Alright fellas, need some advise, help.
Bought one of V7guys (Jason), extra front diffs. Took a while to get gears for the front end. Put em in and rebuilt the diff. Finally swapped them out and went for a test drive. Everything sounded fine. Drove fine. Went in for an alignment and was told the front was leaking.
Checked it out and it appeared that it was leaking from the drivers axle seal. Pulled the driver side apart and found a small nick in the seal and a grove worn in the half shaft ever so slight from the old seal. I replaced the seal and put in a new half shaft to ensure everything is new. Went for a test drive and I'll be damned if it's not leaking again.
I am using a GM seal both times as I picked them up from the dealership I work at. Had the tech who helped me re-gear both diffs look at it after cleaning up the area, and he's sure it's leaking from between the seal and the half shaft. But before I go and buy another seal, I should do more research to figure out why it's leaking before putting more money in it.
So, my question is, what else should I be looking at? Has anyone else ran into this issue before? And, are there any other suggestions on what I should do?
Thanks
Axle seal leak woes
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- Diacom
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I can't say I've ever had it happen to a CV seal, I do know that it's not terribly hard to damage a seal when putting the CV in though, there's also the possibility that the seal was defective right from the get go.
I have damaged a front main seal when sliding it over the crank, like i said not hard to do.
With the new seal and new axle you've done everything right, install error or defective part is all I can think of. I assume there was no burr on the new axle.
I have damaged a front main seal when sliding it over the crank, like i said not hard to do.
With the new seal and new axle you've done everything right, install error or defective part is all I can think of. I assume there was no burr on the new axle.
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v7guy - Moderator
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Moots1288 - Veteran
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Well, after visiting with the front end tech, he said most likely the problem I'm having is from greasing the seal before installing the shaft. He said that it should be installed dry.
I will be trying a new seal and cleaning up the shaft on Friday to see if this is in fact where the problem has stemmed from. I will also be looking for any damage to the seal before removing, incase I did nick it when putting in the shaft.
I will be trying a new seal and cleaning up the shaft on Friday to see if this is in fact where the problem has stemmed from. I will also be looking for any damage to the seal before removing, incase I did nick it when putting in the shaft.
- Diacom
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Diacom wrote:Well, after visiting with the front end tech, he said most likely the problem I'm having is from greasing the seal before installing the shaft. He said that it should be installed dry.
I will be trying a new seal and cleaning up the shaft on Friday to see if this is in fact where the problem has stemmed from. I will also be looking for any damage to the seal before removing, incase I did nick it when putting in the shaft.
Did he explain why that would happen? Maybe I just don't understand.. But I can't see how greasing the seal would do that.
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Moots1288 - Veteran
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I grease all my seals before installing the shaft. Never had premature leaking.
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Trail X - Founder
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Trail X wrote:I grease all my seals before installing the shaft. Never had premature leaking.
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Moots1288 - Veteran
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I figured if noone got that joke, it'd still be a truthful comment about the axles.
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Trail X - Founder
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Trail X wrote:I figured if noone got that joke, it'd still be a truthful comment about the axles.
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TBYODA - Moderator
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Trail X wrote:I figured if noone got that joke, it'd still be a truthful comment about the axles.
Cant get that one past me.
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Moots1288 - Veteran
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Trail X wrote:I grease all my seals before installing the shaft. Never had premature leaking.
Bahahahahahahahahaha
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SmokeyMcBlazer - Off-Roader
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Moots1288 wrote:Did he explain why that would happen? Maybe I just don't understand.. But I can't see how greasing the seal would do that.
Yes, the seal has two sealing surfaces, the outer lip seal and the inner "checkerboard" seal. The inner portion of the seal is what needs to be dry when installed. The checkerboarding actually works with the surface of the cv shaft and slightly heats up to cause an interference fit. By greasing this, you do not allow it to happen.
Followed up with a second tech today and he also said there should be no grease applied to the seals, they should be dry when the shaft is put into place.
Noel
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Ive never heard of that, and have never had a problem.
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Moots1288 - Veteran
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I'll see if I can get the actuals from SI on not applying grease if I can.
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