As far as I know all the DUKW seals except the axle shaft end seals
(the ones in the screwed retainer thing) can be replaced with new
standard units. Most people prefer modern seals as the originals
weren't up to much - you spend half your life greasing and draining the
thing anyway. Axle bearings should have some grease but NOT be packed,
and they will trap water anyway. After use let the beast stand for an
hour then pull the lowest diff bolt from each axle to drain any water -
dont expect it to keep dry. Someone (Jean-Paul Caron?) did rework his
axle ends and pinions to take modern double lip seals which apparently
were a great improvement, and there has been some discussion over the
years about pressurising the axles through the vent lines at 3 - 4 psig
in an effort to keep water out. I used carbon dioxide down the vent
lines to push out lots of tired 'waterproof' grease that my diffs had
been filled with. Do check that all your axle vent lines are clear and
sealed. In your position I'd go for modern replacements and look for
anywhere you could fit double lip seals without machining work. All
DUKWs need a lot of lube work and get through oil and grease at all the
lube points.
If you have it out for any reason make sure to replace all the transfer
case oil seals below the oil fill level, and CHECK YOUR PILLOW BLOCK
for slop, if you are at all uncertain pull it and replace the bearings
(standard units like CCKW) The two biggest causes of dead DUKWs seen
over the years have been head gaskets and failure of the intermediate
axle drive. I dont know if the weak link is the transfer case
intermediate axle drive (transfer case input can turn for hours with
no lubrication when you are using the marine drive remember), the
pillow block, or the intermediate diff but I keep spares for all those
parts if I can, and a spare pillow block is on my parts shelf (you can
keep a CCKW one and swap the bits when you need it) You need to follow
the 'after operation' and 'daily' lube schedules, and most DUKWs this
side of the Atlantic see salt water only very occasionally (D-Day 50th
was an exception) If you put it in salt water give it a run in fresh
water before storing it, plus open all the drains for a while and flush
out the hull. Hope this is of some help. Gordon, Falkirk, Scotland.
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