Stuck on the inner seal!

[socom688]

I am replacing my seals on my rearmost passenger axle. I made my way to the inner seal, but it's stuck! How in the heck should I get it off?? I have tried a crowbar, but that's just bending the lip behind it that's part of the drum...

 

[socom688]

Anybody?

 

[NDT]

Tap on the bearing with a wooden dowel?

 

[socom688]

I dont see see how a wooden dowel would help getting it off, maybe on. I can't get the seal in the picture below off

 

[Jeepsinker]

That seal doesn't need to come off, but if you are replacing anyway just use a small hammer and small chisel to tap it off from the back side. Get the chisel as close to the spindle as possible. Or you can use the chisel to just cut it off.

 

[TMNT]

I used a kind of hammer that has a wedge on one end. I flipped it so the wedge would strike right at the point where the seal meets the tube. Don't pound it, just back the hammer up against the brakes and then slide it with some force against the seal. Don't worry about tearing up the seal as your going to put a new one on anyway. Just keep sliding the wedge back and forth so the wedge catches the seal on the way out. It usually only takes 3-4 taps to get it off. I'm sure there's some fancy tool for doing this, but that hammer works for me.

 

[socom688]

Thanks guys, I did the hammer trick, popped off no problem! I have one more question though, as I reassembled everything, the outside seal against the outer bearing, which way does it face?? I am 80% sure I put it in correctly, but I want to ask you guys. The rubber "lip" goes against the bearing and the flat side faces the outside of the hub and is where the 3" nuts make contact correct? And how tight should those 3" nuts be?

 

[socom688]

Also, how clean do the mating surfaces of the seals with the hub need to be? I have grease kinda everywhere in there, and figured if it doesn't affect and cause a potential leak, it's not a bad thing.

 

[welldigger]

I know you already got the inner seal off but the technique I use to get them off is lay a chunk of 2x4 across the brake shoes and use a pry bar to pop the seal off braced against the 2x4.

As for the outer seal, yes, the lip goes towards the bearing. Excess grease coating things won't hurt anything.

 

[Jeepsinker]

Just be sure to keep the grease out of the keyway so when you put it back together the silicone has a clean surface to bond to.

 

[TMNT]

X2 on keeping the keyway clean. I had to learn that one the hard way. I started using a cotton swab dipped in mineral spirits to swab out the keyway to make sure it was clean after putting everything together. A couple of swabs with mineral spirits and then one dry. Then fill the keyway with silicone. Let that sit for a day or two before running the truck. If you don't get that part right, you'll be doing it all again much sooner than you'd like.

 

[socom688]

Thanks everyone. I got it done. No leak so far! I used The Right Stuff in the keyway. This was a 8 outta 10 on the hard scale but now that I have the right tools etc it'll be a 2-4 outta 10 next time then a piece of cake after that. Thanks for the input guys!

 

[Jeepsinker]

Ohhhh, that's not a hard job. You just have some learning to do and experience to gain.

 

[TMNT]

I hope you have better success with Right Stuff than i did. I had several failures of the keyway plugs within a couple of weeks. The final fix for me was standard black automotive silicone. Not trying to rain on your parade, but I couldn't get that stuff to stay in there. Let us know how it does for you.

 

[mobileauto2000]

I use "The right stuff" and have had no problems.

 

[oboyjohn]

In the military up here in Canada, we would use a piece of cork in the keyway to seal it. Always worked, never leaks.

 

[TMNT]

I use "The right stuff" and have had no problems.

I was sold on it when I heard about other people using it. Maybe I was not letting it cure, or messing it up some other way. I had to redo my rear hubs 2-3 times as they would start leaking 90wt into the hubs within a few days. On the final redo, I used Permatex black silicone and let it set for a couple of days before moving the truck. No leaks in 6 months of pretty regular use, including 260 highway miles and a few days of SSGR13 trail and convoy miles.