Rear wheel bearings

[DassaW]

Guys while im asking questions, I have a quick one about rear wheel bearings on a disco. To run the rear wheel bearings in oil, all I need to do is remove the axle shaft seal which is in the back of the stub axle, and then replace the inner hub grease seal with the better oil seal? Then top up my diff to normal oil height.
Where the inner hub seal will sit on the stub axle it has a few grooves in it, will this make the oil seal leak? if so should i be putting on one of those speedy sleeves or whatever they are?

any info or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

Darren

[rangieman]

Guys while im asking questions, I have a quick one about rear wheel bearings on a disco. To run the rear wheel bearings in oil, all I need to do is remove the axle shaft seal which is in the back of the stub axle, and then replace the inner hub grease seal with the better oil seal? Then top up my diff to normal oil height.
Where the inner hub seal will sit on the stub axle it has a few grooves in it, will this make the oil seal leak? if so should i be putting on one of those speedy sleeves or whatever they are?

any info or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

Darren
Yep speedy sleeve is your friend:D

[DassaW]

Where can I buy these speedi sleeves from??

[jimbo110]

Where can I buy these speedi sleeves from??
SKF

[Scouse]

Most bearing shops sell the sleeves.

[Ralph]

I've been down this path ....
I can now change/service whatever my rear wheel hubs/bearings/seals with my eyes closed.

I bought maxi drive axles and decided to go with oiled wheel bearings.
Had all the right seals etc. .... oil leaks due to grooves in stub axles. ... buy speedie sleeves at $62.00 EACH and re-do the whole job (put new seals in as well to be sure).

Still have intermittent oil leak - undo everything to check - find that speedie sleeves are rotating with oil seals (the stub axles were quite worn) - epoxy sleeves to stub axles - re asssemble with NEW seals.

Still have intermittent oil leak on left side. - Buy NEW stub axle $150 and re assemble with another new seal. Finally fixed.

Right side develops intermittent leak - :twisted::twisted::twisted: - buy second new stub axle and oil seal and replace.

NO MORE LEAKS!!

My suggestion? just buy new stub axles and do the job ONCE.

[Jojo]

Well, not wanting to be a smart arse, if you have the common steel rims (and no alloys) the little rubber cap over the central hub seals perfectly well, especially if you prime it with some silicone around the edge. Has been working a treat on my Disco for years now.

[DassaW]

JoJo, thats all fine and proper for doing the front bearings which I have already done and are running in oil, but cant do that on the rears. Hmmm, wha ralph says does make a lot of sense, but too late now, I already did them today, and if they leak I may just convert them back to grease. Only time will tell.

[97discotdi]

Why is it that when Land Rover put in oil filled bearings we want to change them to grease filled i.e swivell joints, Then when they put in grease filled bearings we want to change them to oil filled. WE ARE A STRANGE LOT OF PEOPLE. Maybe why the manufacturers can't understand the Land Rover owner repurchase rate. :(

[Jojo]

JoJo, thats all fine and proper for doing the front bearings which I have already done and are running in oil, but cant do that on the rears. Hmmm, wha ralph says does make a lot of sense, but too late now, I already did them today, and if they leak I may just convert them back to grease. Only time will tell.

Oops, should have read more carefully. Anyway, have you tried with gasket silicone or any other sealing compound put on the inside of the flange?

[Xtreme]

Right side develops intermittent leak - :twisted::twisted::twisted: - buy second new stub axle and oil seal and replace.

NO MORE LEAKS!!

My suggestion? just buy new stub axles and do the job ONCE.

I agree with Ralph - replace the stub axle and the job is finished. Then you can then get out and enjoy the bush rather than fiddling with speedie sleeve leaks.

Speedie sleeves are good but they are fiddley to fit correctly and if not fitted correctly can damage the new seal when reasembling the hub.

[DassaW]

Going with the new stubs would have probably been the sensible thing to do..... but, im not very sensible ;).

So I ended up doing both rear bearings and converting them to oil, the rear right stub axle was pretty good, no grooves at all, but the left rear had a slight groove. Not being ABS I was able to flip the stubs to wear the other side a bit more. So far no leaks have appeared, but I have only done about 50km on them. Only time will tell.

Cheers

[Xtreme]

I have often cleaned up the stub axle where the seal runs using some fine wet and dry paper. It takes quite a while, depending on the extent of the damage, and is best done with the stub removed and a lot of time and patience.

Once done though, I haven't had one leak.

While I've got the stub off, I also drill a 3mm dia hole in the bottom of the stub axle between where the bearings locate. This enables more even oil feed to each bearing - not a big deal but maybe a slight improvement.