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to swap out to 11" drums. There are some shims and seals involved, I cleaned them up a little bit, put a thin layer of silicone on the shims, and put them back in. I'm wondering if maybe I should replace them? I looked them up online, and they are fairly cheap. The old oil seal looks like a leather seal inside a metal ring, and I'm thinking that might be pretty close to wearing out!

There is no reason to replace the shims unless the axle end play is not correct. See my post (under my former user name) on axle end play at http://www.willysmjeeps.com/v2/modules. ... e+end+play

I don't like your "thin layer of silicone" approach. Any "thin" layer of silicone is going to be more than the proper tolerances you should be working with on this assembly, and silicone is flexible whereas the steel on steel shims are solid. You probably just increased your axle end play. If you are set on using a sealant, a better solution is copper Spray-A-Gasket, Permatex 80697, which goes on a lot thinner than silicone. But bear in mind that this area is filled with grease, not oil, so not likely to leak.

The old oil seal I think you are referring to ("J") is actually a grease retainer, and is there to keep wheel bearing grease from coming out and getting into the brakes. That's pretty important! The inner seal ("B") is to keep both the differential oil and the wheel bearing grease where they belong. If you've pulled the axles, I suggest replacing this seal and cleaning, inspecting, replacing if necessary, and repacking the wheel bearings if you don't have any personal knowledge of the history of maintenance of this assembly. Who knows what you might find, like bad wheel bearings.

Well, at this point, the shims have silicone on them. Until i sanded them, they had some rust. Maybe I should just replace all the bearings and seals from the wheel bearings out

Well, at this point, the shims have silicone on them. Until i sanded them, they had some rust. Maybe I should just replace all the bearings and seals from the wheel bearings out

...and set the endplay, buy a shim kit.

Let me be the devil's advocate here....what are you doing with the front brakes?

Fronts already done, I did that weeks ago. It has a different setup, and I had to drill out and helicoil two spots, and get new locking hubs.

11's fit behind stock wheels? I thought I had heard about issues there. Maybe it was with civy 15" wheels though. I can't remember.

Bretto wrote:11's fit behind stock wheels? I thought I had heard about issues there. Maybe it was with civy 15" wheels though. I can't remember.

Yes, they do. That's what combo is on my M38. There is maybe a 1/2" to spare all around, so I could see why they wouldn't work with 15" wheels.