Oil on the front rim

[Roo]

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to the mechanical side of 4WDs, but I'm eager to learn, so please forgive any stupid questions or incorrect terminology.

I have recently noticed a small amount of oil residue on the drivers side rim, coming from the hub. It only seems to leak if I drive at highway speed for some time.

Ive been asking around and can't get a straight answer... I've been told anything from "its just a bearing seal, easily fixed with a few bucks worth of parts, a mate and a lazy Sunday" to "Very costly, need to pull the live arm out and strip the whole front assembly".


This is by far the worst its been, this was after about 100km on the freeway.



Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Roo

 

[Dave2000]

No experience with the locking hub but, is there any grease on the BACK of the brake disc? That would be the rear disc seal, cheap part and a couple of hours. The front of the non lockable hubs has a simple flange and cap assembly, even easier if no grease on rear of disc. I would have thought the manual hub has a line of sealant or perhaps a seal between the disc and locking hub. Other than that I would hang around for another contributor with more knowledge about these, at least a little 'bump'.

regards

Dave

 

[Chris]

I'm in the same place as Dave really, we don't have the locking hubs here but we do have plenty of other vehicles that DO have them like Hiluxes and Suzukis. What I can say is that it is very unlikely to be serious or expensive. More like a simple seal, few rags and basic tools. The locking hub bit is sort of instead of the drive flange that we get as standard. If there is oil there then it's going to be diff oil I'd guess. If that's the case then we all know how to fix that. Dirty, but not difficult not costly.

 

[Dave2000]

If really runny it could be grease broken down with oil from the differential, if the axle seal is toast it just adds a little more time, none of this is more than a 1 banana job , try and get a WSM downloaded that shows the procedure.

regards

Dave

 

[Roo]

Thanks guys, sounds like I know how I'm spending my next day off.

 

[Dave2000]

Thanks guys, sounds like I know how I'm spending my next day off.

Try owning an old Land Rover, you soon learn how you are spending next years worth of weekends!

regards

Dave