I went to replace the rear so I went to canadian tire and picked up the replace ment and when I got the shaft off put the new up the the old one to compare size and it looked good.... so I used the seal remover tool the my dad gave me ( screwdriver ) and then looked at the 2 together....outside dia good inside good and thickness ....wrong....it was half the thickness of the original and the new one is rubber with a metal outer and the old is just rubber......anyone else had this....I put the old back in question is could I have used the new one?

I would order one from suzuki if you are worried about it, the seal that you got might fit other things so they could carry less stock.

i bought from suzuki the original and was just going to replace the rear as it is pissing like a good beer night and then I thought about the front and ended up using  the canadian tire one on the front shaft and guess what when I took the shaft off the front I emptied the transfer case on the street.....ooops...anyways some dirt a oil catch basin and then I changed the front aswell and filled back up with about a liter and a half of oil and no more leakage   Yaaaah !!!
any ways the moral of the story is complain to suzuki that there parts are expensive get it cheaper and take 2 1/2 hrs to replace seals cuz you won't stop talking

hahahaha