Seeping wheel seals

stainless steel wheels? Paper gaskets work great if you use copper coat on them first.

 

It could be the bearings simply have to be adjusted, I would have checked long before this point. After replacing gaskets 7 times, it's long over due to try something different. If the bearings have too much play, it will fret the gaskets.

This is a warranty job, you want it done right. Silicone is what you do to get more life out of old worn parts. This is less than a year old, do you really want a band-aid fix to push the problem out of warranty? Everything needs to be checked, bearings, axle straightness, etc. If everything else is good, then silicone might be a good solution, but it's not a reason to avoid checking everything else.

I do not know what your problem is, but after trying several different types of gasket with no change, there's a good chance that the gaskets are not the problem, so why keep going down that same path? They have tunnel vision on the gaskets, they need to broaden the search.

 

in my opinion the only way to check for bad bearings is to look at them. you can check them after the truck sits overnite by pulling the plug in the oil cap on the steers and stick a finger in the oil all the way down and look at the oil on your finger and see if there is metal flakes in the oil. end play yeah by jacking it up and see if the wheel can be wobbled side to side. I have never seen a bad bearing cause a vibration. can it? probably. but I never seen it. could be alignment or a bad tire.

 

Are talking about copper anti-seize? I mechanic I know uses only steel axle gaskets. I had never before seen them until he showed me one.

 

Tighten wheel bearings to 65 ft-lbs with tires still on. You need that much torque to compensate for the drum and tires. Otherwise take everything off and check end play with a dial indicator. Steer axle torque to 45 ft- lbs. The method of torqueing them and loosening a 1/4 turn puts you at the extreme loose side of end play or already out of spec.

 

With 45 ft-lb on steer I replaced my bearings every year. Now 3 years down the road they look new and oil clear.. after I use that "loosening method"

 

Do you have picture of the tires? If you have an aggressive tread and are mostly on the highway it may be the tire design.