Rear Hub Removed- A Few Questions

First, thanks to those who have posted threads and pics in the past, I've read them all. This is the first hub I've removed on a Deuce...Removed the rear hub to put in new seals to stop a big leak. Truck is an ex Air Force 1987 and shows only 11K miles. I made a jig to set on my floor jack for hub removel, made it really easy. I think I'm going to bolt it to the jack platten when I reinstall the hub, it was a little wobbly if it wasn't centered under the weight perfectly...I didn't find any remanents of the infamous cork seal. I would assume with the truck being 25 years old someone has been into it irregardless of the low miles. The inner seal came off pretty easy by working a long pry bar around it, a little bit at a time...My big question is about the outer seal. It looks like the diff oil can flow freely down the axle tube and get behind the axle flange, this is nomal. If the truck were on an incline you could really get some oil in there.The outer seal slides onto the spindle, not really sealing to it. What keeps the oil from going between the outer seal and spindle and getting to the bearings? I've read the TM's and don't see any reference to a bead of sealent before installing the spindle nuts. I can see how the missing cork gasket would let oil go thru the keyway, what about the rest of the seal/spindle?

A few pics...

Looks good to me. Make sure you clean the axle vent or that gear between the seal and hub will blow past the seal or out the axle flange. Oh and adjust the brakes while you have the wheels off.

Why do you have TWO threads of the same name, asking the same question, you will get the same answer no matter how many threads you start.

Some oil will always get around. The military chose to have the bearings grease lubed where most full floating axles will lube the bearings with the gear oil. The grease packed into the bearings is what will keep the oil away. Just pack the bearings good and put a dab of RTV on the keyway and reassemble it. The most imprtant thing is to not overtorque the bearings. Good luck.

renovate7 said:

.........My big question is about the outer seal. It looks like the diff oil can flow freely down the axle tube and get behind the axle flange, this is nomal. If the truck were on an incline you could really get some oil in there....

Click to expand...

YES, no problem with that.

The outer seal slides onto the spindle, not really sealing to it. What keeps the oil from going between the outer seal and spindle and getting to the bearings? I've read the TM's and don't see any reference to a bead of sealent before installing the spindle nuts. I can see how the missing cork gasket would let oil go thru the keyway, what about the rest of the seal/spindle?

Click to expand...

Very valid question!

Considering that the (outer) seal design in itself is problematic... And that little piece of cork is there to prevent mayor leakage.... (expect not much better than that...)
... I think that the designers have disregarded that possible little oil "seepage", past the spindle- and nut- threaded area, plus eventually some between inner nut and seal; and from there on into the hub cavity, in between spindle and bearing cone.

At the time of re-sealing the keyway ( with just Loctite 587 blue RTV alone!) I also smear very little of it all around the spindle to fill/ seal the minor gap between spindle and bearing cone.
Works for me - and I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this...

G.

If I'm understanding your quesdtion correctly, which I may not be, the center of the outer seal is tight because of the washer and nut. The outer seal then seals against the hub. There should be no oil getting to the bearing. As a side note, make sure you have a good outer seal. Some of the Chinese-made seals will heat up with friction and cause the hub to get overly hot. After you finish, drive the truck and check the hub temperature. I've only seen this happen with Chinese seals. Also, don't put sealant on the axle flange gasket. I usually wet the gasket with motor oil before installing. The TM is very good on all of this.

(Sorry about a double post. When I first hit "post now" the little wheel spun for several minutes, never showing it as posted. I hit the back button, went back to where I had created the post, then hit post again. It posted, but without pics. That's why the pics are in a second entry. Must have double posted and not known it) Thanks for the replies. I've got some cork and will put a little tab in the keyway. I've become a big fan of Permatex #3 non-hardening gasket sealer and will put some on the cork and just a bit around the bearing/spindle before sliding the seal on. This side of the truck is now in the shade, althought it's still 95 degrees, so here we go.

gringeltaube said:

At the time of re-sealing the keyway ( with just Loctite 587 blue RTV alone!) I also smear very little of it all around the spindle to fill/ seal the minor gap between spindle and bearing cone.
Works for me - and I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this...

G.

Click to expand...

I agree, I do the same thing, but I use The Right Stuff (impervious to oil/fuel). So far, so good!

silverstate55 said:

I agree, I do the same thing, but I use The Right Stuff (impervious to oil/fuel). So far, so good!

Click to expand...

I did the same exact thing. Right Stuff is made by Permatex (spelling?). It is weird because there would still be a little oil seeping past those two metal surfaces and get into the bearing. Sure wish they just lubed the axles with gear oil instead. Would have made our lives a lot easier. But then again, how many bearings have we seen gone bad where we have PM'ed all the bearings and kept our trucks out of the water? i bet there are not many out there, so something must be working.

What does the army say? "its it works it must not be stupid" or something like that. haha!

Just got finiished putting it back together. Went pretty smoothly. Cut a small piece of cork and used Permatex #2, not 3 as I previously said. Also used a bit of #2 around the spindle/bearing area. Even with the inner spindle nut as tight as I could get it I was still able to spin the hub so only back it off 1/4. Was a little surprised to discover the outer seal seals against the edge of the bearing race, not any part of the hub. My wooden spindle adapter also doubled as a workbench...Got the wheels and the rest of the undercarrige primed then painted. Will put the wheels back on tomorrow, after taking one to get the tube replaced after I broke the valve stem.

You wouldn't want to tourk that inner spindle nut any tighter than 50 lbs.

Wildchild467 said:

I did the same exact thing. Right Stuff is made by Permatex (spelling?). It is weird because there would still be a little oil seeping past those two metal surfaces and get into the bearing. Sure wish they just lubed the axles with gear oil instead. Would have made our lives a lot easier. But then again, how many bearings have we seen gone bad where we have PM'ed all the bearings and kept our trucks out of the water? i bet there are not many out there, so something must be working.

What does the army say? "its it works it must not be stupid" or something like that. haha!

Click to expand...

I use Right Stuff as well. I leaned in school that ball bearings last much longer if lubed by oil and that roller bearings will last much longer if lubed by heavy grease.

Hey ya'll what about the gasket from the axle flange to the hub? You know the paper round one? I forgot to order that one, can you just reseal it with RTV?

Yes, just a thin smear.

One more quick question.... The inner most seal on the rear axle, how are you supposed to install it, with a punch? I was worried about damaging the seal with the punch to where it wouldn't turn. I put the seal on and then the inner bearing and used a small end punch on the end of the race and just walked it around untill the bearing stopped against the lip. Yes I was carful to not nick the shaft, the bearing slid back off the shaft easily and the shaft showed no signs of damage. Was this correct, or will it work this way? I forgot my laptop last night with the manuals on it.

Thanks

This was my idea...seal the bearing to the spindle and the seal to the bearing.

Use Gear Oil Specficic RTV.

Ford Mechanic said:

One more quick question.... The inner most seal on the rear axle, how are you supposed to install it, with a punch? I was worried about damaging the seal with the punch to where it wouldn't turn. I put the seal on and then the inner bearing and used a small end punch on the end of the race and just walked it around untill the bearing stopped against the lip. Yes I was carful to not nick the shaft, the bearing slid back off the shaft easily and the shaft showed no signs of damage. Was this correct, or will it work this way? I forgot my laptop last night with the manuals on it.

Thanks

Click to expand...

We use a 4" PVC wye/tee with a 2" side input as a handle and a cap on the top. Tap in the middle of the cap and it seats evenly all the way around. YMMV.

Keeping the gear oil level one knuckle below the fill port is a suggestion to limit some of the oil getting to the bearings.