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Sorry if this is answered somewhere already. I couldn't find any definitive answer. I've got a new set of wipe seals for my front diff. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out a way to get these pressed into the retaining ring. They seem impossibly big. The repair manual says the seal and ring are only available as a single part, but since they were available, I figured it was doable. Has anyone successfully replaced that seal? Or am I stuck ordering the ring/seal combo? Is there perhaps a different retaining ring design that allows the replacement of this seal (for example, one without the beveled end that makes the opening too small)?

If you are talking part number 03-10-07 then you need to separate the differential housing to install it properly .

Yes. That I've done. I had to replace the oil seal in the axle housing, and I figured I'd replace all the seals and O-rings while I was in there. Both EI and SAV sell just the seal ring by themselves, as if you can press in the new seal ring (as opposed to the more expensive option of buying a new stop ring and seal together). However, with the beveled edge on my stop ring, I've found it virtually impossible to press in the seal. I'm just curious if anyone has successfully replaced the seal alone, and if so, what technique did they use.

Don't know anyone who has just replaced the wire seal. Have replaced the bump stops a few times. The metal housing is just glued together which should give access to the wipe seal. I will have to take a look at one of my old seals to see if it is possible. Can check tomorrow afternoon.

Oooh. I definitely think you're onto something with separating the pieces and pressing it in from the other side. The question is, what would you use for re-alignment and what's the right glue to use to re-assemble. Is the seal flush with the end? If so, you'd just press the seal between the 2 pieces against a flat surface and flow the glue in. Otherwise, you'd have to be careful to get it aligned correctly.

I went ahead and ordered 2 stop rings with the seals already installed, since I'll probably end up rebuilding the other 2 diffs in the near future. The new ones are an entirely different design, but still employ a bevel to allow for pushing past the o-ring in the diff case, which means pressing in from the "open" side won't work. The new ones are a much longer bevel with a shallower angle, that may help to prevent damaging the o-ring on accident. But, it appears that alignment is achieved by pressing until it is flush with the rim of the ring. This could likely be achieved easily by pressing down to a flat surface. After I get the diff together with the new rings, I'll attempt to prep my old rings with new seals to see if/how it works, and use those to rebuild the other diffs later.