rear axle lubrication

(quoted from post at 22:35:41 06/20/18) I had a slight oil leak and no brakes at all on the left side so I decided to take the axle apart and replace the seal. According to the shop manual I am supposed to pack the outer bearing with grease. I do not have a problem with doing that but I am a little confused on a couple of things that I hope someone can help me out with.
The outer bearing did not have any grease residue on it. It looks like someone was in here before as a lot of the components inside the brake drum looked new compared to the right side (rusty).
When I look at the dipstick (cover on right hand side) for the rear end oil level and kind of eyeball where that level would be in relation to the axle housing, the full mark is well below the axle housing.
How does the inner bearing get its lubrication? I am going to assume splash but are the components inside the rear end moving fast enough to splash oil on that bearing?
Why would I have to pack the outer bearing with grease if oil would work its way down the axle shaft and (in my case) leak past the seal?
There did not seem to be a lot of oil on the axle when I removed it but it has been a while since this tractor has moved under its own power but the brakes were coated in oil and the seal area was damp.
Am I missing something here?

Harbor Freight has a couple of VERY nice seal/bearing install kits with an assortment of aluminum disks. (The aluminum won't damage steel bearing races.) I have the one with the different colors of anodizing, and it's been extremely useful for banging in bearings and seals many times, and I've also used it with my hydraulic press several times.

That said, sometimes the situation calls for different means, especially when there's a shaft in the middle. When installing a crankshaft oil seal on one of my motorcycles, I used a large socket, a long bolt threaded into the crankshaft, and some nuts and washers to push the seal into place. Worked great. You can do the same with many car cranks, camshafts, etc.

I once had to install a large seal into the rear end of a shaft drive motorcycle. A visit to the bLowe's plumbing department with the seal in hand yielded a PVC adapter that fit perfectly, and the seal went right in with a block of wood and a rubber hammer.

Improvise and adapt...

When it involves a repair, you must first remove the old oil seal. To remove an oil seal, it is important to use the right tools to avoid damaging the shaft and bore. The best solution is therefore to pull out the oil seal without having to completely dismantle the shaft. This can be done by making a few holes in the oil seal with an awl and a hammer. You can then use a hook to pull the oil seal out of its seat. You could also screw some screws into the holes and then slowly pull out the screws to extract the oil seal from its housing. Be careful not to damage the shaft or housing in the process.

If the shaft or housing gets damaged, it must be repaired. If you replace only the oil seal, but the shaft or bore remain damaged, then there is a chance of premature failure or leakage. You can easily repair the shaft, for example using an SKF Speedi-Sleeve.