Thread: Hub Seal Leaking

if its the swivel seal, (the one that runs on the big shiney ball (yes landies unlike toyotas and jeeps actually have balls of steel)) you have 3 options for sorting it.

the first is the by the book strip everything part by part from the outside in. this is the best way as you get to inspect everything on the way in.

the second is by unbolting the swivel ball from the axle housing, disconnecting the brake line (odds are you're probabley about due for a brake fluid change anyway) pulling the axle assembly complete then removing the seal and sliding it out over the axle.

the third way is by cutting the seal off and when you replace the new one slice it and join it with the loctite glue thats in the oring splicing kit then replacing the spring after using a spring joiner.. (this is a get you out of trouble repair technique and not one I reccomend.)


If its your hub seal (you can see where its leaking onto the disc) youve no real option other than to strip it from the outside in.

in answer to the questions of yours that I remember.

no you dont have to replace everything but I advise that you do replace the backing plate gasket that holds the swivel seal in place. If you pull the hub off you should replace the hub seal and the lock tab.

you can do the one shot thing, you can just add grease or you can add 85/140.

you should be able to get away at about $50 a side.

you have to be careful about setting the preload on the swivel pins and be wary of ANY notching you get when you check the swivel loadings.

Get the rave first, read it, ask questions and understand whats involved. Anyway you slice it you will be playing with wheel bearings, brakes and steering gear all at once. This is not the area you want something to go wrong in.


Its easily within scope of DIY. The hardest things will be getting a spring balance, the shims to set the swivel load and the 52mm socket for the hub nuts.

Hey guys,

i pretty sure it the swivel hub on the inside of the tire/rim...ill take some pics tomoz and post them up might be a little easier to identify..

cheers simon

G'day all,

Well i took some pics of the problem at hand, sorry about the images being a bit fuzzy took it with my iphone...BUT might have some good new i went underneath and gave it a bit of a wipe and could not see any damage to the seals or any oil leaks as such...there was alot of dirt stuck in between the seal so i'm thinking that could have been the problem..will take another look tomoz as i gave it a good wipe and took it to the car wash and gave it a good hit with the preasure gun and now it looks great so will let ya's know tomoz..

cheers simon

thats the swivel seal alright and sorry mate but its weeping and is probably stuffded..

Thats not the worst IVe seen and they almost invariably never get better by themselves.

Based on the colour of the oil wipe thats been left behind I would suggest that at this stage you do a full tear down and clean/inspect/replace the bearings as if the oil in the swivel housing has been contaminated its more than likely into the wheel bearings.

on the plus side there doesnt appear to be any damage to the swivel so you should just get away with the gaskets, the seals, lock tabs and perhaps a set of bearings. IMHO If you've done over 100K Km or you dont know when the bearings were last replaced this is a good time to get the front end back to a known condition.

I'm with Dave. But it's not a hard job, it just takes time.

Pete

Hey Chaps,

took a look this morning and it is weeping from the seal, so by looking at the photos what would i need exactly to get cause i do want to change the bearings as well while i'm at it..if i was going to get a LR spanner to do it for me how long would it take them to do it??? just was wondering if anyone around the werribee area or outer west melbourne that could give me a hand doing it???

cheers simon

as a minimum you will need

A medium level tool kit including a 52mm hub nut spanner
The Rave CD-rom
4x wheel bearings
2x locking tabs
2x hub seals
2x swivel seals
atv form-a-gasket red or blue.

assuming that your swivel preloads are still correct (check them before you start pulling anything down) that should be all you need to get it done.

you may also need the gaskets for the backing plate for the swivel seal and for the drive flange.

I recommend not reusing the drive flange bolts but its something you can get away with at least 9 times out of 10.

I'm in east, but...

When have you got in mind?

Pete