Help! My Deuce wheel sprung a leak!

[Deuce_of_Spades]

So last night I parked my Deuce on a dirt embankment. Her passanger wheels were up on the hill and the drivers wheels were on the flat ground. The whole Deuce was tilted probably 25-30 degrees or so. I thought nothing of it being that it's a Deuce! Well this morning when I came out I just stopped to admire my "Diamond in the rough" and there was a wet spot running out the bottom of the drivers side rim and down the bottom of the tire into a little puddle. The first thing I thought was THAT DARN DOG!!! Well, an hour or so later I pulled off of the hill and onto the driveway to empty some free WMO I scored. A bit into this project I looked down at the front wheel and now there is a larger puddle on the ground from both sides of the wheel. I went to investigate and found it was some sort of lube or oil. Now let me point out that I am a radiographer! I look at peoples "insides". I know nothing about Deuce "insides"!
So I take it my Deuce didn't like being tilted on her side with all her wait to that tire. But did I break something or did I just upset her and she's just telling me "What for!"?
Did I break a seal or just stress one? I found about a cup or two of lube/oil on the ground/rim. How do I trouble shoot. What do I do??? My poor girl! If I have done something bad I will never forgive myself!!!

 

[gimpyrobb]

Shouldn't have busted anything by parking like that. Sounds like a bad axle seal to me. Could be an IP leak that followed the axle to the ground. Did you touch the fluid and smell it? Do you know what gear oil smells like? Diesel? Brake fluid has much less odor to it.

 

[Flea]

Gear lube? I'd have to agree on the axle seal diagnosis. Climb underneath and see if the outer end of the axle/backside of the brake drum is wet with fresh grease.

 

[yellobronc]

Same thing happend to me. When I inspected, the valley between the hub was full of gear oil. I suspected it was the cork gasket in the keyway. I leave my duece parked on level ground now.

 

[bigmike]

Sounds like axle seal and or cork gasket to me as well. Easy to fix and plenty of info here on how to do it. Just search the deuce forum. That's how I fixed mine.

 

[Deuce_of_Spades]

I should not have posted this topic without pics! My appologies. Here is what it looks like a day later. No more has appeared to leak out. But I see how wet the boot is. My question is, can I drive it 30 more miles on a must do errand? THanks for all your guys help.

 

[chicklin]

I should not have posted this topic without pics! My appologies. Here is what it looks like a day later. No more has appeared to leak out. But I see how wet the boot is. My question is, can I drive it 30 more miles on a must do errand? THanks for all your guys help.

Maybe a dumb question, but how do your brakes feel?

 

[emmado22]

If you HAVE to drive it, check the fluid level in the axle first. add gear oil as neded. Run your errands, but get that seal changed ASAP.

 

[gimpyrobb]

...AND check the brake fluid first.

 

[Deuce_of_Spades]

I have not driven it since I found the leak. So I dont know how the brakes are. Can I feel a diff. at a stand still?

 

[chicklin]

I have not driven it since I found the leak. So I dont know how the brakes are. Can I feel a diff. at a stand still?

If it's the brakes leaking, a couple pumps should put the pedal all the way to the floor and you'll have an even bigger mess at that wheel. This is assuming you have a single channel brake system.

The fact that it didn't leak until you were on an incline leads me to believe that it's more likely the seals the other guys mentioned, but you should at least rule out the brakes first.

 

[Jake0147]

I did the same this spring-
Carried a cord and change (two and change before I split it) back from the lot stacked in neat piles. How easier to unload than to just let the dropside down on a side hill, right? Dang I'm a genius. Yeah, my truck looked like yours. So I threw in seals. (And boots, and it truely needed boots).
So my "Test drive" was to park it back in the same place. Same result. Then instead of buying more parts I asked around. I'm told that this is pretty much expectable and no new seal is going to fix it. The seals hold the oil for a short time, but they're not "good" seals, they allow you do drive across such a slope, but they can't keep the oil back for very long if you park there...
Upon disassembly the brakes were spotless inside. Removing the bottom king pin bushing bolt will slather you in greasy oil if you're not ready for it. If there's oil on the outside of the front tire, it'll "creap" out from between the ring, flap, and tube area for quite some time...

 

[Big Mike's Motor Pool]

looks like a torn boot with the axle seal leaking gear oil into the knuckle.

 

[dm22630]

The same leak was on one of my deuces. The axle seal went bad & it just went to the repair shop to be fixed. Upon taking the axle apart, they found that the U-joint was also F'd up! Now that has to be fixed ($$$).....

Anyway....

ODiron sells the front axle kit to fix your problem.

here is the link ---> http://www.odiron.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=4_48&products_id=624


By the way --- as long as you keep the gear oil in your axle relatively full, you can drive all you want. Just unscrew the plug on the rear about halfway up the back side of the axle & squirt in gear oil until it starts running out. *** The first time I checked mine, it was 4 1/2 quarts low ***

 

[dm22630]

Here are a couple pics of the SAME problem I had.....

 

[bigmike]

I didn't realize it was the front axle. It is the axle seal. The oil is mixing with the grease and washing out the grease from the U-joints. Top off the oil, grease the heck out of it and run your errand.