Damn, axle seal leaking

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King Herald

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
533
Location
England
I fitted new bearings to my 9" when I modified it to fit my hot rod. I just noticed yesterday oil is leaking from one end. Been happening for a while as there is oil inside the wheel and all over the disc brake and caliper.

Today I pulled the half shaft, hoping it was leaking around the outside of the bearing, but no, it looks like it is coming out around the seal. The shaft looks to be really roughly machined where the outer seal runs too.

The inner seal looks good, but hard to tell really.

I've put it back together, with silicon around the outside of the bearing, so time will tell if I've fixed anything.
 
Check the housing vent to make sure it's not plugged with dirt and oil. It will cause the oil and air in the housing to pressure up when it gets to operating temp, pushing it past the seals.
 
Check the housing vent to make sure it's not plugged with dirt and oil. It will cause the oil and air in the housing to pressure up when it gets to operating temp, pushing it past the seals.

I have a small hose heading up high, instead of a normal breather, I think it is clear, but I'll double check.

I could run the hose to the engine intake, give a small vacuum in the axle.... ;)
 
Just talking to a buddy, he tells me there is a separate seal in the end of the housing, that the axle goes through, I don't recall seeing any seal in there when I stripped and cleaned everything before I used welded stuff up and changed the axle bearings.

I assumed the seal on the bearing kept the oil inside.
 
Yep just like this one.
innerseal.jpg
 
Thanks for the pic. I'm guessing mine had been hacked around when I got it, as there were no such seals in it, and one of the bearings was a lot different than the other, with what looked like a home made lock ring thing on it.

Strange how these seals did not come included in the complete axle rebuild kit I bought, which has diff bearings, axle bearings, grease, gaskets etc etc.

Hopefully I can just stick a seal in each end and be done.
 
Leaky 9" seals

Yup, need new seals. Had a Pontiac 12 bolt RE in a '59 Chevy 1/2 ton once that had a leaky seal even when replaced. I suspected a slightly warped axle housing tube caused by heat in the welding of spring perch pads and other attachments. Yours has gotta be the missing seals. :) TLouisJ
 
FYI not all 9" have axle seals, some have a sealed bearing. Tobby

I've been told that the seal on the bearing is to keep the grease in the bearing, and the seal in the housing is to keep the oil in the housing, but I'd rather change a housing seal than an axle bearing, hopefully.:eek:
 
I pulled the axle today, grabbed a seal off my buddy and had a good look at things. It appears my bearing set must be some sort of after market upgrade as the steel do-nut that holds the bearing on is wider than stock, and the seal won't fit without being crushed when I fit the axle. I assume I have a set where the bearing grease seal is supposed to hold the oil in, but it leaks for some reason....

My do-nuts, or whatever the technical name is, are 5/8" wide.
 
Took it to the machine shop today, they took 3/16" off the end of it, so now it clears the seal okay. Took some careful measuring to work out the minimum I could get away with.

Next thing is to see if it has stopped leaking.....
 
I pulled the axle today, grabbed a seal off my buddy and had a good look at things. It appears my bearing set must be some sort of after market upgrade as the steel do-nut that holds the bearing on is wider than stock, and the seal won't fit without being crushed when I fit the axle. I assume I have a set where the bearing grease seal is supposed to hold the oil in, but it leaks for some reason....

My do-nuts, or whatever the technical name is, are 5/8" wide.
Most of the retainer rings are only about 1/4" wide.
You can see where the seal rides on the axle in pic 2

71aFIXkbABL._SX522_.jpg

mump_0912_34_o+1965_mustang_convertible_rear_axle+axle_shafts_cleaned.jpg
 
I had a wear groove on my axle so I could see where it ran before. I guess I must have removed them when I cleaned up the axle several years ago but forgotten. Or, the new axle rebuild kit told me not to put them in.

I would think that the grease seals on the bearing would make it oil tight, as I remember being told to put sealant around the axle where the bearing presses on to it. The seals on the bearing look like new.

Plus the outer bearing has an O ring around it, indicating that seals oil. Either way, it didn't work on this end, the other end is dry. Fingers crossed it'll seal now, oil on the brakes is not desirable.
 

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