rear hub oil seal

[Matt Tomkins]

hi all,
when adjusting my brakes yesterday, i removed the drum, and there was a steady drip of oil from the half shaft.
this doesn't get into the brakes themselves when the drum is in place (so no worries there!)
but it does need fixing.
so, how do i go about this. the manual tells me that i have a seal, but not how to replace it!

it seems to me that the half shaft needs removing and the new seals putting on before replacing the half shaft.
is this correct and/or is there an easier way to do it?

i'm not sure what exactly is causing it to leak, so was going to get the ring oil seal, oil seal and gasket. again, is this correct?

many thanks iun advance, and see you tomorrow!

matt

[bmcecosse]

Was the drip from the joint between hub and half shaft - and was the securing screw tight? Or was it from the back of the hub?

[simmitc]

Assuming a later axle: drain oil from axle and/or raise the side that you are working on to be higher than centre, remove half-shaft (retained by single screw), bend away locking tab and remove hub retaining nut, withdraw hub, drift out bearing. "just" drive out the old seal and drift in a new one, and replace the bearing - the seal and bearing can be seay to do, but are usually where you have the fun. Take care not to damage the bearing or hub.

Refit hub, new lock tab, and torque nut as required (very tight). Fit new O-ring and paper gasket. This is one time when I tend to use a jointing compound, re-fit the half-shaft. use some spacers and the wheel nuts to ensure that the half-shaft is fully home and then fit the retaining screw as tight as possible. Make sure that you have all parts required before you start.

As BMC says, check from where the oil is coming, you need only to tighten the retaining screw or perhaps fit new O-ring / gasket rather than removing the hub and doing the seal.

[Matt Tomkins]

thanks for the help. it's back together now, but i believe it was coming down the half shaft and out.
the oil seemed too thin, to me, so it has been suggested that maybe the breather is blocked and forcing the oil out (causing it to be a bit too thin).

i'll check the breather now, if not, i'll order the parts up and replace it all after national

[oddbod]

Assuming a later axle: drain oil from axle and/or raise the side that you are working on to be higher than centre, remove half-shaft (retained by single screw), bend away locking tab and remove hub retaining nut, withdraw hub, drift out bearing. "just" drive out the old seal and drift in a new one, and replace the bearing - the seal and bearing can be seay to do, but are usually where you have the fun. Take care not to damage the bearing or hub.

Refit hub, new lock tab, and torque nut as required (very tight). Fit new O-ring and paper gasket. This is one time when I tend to use a jointing compound, re-fit the half-shaft. use some spacers and the wheel nuts to ensure that the half-shaft is fully home and then fit the retaining screw as tight as possible. Make sure that you have all parts required before you start.

As BMC says, check from where the oil is coming, you need only to tighten the retaining screw or perhaps fit new O-ring / gasket rather than removing the hub and doing the seal.

OK I know this is an old thread,but I am at the stage where I have removed the half shaft and it looks like my oil leak is inside my brake drum only,NOT down the back. If some one could put Clear Simple instructions up how to change O ring without removing the bearing I would be very greatful. It may be obvious once I've done it,but at the moment I'm baffled

[oddbod]

Errmmm....... I've just found the O ring,it was stuck to the back of the paper washer that i took off and discarded
I don't know much about O rings,but the rubber does seem a bit "stiff" is this the likely cause of oil leak into the brakes?

[dellerie]

i had a persistant leak on one for yonks. the cure was to use 3 gaskets either side. never had a leak again.

[bmcecosse]

The O ring should give a perfect seal - unless it is broken.

[Sarge]

I have a similar problem, but rather than a wee bit of oil, I have the drum flooded with oil and dripping out onto the wheel an tyre. I replaced the O ring and gasket and the problem persists.

The volume of oil coming out has dropped, but that's probably because the diff has nearly run dry !

Can I take it that the oil seal has failed ?


Makes a change from playing with the electrics !

[Declan_Burns]

Can I take it that the oil seal has failed ?

Could very well be. You have to remove the hub.
Regards
Declan

[Sarge]

Back at it again.
Car was sorted by a Morris "expert" (advertised in Minor Matters) and MOT'd this time last year. Now just failed with . . . oil on brakes, leaking along half shaft.

Having read lots of threads on here, I ordered up the bits and am trying it myself. Only trouble I've had is getting the new oil
seal all the way in. I cannot get it in snug against the back of the hub assembly. I have tried oil/grease and heated the seal up in hot water to soften it, but no luck. Haven't been too rough with it yet. Any tips ?

Or will it locate when all put back together and tightened up ?

PS the aforementioned "Expert" offered to take the car back and sort it, but that needs a trailer and a lot of hassle, so I have declined . . . for now.

[philthehill]

The oil seal (Pt No: GHS147) should easily press into the hub and go fully home against the rear of the oil seal recess in the hub with the lip of the seal facing towards the bearing. The best way of fitting is with a mandrel and press but a suitable socket and hammer will suffice just do not go wild with the hammer
The 'o' ring (Pt No: ATA7225) must be fitted only to a hub with the 'O' Ring groove.
A smear of grease on the gasket and '0' ring suffices for me and I have never had a leak from the seal, gasket & 'O' ring.
There have been some posts regarding the wheel bearing and oil leaks on this forum and those posts may be worth a visit.[frame][/frame]

[bmcecosse]

Make sure the wee drain hole in the backplate is clear (your 'expert' should have checked this..) - this should allow any oil getting past the hub seal to escape down the back of the backplate - rather than contaminate the shoes. Can you remind us please - is there a rubber O ring seal between the half shaft flange and the hub ? If so - it's 'impossible' for oil to escape here. The rear seal - have you removed ALL the old seal ? It has a metal case - so warming it up is not a great idea..... it should drive in to the hub reasonably easily - but only if the old seal has been removed of course.... And - the usual checks of final drive oil level and breather not blocked will be wise.

[dalgrae]

I had the same problem but with the new gasket/O seal it was fixed, the only thing I do not understand from an engineering side, is the issue of the O seal locating in the groove which is fine but then it seals by contact with the gasket,surely it should have been a bigger diameter bore in the gasket to allow the O seal to contact the metal on the half shaft

[bmcecosse]

Indeed - but the O ring was an 'add-on' - if you feel like trimming back the gasket......

[Sarge]

Thanks for that info, especially the diagram, reassured that I have put the seal in the right way round.

I have read lots of posts on here about the hub seal and it should be easy, but I still seem to struggle.

I still cannot suss out where the wee drain hole is meant to be

Also agree that it seems strange that the O ring is behind the paper gasket, in most engineering instances, they would be metal to metal.

All the old seal has been removed, but there was no metal outer part and neither is there one on the new one.

[philthehill]

The hole is there between the two bottom back plate bolts.
The oil seal is metal encased in rubber.[frame][/frame]

[bmcecosse]

If your new seal has no metal outer sleeve (probably covered with a thin layer of rubber) then it's NOT the correct seal. And there must still be a thin metal sleeve of the old seal in place in the hub.... Phil's excellent drawing shows exactly the hole position. Probe it clear! Cut away the paper gasket if it worries you ( I don't) - but do not do without it - the 4 thou thickness of that gasket determines the end float (zero...) of the bearing within the hub/flange chamber.

[philthehill]

What the above drawing does not show is the oil catch rings which are attached to the brake back plates (Pt No: ATA7076/ATA7077).
Any oil which gets past the hub seal is thrown off the hub throw ring/flange (similar to the oil thrower on the rear of the crankshaft), is caught by the oil catch ring and then drains down out of the hole mentioned above.
If you have oil appearing from the drain hole it is a good indicator that you have a failed rear hub seal and/or failed rear hub bearings,
The earlier rear brake back plates (Pt No: 300897/300898) did not have the oil catch ring attached

[dalgrae]

Thanks Roy