oil filled hubs - who's actually done it?

[blackapache]

So I'm doing the tie rod ends, bushings and wheel bearings in the next few weeks and I'm thinking i wanna make the maintenance of said bearings a little easier.

Ive been through all the tech topics and there is good stuff in there but id love to know who's actually running oil fed bearings and whats the result.

I see it like this - Converting the front hubs to oil lube has 2 main options:

1. Wheel bearing & swivel housing oil compartment + diff oil compartment separate

2. Wheel bearing, swivel housing and diff oil as 1 compartment.

Lots of people seem to run the first option, I'm thinking I'd like to venture down the second path and have one single system for all.. i know theres talk of oil compatibility for CV's etc but the old trucks ran this setup no? the main disadvantage is what happens when you lose a seal.. I'm not doing any long range touring etc so i really like the idea of ease of maintenance.

I'd love to hear from any forum guys running this setup and what they think so far.

cheers

[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 Love My Landy!]

I have done option 1 and i have never had any problems (i don't do many water crossings though). You may just need to apply silicone to your rubber axle end caps to prevent oil leaking out onto your wheel.

Edward :)

[Judo]

I use silicone instead of gaskets in most places as well.

Also to stop leaks you will need to change the inner hub seal to an oil seal (RTC3511). The one currently installed might be a grease seal only.

[rick130]

I hate RTV silicon so either use Loctite 515 or 518 (stub axle to axle tube) or paper gaskets (drive flange to hub) and don't have leaks.
The beauty of the paper drive flange to hug gasket is that it all comes apart cleanly, no bloody scraping ! :D

The RTC3511 hub seal is the only one to use, regardless of oil or greased wheel bearings, as it keeps the water out as well as the lube in.
All other versions are inferior.

[Blknight.aus]

yep, I've even been knwn to drill and tap grub screws into the drive flange so you can change the oil and check its condition as well as top it up.

[PAT303]

It all mix's over time so I don't bother getting fancy,oil all the way except hubs. Pat

[jboot51]

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

[MacFamily]

X1

Oil from flange to flange, front and rear.

One other thing I did when I converted the front was replace the swivel bearings and set the correct pre-load and also replaced the wiper seal.

[schuy1]

The only problem with running the front diff system as 1 oiled unit is possible low oil starvation in 1 side if running consistently on a slope or high camber road, given that the risk is low, it is still a possibility. I run the rear hub to hub as a unit with maxi drive flanges, but run the front as 3 units , with maxi flanges.
Antoher consideration is with seperated compartments, an oil leak in 1, eg a swivel seal, does not lose the lot :)
Cheers Scott

[n plus one]

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]

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]

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