oil filled hubs - who's actually done it?

n plus one · 7th August 2015, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by jboot51

Oil from flange to flange. Front and rear.
That way the diff breathers are utilised.

Same here, easy to check, quick to change. No hassles for years now.

**Lionel** · 7th August 2015, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by MLD

I have the front set up as option 1 and rear as option 2. I took on water in my rear diff and the consequence was buggered wheel bearings and carrier bearings due to the lack of separation. Thus as a heads up, if you go option 2 be mindful that contaminated oil can and will migrate throughout and you might end up with buggered bearings end to end. Regular oil changes and a check after water crossings is the form of early detection and prevention.

For the rear oiled bearings help prevent spine wear on the drive shafts.

MLD

I think it's worth going the option 2 route for the rear in particular. The improved lubrication of the drive shaft splines at the hubs makes it a no brainer IMHO.

When I changed the rear drive shafts due to excessive backlash, I discovered that the drivers side spline was quite dry & worn, but the passenger side was not due to a slight seal leak which had allowed a small amount of diff oil to get through!

One should check for water contamination after water crossings with or without this conversion, of course. Best to change the diff oil anyway, if you've been in deep water for any length of time.

Cheers,

Lionel

**simmo** · 8th August 2015, 11:53 PM

Hi i have written a couple of posts about it.
My rear axle has option 2 oil filled and no seal between the hub and the diff. Have maxidrive flanges, I was not game to try to drill and tap the drive flanges i feared the material was too tough. ( I did have oil filled on the rear before I fitted the maxi drive shafts & flanges)
The front hubs are option 1 oil filled with 1/8" npt plug in the std drive flange, each hub is filled with about 60 mls of oil, you can fill the hub with a 2$ 30 cc syringe. Oil is easy to change on the front where the plugs are fitted. With the rears, it gets changed when I do my annual bearing adjustment and remove the drive flange. I believe the bearings run cooler oil filled as well.

I use RTV blue on the drive flanges and torque them, never had any issues with leaks, I couldn't be bothered stocking or fiddling with the the gaskets, RTV blue is easy enough to remove with a screw driver.

I never any problems, the only leaks are when the little rubber hub cap cracks as they do when they are about 10 years old, ($5 each).
I changed to oil because I was doing a lot of deep water crossings and had problems with water in the bearings causing corrosion when the car wasn't used for a while. I seemed to be regularly changing bearings and seals etc. I don't think I've changed a bearing since converting to oil filled, but I have replaced a seal or maybe two in 10 years and 70,000 kms. I think the trick to long seal life is not to let your bearings get loose and the hubs "lean" on the seals.
My front swivels are also oil filled, but still separate only because I was too lazy to remove the seal between the hub and the swivel housing.
Beside reduced bearing maintenance, your drive splines will always be "wet" and oil lubricated. My front OEM drive splines look like new ones after 200,000kms. My rear maxidrives are like new as well. I don't know the part number, but you need to use the original county hub oil seal it has 2 lips. if you convert to oil, I'm sure you'll be happy you did. good luck- cheers simmo

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