Adjustable rear hub seals..Whaaaaat????

[RobThomas]

I saw it mentioned in a small handbook for machining rear hubs to replace damaged ends on axle tubes.

If you take the rear hub rubber seal out from under the rear bearing you'll find that the seal has a metal loop of spring coils in it to hold the seal tight against the axle end. that spring can actually be twisted apart, the thick end trimmed off and then twisted back together. I've just tried this on a slowly leaking axle on my M1000 and will report back.

You learn something new every day!

(Yesterday I learnt not to open the door of the simulator until it had come to rest on the stops. Imagine how 12 tons of 747 sim comes down when the door latch triggers the emergency depressurisation to all 6 hydraulic legs!!)

[les]

Wouldn't you just buy a new seal with a decent lip?

[RobThomas]

I'm unemployed (= skint), plus, it will take days for anything to be delivered and I need the car for the school run.

If anyone wants to help me get back into employment then they can book a pleasure flight at Cardiff on the Boeing 747 sim. If I get enough customers in the seat then they'll start paying me.

[les]

Was just a thought @ £1.90+ v, and next day delivery from ESM.

[RobThomas]

I've got some cheapo stuff on order through Evilbay. I needed the steel lock washers anyway, so I bought sets of washer/seal/gasket so that I can be sure of getting it all done in one go without having to buy the bearings as well.

I think that I might have found a way to at least give me an extra few miles with the existing seals, anyway. One of those tricks that might just come in useful one day by the side of the road...

Just a thought....are there any LJ35 (?) bearings that are sealed-for-life? 2RS spec?

[RobThomas]

Shaft garter spring is what they call that little springy thingy. The seal comes out as 1.75x2.5x0.375 inches against a wheel bearing that is actually a metric size (35x72x17mm, LJ35). Wierd!

[RobThomas]

http://www.bearingsrus.co.uk/bearings/d ... nal_tabbed

Standard "CN" bearing clearance and rubber seals on both sides. Any good? Declan? Phil?

[philthehill]

Rob
The fitment of sealed bearings to the rear hub has been discussed on this forum but using the search facility has up to the present time produced no results but that does not mean those discussions are not there
If I remember correctly it was the Australian connection on this forum that provided most of the input.
No doubt if they see this thread they will post up the required answers.
Sealed bearings are the way to go as the bearing will not be subject to contaminated diff oil.
Unless the axle oil is stopped from seeping between the hub and the bearing outer diameter face and the bearing inner diameter face and the axle tube the hub seal will still be required and will need lubrication - possibly packing the seal void with LM grease.
Phil

[BLOWNMM]

Rob and Phil
It was me who advocated the use of 6207 2RS bearings for the rear hub. There were 2 threads on the subject. I have attached links to both.
Bob
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=58370&start=20
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=59113

[BLOWNMM]

Re my post above in the first link it outlines an axle failure experienced by 'Mainlander'.
A bit of food for thought. That axle failure occurred after 5000 miles from when a new bearing was fitted, possibly with a gasket fitted that would not allow the proper clamping of the outer bearing race. The circumference of a 520X14 tyre is 73.04 inches or 6.0866 feet. Having travelled 5000 miles at 5280 ft. per mile this would add up to 26,400,000 feet travelled. Divide this by 6.0866 and the wheel had rotated 4,337,379 times. Even if say the flexing was minimal at one thou it is not hard to understand a failure after that many revolutions with the axle flange flexing in relation to the shaft! I do believe the flexing may well have been considerably more than one thou.
Bob

[philthehill]

Bob
Thanks for the reply.
Phil

[Declan_Burns]

Rob,
Get your bearings from a bearing supplier and not from one of the Minor parts suppliers. I was sent a C3 bearing from one of the well known Minor parts suppliers at the time. I would follow Bob´s advice.
Regards
Declan

[RobThomas]

Well, it looks like the CN bearings with double seals aren't much more than the unsealed C3 ones. Looks like I'll get a pair of those since the axle ends on this car have some micro pitting on them and new seals won't last very long. Paper gaskets here are 18 thou, uncompressed. Just sold a set of aviation headphones so I have some spending vouchers!

I seem to recall Mick Anic getting trolled over this exact same subject a few years ago. He had some wonderful diagrams and calcs that seem to match up with what Bob and others have since found. My memory suggests that he came out with a figure of 14 thou for the gasket paper before compression?

BTW, the shortened springs made a difference and the old seals slipped back onto the car with a bit more friction, suggesting that the method would work in an emergency.

[BLOWNMM]

Rob
To get the correst bearing protrusion beyond the hub plus gasket I had to use 7 thou paper gaskets. This gave a protrusion of 2 thou one side and 3 thou the other. These measurements comply with the MM shop manual. See my post above of Monday May 22 at 11:03 AM (second link).
Bob

[RobThomas]

Yup, I saw that, Bob. Thanks. The gasket paper seems to crush down a bit once used so I'll do a 'before' measurement, fit it, drive about and then re-measure the gasket to see what it squashes down to. £14 for 2 new CN 2RS bearings.
I'll measure the 'stick-out' of the spare hubs I've got here for comparison.

[RobThomas]

Bob. I've sent a PM with a link that might be of use.

[RobThomas]

mick-anic.jpg (29.27 KiB) Viewed 4050 times

[RobThomas]

mick2a.jpg (35.58 KiB) Viewed 4048 times

Thick gasket = apparent bearing play due to bearing being free to move inboard/outboard.

[BLOWNMM]

Rob
As you will see I did not find much in your PM to enlighten me. However your above diagrams are spot on and substantiate what I have been saying for yonks.
Bob

[philthehill]

Hub/axle shaft side play/float surely - the bearing is fixed by the nut and lock washer and cannot move/play/float.