Leak from axle

[jc109]

G'day guys,

I've recently found a lot of oil and/or grease spinning out onto my left rear wheel, and after pulling the wheel off and cleaning everything up it seems to be coming from the centre but on my HD axles.

Is this a common occurrence? And is it a simple fix? Should I just ease the nut out and use some thread tape or Loctite to stop the leak? Or might there be a bigger issue at play?

I've tried getting in touch with the guy who fitted them but no joy yet. I see he siliconed the larger flange in place, and I'm worried about disturbing that.

Lastly, if I pull the nut completely how do I gauge whether or not there's enough lube left?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Cheers,

JC

[ian4002000]

Have you cleaned your diff breather tubes lately ?
If they are blocked it may be causing the oil to leak out.


Ian
Bittern

[jimr1]

Hi JC, I think they have a fibre washer inside the nut . Check to see if it's there . They don't usually leak . Look at the one on the side that's ok . Jim

[jc109]

Cheers guys. I'll check both those things. And I said "nut" (and "but" too) earlier but I guess it's more properly a bolt or cap of some kind. Glad you knew what I was talking about.

[jc109]

So, I didn't have much luck with my investigations. All wheels look much the same and the breather's not blocked, as far as I can tell.

Unfortunately I don't have a spanner or socket large enough for the centre cap, so I have to take it to a mechanic to check. I did so today and it's now booked in for two days this week. The guy didn't see it, but he diagnosed a seal problem (of course) and also said that once oil sprays around in there the rotor can't be cleaned and instead needs to be replaced. Sounds like garbage to me. Should I be more trusting?

113852113853

[jboot51]

There is a good chance that the usual oil conversion has been done to feed the wheel bearings.
If so there is only the rear hub seal to worry about.
If this leaks it will put oil over the rear of the wheel and the brakes.
The seal I use is RTC3511G, but this is for a 1995 Salisbury rear.
The inner seal would have been removed.
The five bolt HD flange can be sealed with RTV silicone.
The big nut on the flange I seal with RTV on the mating surfaces, do not put any on the thread.
Not sure what diff you have.
I would change the brake pads only after confirming the leak has been fixed.
I do not see any need to change the rotor.
I would not take it to a normal mechanic as they would not understand the oil conversion.
You need a LR mechanic.


Where abouts in QLD are you ?


Cheers,
Tony

[weeds]

Is the oil leaking from the drive flange??

You should be able to pop the flange off...5 bolts than re-seal.

If the oil is on the inside of the hub disc than it hub off and new seal.

I would be trying to get it back to the guy that did the upgrade.

[jc109]

Cheers guys.

I'm in Wynnum, and I've had to try someone new as the work was done in WA. The guy I've stumbled upon has a few green ovals out the front and seemed to know what I was talking about when I started explaining the issue. I'd go to M.R. if I had the time to go all that way.

I tried calling the fella who did it to pick his brains a bit but he's not responding.

Weeds, the leak seems to be from the cap only. Not the flange itself. You can just see a little trail of oil coming from it in the second photo above.

Tony, there seems to be white silicone sealing the other mating surfaces but I can't tell what's been done with the cap.

And I'm pretty sure no oil lube conversion took place. The only tweak that was done to the standard swap job was something along the lines of machining the cap or flange so the wheels fit. Make sense?

Anyway, I guess I can take it in and see what they say. Any talk of the rotor needing replacement and I drive off.

[gromit]

So, I didn't have much luck with my investigations. All wheels look much the same and the breather's not blocked, as far as I can tell.



On mine the breather fitting in the axle rusted internally & blocked.
It's worthwhile disconnecting the tube from the fitting (push the outer collar while pulling on the tube) then remove the fitting and check it's clear.

I work in the pneumatics industry so it was easy to get a replacement from work, otherwise clear it out with a drill, piece of wire or using an airline.

The original fitting seems to be zinc passivated steel, condensation eventually causes rust which slowly blocks the fitting. My replacement was nickel plated brass so hopefully no more issues.


Colin

[jc109]

Thanks Colin. Will take a closer look.

[DazzaTD5]

Cheers guys.

I'm in Wynnum, and I've had to try someone new as the work was done in WA. The guy I've stumbled upon has a few green ovals out the front and seemed to know what I was talking about when I started explaining the issue. I'd go to M.R. if I had the time to go all that way.

I tried calling the fella who did it to pick his brains a bit but he's not responding.

Weeds, the leak seems to be from the cap only. Not the flange itself. You can just see a little trail of oil coming from it in the second photo above.

Tony, there seems to be white silicone sealing the other mating surfaces but I can't tell what's been done with the cap.

And I'm pretty sure no oil lube conversion took place. The only tweak that was done to the standard swap job was something along the lines of machining the cap or flange so the wheels fit. Make sense?

Anyway, I guess I can take it in and see what they say. Any talk of the rotor needing replacement and I drive off.

Looking at the clean white sealant around the drive flange I'd say its one of my installs.... ???

*its actually automotive grade sealant that I buy in white instead of the oh so common black.

*I dont do the seal removal conversion as I've found over many years the regular application of grease works better than oil.

*I also assemble them with quite a bit of grease at the time of install and recommend unscrewing centre cap and applying grease to the inner of the cap (which forces grease down the splines) every 3 or 4 services.

*Apart from a blocked breather as mentioned, sometimes for no other reason the inner axle seal can fail and oil can leak out of the nut, eventually, which really isnt a problem, it simply means the splines are being lubed with oil.

*Application of some ptfe thread sealant will cue this. I know Rovertech use the thread sealant always when installing the HTE (brand name) heavy duty axle, drive flanges.

*Let me know if this is one of my jobs, here, txt or email
txt 0439 570 305
email service@aztech4x4.com.au

Regards
Daz

[jboot51]

I gave jc109 a hand to fix this yesterday.
When we undid the offending drive flange nut, oil bubbles came out from between the drive flange and axle spline.
Obviously a breather problem.
Turns out the rear diff breather hose has been pinched between the body and a chassis bracket.
Must have been like this since day 1.
We topped up the diff oil and put a temporary breather in.
The pinched section will need to be cut out and bypassed.


Mystery solved.

[DazzaTD5]

I gave jc109 a hand to fix this yesterday.
When we undid the offending drive flange nut, oil bubbles came out from between the drive flange and axle spline.
Obviously a breather problem.
Turns out the rear diff breather hose has been pinched between the body and a chassis bracket.
Must have been like this since day 1.
We topped up the diff oil and put a temporary breather in.
The pinched section will need to be cut out and bypassed.


Mystery solved.

Good find.
A good time to re-grease them splines too :)

Regards
Daz

[jc109]

G'day guys,

Tony, once again, a very heartfelt thank you for your generous offer of your time and expertise. As I said, any time I can repay the favour please say the word.

I've attached a photo of the offending pinch courtesy of Solihull. I'm annoyed at myself for not having picked up on this sooner. It was well spotted by Tony after much scratching of heads.

Daz, yes, this is one of yours. Thanks for dropping in here. Looks like the issue's now sorted, and after some guidance from Tony I have a much better idea of what I'm looking at around this area of my car. I recall you saying that you machine those caps in order for the wheels to fit back on properly. Is that right? If so, is it all four caps that get machined? One of them seemed a fraction short so we used a touch more sealant on the mating surface, but I'm wondering if it might be worth getting replacements at some point down the track if I change the wheels to something like the wolf rims I used to run. And what grease do you recommend I use on those splines?

Gromit, any idea where I could find a good source of pneumatic fittings? I might turn to evil bay for the 6mm joiners to bridge that pinch, but I'm not sure what I'll need for the axle. That fitting on my Puma appears to be a plastic push-fit only, as opposed to a threaded fitting. Can anyone else confirm what this is so I can find a replacement?

Cheers all.

James

[DazzaTD5]

*Only the rear caps got machined.
*My dad and I had played around with a few different ideas with regards to the centre cap and a couple we had done with a o-ring, I have the feeling yours was one of them, mid last year, I dropped the idea sighting it was a dick of an idea.

PM me your address, I will post out two new caps, with a return bag for you to send the old ones, when you fit the new caps remove the o-rings if it has them.

oh and as for that damned pinched breather, certainly looks like a factory balls up..... and sheesh how was that missed by everyone.... yes... including me.

Umm doesnt nugget stuff do a sweet booty kit for all the breathers? he/she is on here?

Regards
Daz

[weeds]

Gromit, any idea where I could find a good source of pneumatic fittings? I might turn to evil bay for the 6mm joiners to bridge that pinch, but I'm not sure what I'll need for the axle. That fitting on my Puma appears to be a plastic push-fit only, as opposed to a threaded fitting. Can anyone else confirm what this is so I can find a replacement?



Cheers all.



James



You shouldn't need to touch the diff end.....just buy two joiners and a small length of tube to by pass the pinched piece.

[jc109]

Cheers Daz. PM inbound.

Nugget's breather kit already installed. All looked well at either end of the lines. I never thought to look any closer...

Weeds, that axle fitting query is related to another issue. When checking the front diff breather we noticed that the line was full of oil (probably from being over filled at some point. Dunno) and after blowing it clear I found that when refitting the line there was no positive engagement. That is, it simply slips in and out with little resistance. So, I figure I'll replace at least one of those fittings while I'm at it.

[weeds]

Cheers Daz. PM inbound.



Nugget's breather kit already installed. All looked well at either end of the lines. I never thought to look any closer...



Weeds, that axle fitting query is related to another issue. When checking the front diff breather we noticed that the line was full of oil (probably from being over filled at some point. Dunno) and after blowing it clear I found that when refitting the line there was no positive engagement. That is, it simply slips in and out with little resistance. So, I figure I'll replace at least one of those fittings while I'm at it.



Okeydoke......remove the fitting when you arrive at the shop and walk in with it.

Any hydraulic place or and irrigation place or a pneumatic/air compressor place should have a selection.

[jboot51]

Okeydoke......remove the fitting when you arrive at the shop and walk in with it.

Any hydraulic place or and irrigation place or a pneumatic/air compressor place should have a selection.

This is on a 2011 puma.
The factory breather is a push in airline fitting.
The problem is that the fitting is flush mount with the axle housing and does not have any hex for a spanner to fit for removal.
I imagine that you would have to catch the edge and knock it out with a screw driver.


Any ideas if this is correct.
I imagine a new flush mount fitting would be harder to find.


Cheers,
Tony

[weeds]

This is on a 2011 puma.
The factory breather is a push in airline fitting.
The problem is that the fitting is flush mount with the axle housing and does not have any hex for a spanner to fit for removal.
I imagine that you would have to catch the edge and knock it out with a screw driver.


Any ideas if this is correct.
I imagine a new flush mount fitting would be harder to find.


Cheers,
Tony



Gotcha......umm might have to knock out and drill/tap a hole?

[jc109]

Gotcha......umm might have to knock out and drill/tap a hole?

I'd certainly prefer that sort of arrangement but I'm worried about swarf.

[weeds]

I'd certainly prefer that sort of arrangement but I'm worried about swarf.



Yep swarf is an issue.....although have read some use a vacuum cleaner while drilling.....and I have loaded a tap up with grease before to catch swarf.