Thread: front axle seal direction

You have your seal in backwards from my understanding of what you discribe. I have not done an axle seal on my D2 yet but for all seals I have done the "open" side of the seal sould be facing inside and the flat side outwards unles its just to keep dirt out then it's the reverse....Joe

Mine installed with the spring seal on the inside of the axle, pretty sure that was also the metal side and the way the original came out. There is a seal that seats against the flange on the driveshaft and the inner seals against the driveshaft itself.

Rich

Check out illustration Post #4 Front axle seal removal

Had similar dilemma... after the above post I was enlightened by my knowledgable son that the rule of thumb is that the retaining spring faces the fluid you want to restrain... So: the metal side with the spring goes in first i.e. faces the diff.

Now for the next bit which is not in the manual: liberally coat the internal bearing surface of the seal and also the axle with Retinax grease (red stuff). Fill the spring area with a good dollop of grease as well.

Make sure you drive the seal square. Need to gently tap into place right on the outer rim. Don't hit the rubber part.

When you offer the axle up to slide it through be very careful you do not nick the seal. When you push the axle fully "home" be extra careful or you could dislodge the inner spring. That's why a generous helping of grease on the axle surface in contact with the seal is important.

Once the road wheel is installed, turn it a few times backwards and forwards by hand to seat the seal properly.

I learned the hard way and I had 2 new seals leak on one side before I got it the third one to seat properly... the other side never had a problem

good luck with it

i put it in with the metal interior facing outward (the flat side out ) and he large lip facing in as in the firt images in hoges post?

Originally Posted by Willis

i put it in with the metal interior facing outward (the flat side out ) and he large lip facing in as in the firt images in hoges post?

No!!! it should face the other way around as per my post above. The first image referred to shows the flat side which also contains the retaining spring. The idea is that as the oil tries to get past the lip it actually forces the lip closer to the axle surface aided by the spring. There's a very fine "wavy" engraving on the inside of the "lip" which is specially designed to help achieve this.

With the seal seated the opposite way...i.e. you can see the retaining spring from the outside, it will ultimately fail ... sorry. You need to remove and replace the other way around. Probably safer to put in a new seal packed with grease as described above.

At first I felt it was counter intuitive until I understood the principles behind the design... I even got advice from a well known LR indy in Bris area who also advised me to fit the seal with the retaining spring on the outside!!! WRONG!

EDIT: The retaining spring is also referred to as a "garter" spring ...

Well the first seal that was put in by the repairer and the two I replaced following the failure of the first all went in with the flat side inwards and the side with the large lip outwards as you suggest Hoges ....all leaked. so must be the way I'm doing it.

So today I got impatient and put it in the other way, with the lip on the inside and the flat side out ....the wrong way as you say Hoges. It's not leaking (yet!). Will have to order another seal (that's the fourth!) and put in in the other way again and hope it doesn't leak.

I can nearly do this (obviously badly) with my eyes closed!

thanks for your valuable replies

Willis

Sorry about that! A couple of things: when you insert the seal make sure you don't drive it completely home...leave a couple of mm. Also if you have a small inspection mirror, check the spring is in place before you refit the axle. A large socket with about 0.5mm clearance is ideal as a drive tool. Plenty of grease is important!

There's also a good deal of info. on the various bearing manufacturers' websites... SKF,Timken etc on this issue...