Rear Axle question

[kennatt]

my 55 leaks just the same ,got into the habit of only ever taking one wheel off at a time with that side jacked well up so the oil runs away from that side. It was a well known fault from new that's why there is a slot in the bottom of the back plate to let any oil drain out and not contaminate the brake shoes.

[ampwhu]

i'd suggest that if the bearing is 'sloppy' in the hub, you need a new hub. chances are it's worn away too much metal for the bearing to sit correctly in the hub.

the alternative is to fit the bearing with Loctite bearing seal, but I wouldn't recommend that.

[philthehill]

If any oil weeps past the half-shaft to hub gasket/'O' ring it will pass into the brake drum and may contaminate the brake shoes if not rectified soonest.
The drain hole in the backplate is only there to allow any oil that gets past the hub lip seal and subsequently thrown off the rear of the hub to be caught by the catcher ring attached to the backplate and exit through the drain hole so it can be seen and acted upon.

If the bearing is not restrained in the hub correctly as per the workshop manual the bearing may turn which may lead to a worn bearing seat which requires a new hub.
If the rear hub is assembled correctly with good hub bearings, hub seals and the bearings are a good fit into the hub there will be no leaks either past the half-shaft gasket/'O' ring and hub seal.
It is not just a question of fit the gasket and forget. The thickness of the half-shaft gasket as supplied is not consistent and may be of different thicknesses dependent upon supplier. I have several half-shaft gaskets and they do vary in thickness so again it is important that the bearing protrusion is correctly set.
The design of oil catcher ring and exit hole is common to many vehicles and should not be considered a design fault - it is a normal function item.
Neither should the half-shaft sealing arrangement be considered a design fault, the same design is used on many vehicles fitted with a 3/4 floating axle.
Phil

[RobThomas]

I noticed someone was selling new bearing sets with a selection of different gasket thicknesses. Nice!

From (rather extensive) experience of trying to resolve rear bearing issues I have been using a gasket paper that compresses just a couple of thou in use. If the paper is cut a couple of thou thicker than the upstand of the bearing beyond the hub face then it provides the perfect mix of seal and spacer. One of our Polish contributors did a good diagram explaining it but was trolled away.

Another solution is to bolt the halfshaft onto the hub with the drum reversed so you can measure the gap between bearing housing and halfshaft, add a couple of thou and then find a suitable gasket paper.