Rear axle continues to leak

[73m819]

If it leaked out of the keyway, where would I see the oil? On the outer wheel? My oil is leaking onto the inside of the inner wheel.

REAR hub seal

 

[F18hornetM]

Keep in mind that rear or inner hub seal only keeps water, dirt etc out, does not keep oil in, so if oil goes past the key way, or outter seal, it will go past bearings, out rear seal and onto brakes, wheels etc
Wouldnt hurt to check or move the vents. I would imagine the more the truck is used, the less you have to worry about the vents. But if it sits, i bet the guys are right here, will plug up or stick. You could always ask the mechanic about it, if he doesnt know about the key way...which most mechanics wouldnt know, might be on to something...

good luck

 

[tco3129]

Took me 2 or 3 washed bearings to figure out WHERE'S THIS CORK THING EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT?. Apparently I had wiped away and threw away the cork with all the other crud. Now a dab of RTV seems to do the trick. Next teardown will get cork AND RTV.

 

[two.fiveM35]

tco3129, when yours leaked, where did you notice the leak? Did you notice it on the inside of the inner rim?

 

[tco3129]

YUP, and down the tire right after parking. Brake fluid was my first thought but after teardown saw washed bearings.

 

[052]

I too have had similar issues after long trips. As recently as this past Sunday. I thought I had cleaned the vents prior, but apparently not good enough. New ones to be purchased. Just a little frustrating since the seals were just done about 1500 miles ago. Good input and suggestions. Thanks

 

[sandcobra164]

Careful which seals you get 052. I scored me a outer seal on E-Bay once upon a time and it only lasted about 500 miles. When I pulled the hub back apart, I pulled the seal and noticed the out bearing race had worn a very noticeable grove in it. I then did some reading on here and came across posts on Chinese made seals with the incorrect amount of preload on the lip as well as a rubber that is too hard which causes, well, exactly what I encountered. I got a NOS seal from a dealer and have had no trouble the past 2,000 miles. And as everyone stresses, use a cork, viton or as I do, RTV the keyway, install outer seal, rtv somemore, install inner nut, torque to 50 foot pounds while turning, back off about 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn, install lock washer, install outer nut, torque to spec, bend tabs on lockwasher, install axle shaft, enjoy.

 

[052]

Thanks Sandcobra, order parts from Erik's yesterday. Appreciate the input.

 

[Heavysteven]

I agree there is a noticeable difference between newstar and NOS.

Newstar is the gold one.

 

[wcolt45]

Is there a source for NOS seals? Erik's looks like Newstar's

 

[052]

I'll let you know when I receive them.