[Alfajay]

Dixrex: I'm can't really resolve what I'm seeing in your photos. Something looks weird (those flat areas at 4 O'clock, the shape of the seal face), but it's tough to really see what's going on.

Chris1750 had written: "From our collective memories we think that the oil seal usually comes out on the shaft - that is, you don't pick it out of the axle tube."

Chris: My memory tells me something different: I believe that the seal remains in the axle tube when you pull the half shaft. Perhaps you're thinking of the FRONT seal, which does come off the hub when you remove the hub, since the inner bearing is usually stuck on the spindle.

Gordon Raymond had written: "Worse case, pull the rear axle, pick up a used outer tube if the seal seat is history"

I agree, but remember that if it's the LEFT axle tube that is damaged, the operation becomes more complicated. The left side - the side with the larger diameter flange - contains the bearing that supports the ring gear & differential. That bearing has been shimmed to provide the correct side-to-side clearance. It is unlikely that mixing a used axle tube with your old differential and housing will produce the correct dimension.

If your left tube is bad, it would be more practical to install a complete, used differential assembly than to fool around with re-shimming the bearing.