Had the 178's bearings re-packed yesterday. The tech showed me the inner seal and told me that they are easy to damage when removing to clean/re-pack the inner race. He called the local auto parts store and they did not recognize the number stamped on the inner seal.
Since the 178 is almost new (just about 5,000 miles since I bought it new in November), there was evidence of good grease inside that seal, so we agreed that he would re-pack the outer race and use the grease fitting to pump just a bit into the inner race.
Went to our local RV repair shop (Great Escapes, on US 62 west of Mountain Home, AR). They have inner seals in stock, but the part number stamped on them is not the same as the original equipment seal that came on the Lippert axles.
The original seal is 6S-1719DL, 201636.
The part Great Escapes sold me was 201702, but still 6s-1719DL
Anyone know if that's an issue? Great Escapes had only two sizes - this one for the 3,500 lb axle, and a larger one for the 5,200 lb axle.