Im having difficulty getting the new oil seal into the hub. There appears to be a small step just where the oil seal fits, which means that it wont seat in place at all, and no amount of hammering will get it in.
Is there anything i can do other than remove material from the oil seal? perhaps this is why the old seal was glued in place using silicon sealant!
It looks like the remnants of an old oil seal to me. The outer "casings" are not always made of hard rubber. Have you made any attempts to see if this will come out at all. In the past I have always found the rear hub seal to be a very tight fit anyway, has to be located perfectly and kept "square" before it will fit all the way. Is the new seal a good fit in the housing before it contacts this "extra" bit?
Don't remove any material from the new seal.
A similar thing happened when I replaced the spigot bush in the end of the crank as the bush came out easy and the new did not fit and a close look reavealled a second bush in place so anything is possible.
Cheers
Kevin
Lovejoy 1968 Smoke Grey Traveller (gone to a new home after13 years)
I think you will definitely find that it's the remains of one of these Winger. Come to think of it I've never come across a non steel rear hub seal. The last one I did was the same, all the rubber came out and left the steel. You have to find/make a suitable implement and dig it out, easier said than done I know. You can see the slight "lead in" on the periphery that you should be able to get something behind.
I suspect that this 'ring' is a spacer which has been inserted so that
the oil seal is further outwards than normal so that it runs on a
different part of the axle casting( as I mentioned earlier if the new
seal didn't cure the leak) It indicates to me that if you DID remove
it and inserted the new seal right in to the original, designed, position
you would have a leak. This added ring would at least ensure that
the oil seal was sitting squarely in its housing. Try the new seal with
this extra ring in position, if it leaks then you either have to move
the oil seal even further 'outwards' (towards the brake drum) or,
if there is not enough space left, you might have to obtain a better
rear axle casing!! Having seen 57's post above, he is probably right
but,since you had leakage anyway I would fit the new seal up to this
ring and pray.
It was the outer casing of the old oil seal. I managed to mash it out using a hammer and chisel. The new oil seals were all rubber, which threw me a little when removing the old ones.
Upon dismantling the other leaky hub, i found the bearings were totally mashed, and the outer race was spinning in the hub itself, whilst the bearings were stationary! It appears to have shamfered the end of the stub axle, but hopefully the new oil seal will still seal properly. Its just a good job i noticed the leak before it got much worse.
no, i thought it might, but the new bearings needed to be drifted in with just as much force as the other side. I can only assume the bearings race is made of a softer material than the hub, so it hasn't worn it away.
What do you think is the best thing to do now? keep an eye on the brake backplates every time i use the car, and take the halfshafts out in a week to inspect the bearings?
Looks like someone in the past has been wearing their 10 gallon hat to do that job Winger!! I'd keep an eye open for any serious oil leakage but with new bearings fitted properly I wouldn't think there's need take it all apart again.
A TEMPORARY trick to prevent a bearing turning is to use a centre punch all around where the loose bearing sits, the raised bits of steel then compress when the bearing is fitted and it stays put - usually. Since it's introduction a bit of bearing lock can also be used as added security. No good if the wear is too much though.
If the outer of the bearing has been spinning in the hub then it
was not protruding the necessary few thou " out of the hub so that
it was pinched between the gasket and the half shaft flange, as
designed , which would have prevented this. You appear to have
been lucky not to have ruined the hub casting.....fingers crossed.
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