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Attempting spindle seals soon... any protips?

M

Mike82ndABN

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My truck has suddenly started leaking from the LF and RR spindles. The LR input seal on the geared hub is wet too. So i may be doing the input and output seals on all the hubs.

I thought with all these leaks maybe I had a clogged vent line, but i can blow air from the rear hub vents, to the front hose at the air cleaner and confirm there is no blockage.

Looks like i'm going to be dropping the halfshafts again for the hub input seals.

The spindle seal seems technical, can i knock it in with improvised tools or do i need the proper tool to set it to the right depth. I've read about two part seals that need to be set to the proper depth.

I've read up on the procedure for torquing the spindle retaining nut, sounds straightforward but the impact of doing it right can be catastrophic.

Do you guys do these on the truck, or remove the geared hubs and tackle it on a bench?

Any tips from the wise?
 
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Hummermark

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Hi have you checked the hub fluid levels? as I have had a engine lift pump fail,that leaked diesel into the vented pipe system on a usmc humvee that caused several seals to leak at once.
 
Retiredwarhorses

Retiredwarhorses

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Mike82ndABN said:
My truck has suddenly started leaking from the LF and RR spindles. The LR input seal on the geared hub is wet too. So i may be doing the input and output seals on all the hubs.

I thought with all these leaks maybe I had a clogged vent line, but i can blow air from the rear hub vents, to the front hose at the air cleaner and confirm there is no blockage.

Looks like i'm going to be dropping the halfshafts again for the hub input seals.

The spindle seal seems technical, can i knock it in with improvised tools or do i need the proper tool to set it to the right depth. I've read about two part seals that need to be set to the proper depth.

I've read up on the procedure for torquing the spindle retaining nut, sounds straightforward but the impact of doing it right can be catastrophic.

Do you guys do these on the truck, or remove the geared hubs and tackle it on a bench?

Any tips from the wise?
Click to expand...

you don't need the specific seal drivers, but it sure makes it easy and takes any guess work out of it.
the tools are all over epay...
The easiest is to do the input and output seal while the hub is on the truck, makes for a stable platform.
The torquing is straightforward, the catastrophic piece of the pie is using new "quality" non Chinese spindle washers.
order them from Kascar,HPG or other AM General distributors.
 
M

Mike82ndABN

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Hummermark said:
Hi have you checked the hub fluid levels? as I have had a engine lift pump fail,that leaked diesel into the vented pipe system on a usmc humvee that caused several seals to leak at once.
Click to expand...
I did have that issue in the past, it was blowing diesel up into the air cleaner, and to the diffs/hubs.

I've blown air thru the rear vent lines into a water bottle up front, just air bubbles, no obstructions, no diesel pushed out into the water bottle.

Honestly i think this all came about from off roading in some serious fine dirt, and not putting it thru the wash after, i think the fine sand/dirt ate my seals up.
 
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Bulldogger

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Once the half shaft and spindle are out you can rap the seals out from the opposite side with a long punch, carefully. Be very careful not to damage the seal mating surface. A little caution and care should be enough. I drove all of my larger seals in with a hunk of 2x2x4 cut square. The smaller seals I pressed in using my vise, but finished them by tapping in with the same hunk of wood.
Clean the seal mating surface in the hub gently but thoroughly w a piece of steel wool or whatever seems best. It's a mating surface, make it look clean and "matey".
The part number for the spindle nut socket is on this site, try a Google search. I don't have it handy. The Hmmwv socket has four tabs about 1/8" wide spaced around it. The H1 nut socket is different.

Seals are pretty straightforward once you're elbows deep into them. Only seem daunting until you're there.

Bulldogger
 
doghead

doghead

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Kent Moore Tool J-33144., found with a goolgle search for"humvee 8 slot spindle nut tool"
 
doghead

doghead

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Well, you own a humvee, not everything is off the shelf at your local parts house.

You may need to make one. Piece of pipe, grinder and weld a socket to it to drive it.

That would be on the shelf at the home depot...
 
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doghead

doghead

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I've never seen nuts like those on any GM vehicle.
 
doghead

doghead

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I meant the 8 slots in the pattern used on the humvee.
 
Bulldogger

Bulldogger

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I used a four tooth spindle socket from another model. Had to just touch the teeth with a dremel to get them right. It only engages four out of eight notches of course, but it works fine since they are not high torque nuts.
Bulldogger
 
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