Timken vs National axle seals

[halo15]

Having a heck of a time trying to get the passenger side front axle seal installed on my 99 mountaineer AWD. Drivers side went in smooth. Using Timken 710428 on the passenger and 710429 drivers side. Gave up after lots of banging and finally warping the seal. Was told to try a National 710428 due to a different design. Anyone else deal with this?

Thanks

 

[C420sailor]

What are you using to drive the seal?

Timken and SKF make great seals. I don’t think I ever had a problem with national either.

It’s all about the seal driver. I use a piece of pipe sized to fit the seal. And lube the seal OD with gear oil.

 

[410Fortune]

The wheel seals can be a pita to install

I too use a seal driver designed for that size of seal, but for many years I used a block of wood and sometimes the old seal upside down as the driver

Just keep at it and go slowly
It won’t hurt to try a national seal in there

They are all basically the same design timken National and skf

 

[halo15]

Closer inspection of the Timken was a little disappointing after purchasing the national seal 710428 (both use same part number). National uses a thicker gauge metal on the outer ring as well as a different sealing design as seen in photo. Timken on top

 

[halo15]

Just an update. The National 710428 went in without a hitch. Not sure what happened with Timken on the passenger side. Used seal drivers and everything in between with no luck. The outer metal ring on the Timken is almost 1/2 the thickness which is prone to warping during the install if your slightly off.