Leaky seals or normal wear?

[Rosy]

Hi folks, while waiting for my service parts to arrive I thought I'd have a good crawl under the truck and perform some of the other maintenance tasks. While checking over the front axels I noticed BOTH sides we wet to the touch with oil. Is this normal or a sign of bad things to come?

The reason I am unsure is the cannonball looks pretty clean, no sign of soup and its only been 5000 miles since both sides were completely rebuilt by the pros down at OC.

Advice greatly appreciated.

 

[t1pper]

Blocked breather ?

 

[Chris]

Could be.
Very clean oil. Not usual to see oil that clean weeping out of the seal. Of course this isn't leaking from the seal it's leaking from the bottom bolts. I'd suggest that this should be referred back to OC to be honest.

If that rebuild was only 5k miles ago, I'd have to say that the plates and felt etc don't look like they were replaced.

Really important that those bottom bolts don't come loose

 

[Rosy]

good shout, ill go pull that little suker off now!

 

[t1pper]

Closer look I can't see any oil tracking down from the cannon ball it does look like it's from the bolts??

 

[Rosy]

Could be.
Very clean oil. Not usual to see oil that clean weeping out of the seal. Of course this isn't leaking from the seal it's leaking from the bottom bolts. I'd suggest that this should be referred back to OC to be honest.

If that rebuild was only 5k miles ago, I'd have to say that the plates and felt etc don't look like they were replaced.

Really important that those bottom bolts don't come loose

You are correct Chris, the oil is leaking from just the bottom bolts, but on both sides. Does that not suggest a pressure issue?

5000k miles in my case would be 15 months ago, in that context would you still suggest going back to OC?

 

[Towpack]

If that oil is diff oil from the bottom bolts then oil must be getting past the half shaft seals and into the hubs for whatever reason. I've also seen run off like that before from grease when it starts to break down but not moly grease. Try a dipstick (drinking straw etc) in the swivel housing filler plug to get an idea how bad the contamination is. JMO

 

[Chris]

That's a good call TP. I'd forgotten that option. Yes, sometimes the grease does split and the oil would end up sitting under the grease in the swivel pins. If it was actually leaking into there, I'd expect it to pick up grease and be dirty. Really hard to say without some sort of invasive test. Leaking from both sides doesn't really confirm anything.

I'd certainly be asking JV for an opinion after 5k miles. They should be good for something like 60k.

 

[chapel gate]

As mentioned its probably oil seperation.

 

[StarCruiser]

Mine are similar but a bit more gungey with grease. Not caked, at all but not clean.

Question is, what passes for 'the norm'.…
Perhaps we could have some pics from those that know please?

 

[Rosy]

Note fired to JV, lets see what he says. One way or another I will have to resolve this before the end of the month when we are due to spend a week camping in France.

Either way it sounds like both sides need to be stripped back to the oil seal and rebuilt...not what I needed to hear two weeks before our first proper long drive .

 

[Chris]

Well, whilst not totally super, it's not Armageddon you know. You could do 50k like that and never really suffer damage. Oil in the hub is nowhere near as bad as grease in the diff.

I'd certainly do a quick sample of the diff oil. You can dip something in there and wipe in on kitchen roll. If it looks as clear as the oil on you finger then it's all good. There's something odd here. Clean oil leaking from the bottom bolts is not a typical failure. As TP said, it could be the grease splitting. But at 5k miles? Doubtful. Breather blocked, sure that would do it so check for sure. But it should have been checked at the rebuild too.

Going in for a look isn't a big job at all if you're experienced. If you are not having to replace major components, you can be in and out in a fairly short time.

 

[Rosy]

Well, whilst not totally super, it's not Armageddon you know. You could do 50k like that and never really suffer damage. Oil in the hub is nowhere near as bad as grease in the diff.

I'd certainly do a quick sample of the diff oil. You can dip something in there and wipe in on kitchen roll. If it looks as clear as the oil on you finger then it's all good. There's something odd here. Clean oil leaking from the bottom bolts is not a typical failure. As TP said, it could be the grease splitting. But at 5k miles? Doubtful. Breather blocked, sure that would do it so check for sure. But it should have been checked at the rebuild too.

Going in for a look isn't a big job at all if you're experienced. If you are not having to replace major components, you can be in and out in a fairly short time.

Thanks Chris, I will check the diff oil for contamination and give the breather pipe and valve a good clean this evening.

I will admit that stripping the front hubs is a little outside my conform zone at the moment... If, as you say, oil in the hub isn't catastrophic if there isn't grease in the diff I can keep an eye on it till I can take it back to OC or conjure up some local expert support.

Fingers crossed for a blocked breather and clean diff oil!

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I have never seen just oil there or even oily grease without there being evidence of it on the swivels themselves before. Whatever the explanation it's very odd. Did you look to see if the oil might be tracking down the arm from somewhere else? It's a long shot seeing as it is both sides but worth a look. Also you could clean them off with brake cleaner and then keep checking them and you might see where it is coming from.

 

[Rosy]

Prompt and descriptive response from OC this morning the summary of which was:

Nothing to worry about, he uses non-synthetic grease which is liable to leech if not used frequently which is also evidenced by the fact that it drips while stationary. If it were axle oil it would be coming through the wiper seals and only leak while in motion as when parked on the flat the oil level is below the lip of the inner axle seals.

Will still be checking that breather hose and valve!

 

[frank rabbets]

As Chris says check those bottom nuts for tightness. It's essential. Also check condition of dif oil......whatever.

 

[Chris]

Well bless me. Really? There's a new one but peace of mind for you Rosy. I can understand it leaking through the bolts after all they are cone nuts in there so it's not a perfect seal. A good one, but not perfect. If the grease leeches oil then it makes sense that it would collect in the bottom of the swivel.

 

[Rosy]

Well bless me. Really? There's a new one but peace of mind for you Rosy. I can understand it leaking through the bolts after all they are cone nuts in there so it's not a perfect seal. A good one, but not perfect. If the grease leeches oil then it makes sense that it would collect in the bottom of the swivel.

absolutely mate, an axle strip is not something I wouldn't feel comfortable doing unaccompanied for the first time.

Maybe i'll pay a little more attention to @kingtom the next time he needs to perform a field repair at Lincomb

Thanks for the advice chaps, very informative as always!

 

[Dave]

The problem is the bottom swivel bearings dont like running in oil, they need grease.

 

[fbnss]

If the grease has separated or whatever, could one of the bolts just be undone, drain the oil leaving the grease behind?