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Steer axle wheel seals bad at 3k miles

brandontutterow

brandontutterow

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2025 Ram 3500 DRW 6.7.

I'm working on getting all my paperwork in order to haul RVs and today was my DOT inspection. 3,330 miles on the truck.

Failed due to both steer axle wheel seals leaking.

I'm not much of a mechanic, but I'm assuming what the tech saw in these pics is the dark spots on the metal surrounding the seal?

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H3LZSN1P3R said:
Thats not leaking if anything thats assembly lube that came out. The DOT inspector was just being a prick.
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That's good news. Do I have to return to the same inspector for approval of "the repair" or can I go somewhere else for a 2nd opinion? I didn't know if once a DOT is started it's in the system.
 
brandontutterow said:
That's good news. Do I have to return to the same inspector for approval of "the repair" or can I go somewhere else for a 2nd opinion? I didn't know if once a DOT is started it's in the system.
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Im not sure I am in canada we have different rules
 
brandontutterow said:
That's good news. Do I have to return to the same inspector for approval of "the repair" or can I go somewhere else for a 2nd opinion? I didn't know if once a DOT is started it's in the system.
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Have your dealer look at it and take the inspection form from the dealer with you to the DOT inspector.
 
Damn!!!! Was somebody having a bad day or what; or who did you tick off? That was enough to deam your truck not road worthy ?
 
After looking more closely at the picture those are the wheel bearings not the axle tubes that I was assuming was the issue. thats a sealed bearing the only thing they can say is if it has play or not….
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
After looking more closely at the picture those are the wheel bearings not the axle tubes that I was assuming was the issue. thats a sealed bearing the only thing they can say is if it has play or not….
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Good call. I may be looking at the wrong part trying to find what the DOT inspector saw.
The only other seal I would think would be inside the hub, but I doubt they pull that to inspect.
 
I’m actually surprised at how much surface rust is on that axle/knuckle assembly already. Even living on a dirt road, 3000 miles ain’t long enough to rust that much.
 
Update:
Got the truck into the dealer and they found no issue. I returned to the DOT inspection facility and was able to get the shop foreman. He looked and signed off on passing the inspection.
He said he saw a slight bit of moisture on one seal, but did agree that this could have been from installation.

Thank you all for chiming in. Gave me confidence to stand firm and get my inspection cleared
 
brandontutterow said:
Update:
Got the truck into the dealer and they found no issue. I returned to the DOT inspection facility and was able to get the shop foreman. He looked and signed off on passing the inspection.
He said he saw a slight bit of moisture on one seal, but did agree that this could have been from installation.

Thank you all for chiming in. Gave me confidence to stand firm and get my inspection cleared
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Might not be a bad idea to wash that residue off before the next inspection. Can’t trust people to know what they are looking at anymore, sadly.

Also, FWIW, the hubs on my 22 only lasted 60ish thousand miles before they started making noise and going out. It’s by far the shortest lifespan of any set of hubs on a truck I have had.
 
I have a 22’ 2500 and the passenger side bearing has slack in it @ 24k miles. Highway queen that has never been off road since I have owned it new. Have an appointment with dealer next Wednesday.
 
Trash Panda said:
Might not be a bad idea to wash that residue off before the next inspection. Can’t trust people to know what they are looking at anymore, sadly.

Also, FWIW, the hubs on my 22 only lasted 60ish thousand miles before they started making noise and going out. It’s by far the shortest lifespan of any set of hubs on a truck I have had.
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Good heads up, thank you. Just hit 10k miles so we're on the way
 
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