Spider 9 Spidertrax axels

[Jeeper Creeper]

Is anyone running the Spidertrax 9 in either the front or rear. My front axels are leaking fluid and im pretty sure the seals have gone bad. I was wondering if I could get by with just replaceing the outer seals or do I need to pull the third member out and replace the inner as well. Im hoping that I could get by doing just the outer as Im not to savy in this kind of repair. I watched a video on replaceing the inners and they can be installed with no tools

[6spdYJ]

Seeing that the purpose of the gear oil is to lubricate the bearings and cool the gears, it would be best to do the inners to keep it where it needs to be to do its job. If you have outers as well, it couldn't hurt to do those while the shafts are out.
The rears should be straight forward, if they are semi-floaters pull the retainers on the end and slide the shafts out, then pull the center section. If they are full floaters like a 14 bolt etc, pull the bolts that hold the shaft flange to the hubs in the center of the wheel and slide the shafts out, then pull the center section. Replace the shafts as you saw on the video.
Where it could get a bit technical is to determine if the shafts are sealed inside the tubes at the carrier and/or at the outer end.
Some axles are designed to not have inner seals and these lubricate the wheel bearings by letting the gear oil run down the shaft to lubricate the wheel bearings. Back in the day this style of lubrication got a slightly higher load rating toward GVWR due to the fluid being able to circulate and cool the bearings. This style would only have an outer seal by the wheel flange. Another style uses an inner seal at the center section and a set of two seals - one on either side of the wheel bearing at the end of the shaft. These usually have the wheel bearings packed with grease.
If they are semi-floaters, they are not terrible to do, but require some experience - and a new set of bearings for the flange end because the bearings have to be inboard of the seal to keep the dirt out and the oil in.
If they are full floaters the seals should be similar to spindle seals on the front end. I haven't done those so can't really speak to it.
If you have unit bearings on the front it will be reasonably easy. Pull the wheel off, pull the brakes off, remove the flange bolts that hold the unit bearing to the knuckle and slide the shafts out. On a spindle style front end it can be intimidating to start. Once you get it broken down to where the spindle comes off, slide the shafts out and proceed with removing the center section.
Take your time. Take pictures if you have to. Take notes. Take your time. Learn and build your experience and confidence.

[Jeeper Creeper]

6spdYJ thanks for the reply, sounds a bit more involved then I was hoping for. I'm going to tackle this job but it sounds like I need to find out a bit more about the floaters type. I will post pics and Im sure I'll have more questions once I get started. The jeep hasnt been driven in almost 10 months, Im not sure why they started leaking about two months ago, from just sitting there. thanks for the feed back.

[6spdYJ]

Feel free to PM or just post up. I had to learn all of this from the same place you're in. Glad to help if I can. Most important - like doing drum brakes, Do one side at a time and set things aside in an orderly fashion so you can always look back to figure out where you are at. Your confidence and feeling of accomplishment will be unrivaled. There are guys here that know waaaaaaay more about this than me. A few helped me tremendously.

[Jeeper Creeper]

Will do, thanks again for your help

[6spdYJ]

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/tr.../photo-01.html

It looks like you have unit bearings. This will make life much easier.It also says the seals are guaranteed to not leak. I'd be talking to them before digging in on this. Either way, hope this helps.