 2 days later it's back. The only thing I can think to do is open it back up and try to seat them some more. I didn't really pound on them that hard the first time. If that doesn't work, is it possible that I scored the mating surface when I pulled the seals out from one position?

 

give it a couple weeks to seat,if they are still weeping. if they don't stop, you are going have to replace axle bearing if you have not already. old bearings have to much play in them

 

Thanks, I'll give it some time. Took the drums off yesterday and had very little oil around the bottom of the parking brake linkage, but could not locate any wet spots around the bearing behind the wheel mounting flange. Hopefully you are right and the rubber around the axle needs a few miles to wear in to the exact shape of the axle shaft. Now I am hyper sensitive and smell the gear oil any time I go around the rear of the truck which makes me think it is leaking more aggressively inside the drum since the area around the axle bolts is only a little wet. Do folks typically have the oil leaking into the drum and then onto the wheel, or out of the mating surfaces by the 4 axle retaining bolts and straight onto the ground? Why would a bad wheel bearing cause the seals to leak??? Thanks for your help!

 

If the axle bearing has too much "slop" the axles will walk around too much for the seal to be effective.

 

it will leak inside the drum, soak the brake shoes and the backing plate will be wet on the outside. if wheel bearing have play in them they will not hold the axle, causing the seals not to do there job and leak