Originally Posted by
eeyore
Resurrecting an old post here, but thanks to everyone for their help. I've replaced the t-seals and no more leaks; very happy. I used some gasket sealant on the t-seals which both held them in place - sort of - and helped them slide - sort of - as I put the bearing cap back in. It was a bit messy and took a few goes but got there eventually. I bought four of the seals which was useful because I ripped one on the first attempt.
Just a couple of observations from my experience doing this repair. First, I found removing the bearing cap by hand impossible, despite following a couple of techniques I found on the web. In the end, I made up a simple extractor tool from a length of steel bar and HT M8 threaded rod. The cap came out easily using this. Second, the ends of the seals stretched quite a bit when I but the cap back in, protruding beyond the cap by probably 10mm. This is a lot more than the RAVE illustration suggests. I was actually worried that they had torn going in but 2K km later and no leaks, so I assume not. I did wait a couple of hours before I trimmed them to give them time to shrink back, although I can't say I noticed much change. Finally, I did the job without the little guides - as do most people I guess - but if I were to do it again, I would be tempted to make up some up out a little bit of plastic chopping board, just to ease the aggravation.
Anyhow, not a difficult job, just requires a bit of patience and some deep breaths when putting the cap and seals back in - especially when you drop the bearing cap on your nose on the fourth attempt at sliding it back in :mad:
