Front axle oil seal problem...

[Pezooki]

G'day again all,

OK, so I did a complete overhaul of my 91WT Sierra front-end 2 weeks ago. It got a lockright, all new seals and bearings (knuckle kit etc) and it all looked good.

I went away on the weekend with it and put everything to the test. All seemed to be great.

HOWEVER today after going for a drive I looked under the front drivers side wheel to see a puddle of diff oil!

Obviously the 2 week old axle oil seal was buggered. I pulled it all to bits to get to the seal. My new CV grease was full of diff oil. The seal 'looks' OK but its clearly NOT OK, I will be replacing it tomorrow... (the passenger side appears to be all OK)

My questions are:

1) Why has this happened? I was bloody careful with the seals when I put it all together. Perhaps the seal was no good to begin with? (it was an eBay kit)

OR

2) Could this be caused by the fact that I left the circlip out (on purpose)??? This does increase the amount that the axle can move in and out. Perhaps it is moving too far off the seal??? Could this be the problem? Has anyone else had this problem?


Cheers all,

Pez

[suzimad]

check how good the cv fits into the spindle that the bearing hub goes on , also yes put the damn circlip on !!!

[MUD-PIGSIERRA]

A good experienced mechanic told me to put grease on the inside of the seal and on the lip just on the inside side of the seal once its in to help it seal.

Other wise I be looking at the amount of play the axle has. Have you looked at the adjustment in the Kinpins with the metal shims and adjusting them accordingly when you did the job...?

[Pezooki]

When I put the kit in the front I did grease the seal - and I left all the kingpin shims as they were.

Can incorrect kingpin adjustment cause this? If so, can I just take it to a place that does wheel alignments and have them set the kingpins correctly???

Also, in regards to checking "how good the cv fits into the spindle that the bearing hub goes on" - If this is worn then how do you fix that??? A whole new spindle? If that brass? sleeve inside the spindle needs to replaced then I am betting I dont have the tools to do it! (or perhaps I could with a big screwdriver and a hammer???)

Can anyone tell me what sort of play to expect the shaft to have when in the spindle? It has a little bit, but not what I would call excessive...

(Sorry about all the questions guys - I was supposed to be going away in the zook tommorow but its not looking good now)

[ScrawnC]

Check the surface of the axle where the seal runs, make sure there are no scratches or markings that could rip the seal. Try fitting the new seal onto the axle before fitting to the housing, make sure it is a good fit. And yes, refit the circlip. If the shims went back on as they came off then I wouldn't get too carried away there. Also check the axle isn't bent.
You've got to be real careful when fitting the axle back in that you don't drag it on the seal too much, the slightest mark on the axle can tear the seal. And as the photo shows, when fitting use a socket that fits the outside diameter of the seal. Any slight deformation of the seal can cause it to leak.
Hope you get it going for tomorrow!!

[Pezooki]

Yeah I thats what I normally do. Perhaps I was just unlucky this time???

I have spoken to 6 different 4x4 places today and I got a different story each time, but what I can gather from it all is that I really have to put it all back together again with new seals and see how it goes! If it happens again, then something must be very wrong/bent somewhere (but I cant see it at the moment...) I will put the circlip in this time too. Stupid cars!!!

I have ordered a new bush for the spindle from Suzuki too ($27) which wont be in until Monday. I have decided that I might as well replace it while its all apart, just to eliminate one more possibility (these bushes are not included in any swivel kit I have seen).

Thanks for all your input guys. I will post back here with my results... Oh well, while I wait for the bits to arrive I think I will go and pull out some leaves!...


Pez

[Pezooki]

I have had the zook back together for a couple of weeks now and so far there is no more axle leaks!

I replaced the spindle bush and the the axle oil seal. The original spindle bush turned out to be OK but I replaced it anyway.
I also re-fitted the circlip. Without it, the short axle on the RHS could move 'in and out' around 10mm (too much for the size of the seal surface in my opinion). I am fairly confident that the problem was a crap eBay oil seal and the excessive axle movement.

Thanks to all for your help on this one!

[waxhead..]

I have similar issues on both sides, a mechanic friend has told me it is from damaging the seals by not supporting the axle weight when sliding them in.

[spamwell]

i had same problem i used genuine seals and it is now all good everything else used to leak