Wheel seal woes

[RedFirstGen]

Why does my darn wheel seal keep leaking. Dealer fixed it once. Almost immediately started leaking again. Dealer was nice enough to then come out to my house and put another new seal in on their dime. It was good for about 6 months now it's begun leaking again. . Anybody have an idea as to why it would begin to leak again with a new seal? Thanks.

 

[flyerdan]

What immediately comes to mind is the axle shaft has a score or a burr on it that's tearing up the seal. If it won't burnish up because of a groove where the seal has cut in, they might make a repair sleeve that presses over the bad part, I think they call them speedi-sleeves.

 

[RedFirstGen]

What immediately comes to mind is the axle shaft has a score or a burr on it that's tearing up the seal. If it won't burnish up because of a groove where the seal has cut in, they might make a repair sleeve that presses over the bad part, I think they call them speedi-sleeves.

Great info. Thanks. If this is the case you should be able to find the culprit upon inspection once apart correct? Or no? Just to verify that it is indeed the issue...

 

[oldpilgrim]

plugged vent building up pressure internally?

 

[RedFirstGen]

plugged vent building up pressure internally?

Dealer said they checked to make sure the vent was working ok the first time around and said it was. Just for curiosity sake how would I check to ensure it is ok?

 

[flyerdan]

Any damage or roughness sufficient to damage a seal should be visible. Here is a picture of my front pulley that had such a bad groove from a hardened seal that it slung oil all over. Next to it is the repair sleeve; you put some adhesive on the cleaned surface and carefully press it on. I used a Harbor Freight arbor press to seat it, works fine. They are so thin that they don't affect the seal clearance.


As for the vent, it will be at the highest point on the differential, if 4X4. It will probably be plastic and built so that it allows venting but isn't open on top, kind of like a roof vent. If the axle is submersible there might be a tube leading to a higher location so the open part won't submerge. Either case, just make sure they aren't blocked by mud or insects.

 

[Navasot]

It may be the whole housing itself... we had one that took a good hit and stripped back the bolts a bit.. it wasn't that bad because it all went back together but one of the bolts broke off and needed to be eased out.. new bolt went fine but it never was right again.. ended up replacing the whole housing

 

[BlackOps]

i just had a right front wheel seal replaced. year and a half in - hope i have no further issues. I did read a thread or two in the past about shabby mahindra wheel seals. I hope is will be well.

 

[Navasot]

air pressure is big with keeping those small subs from messing up the front end.. about every one I get in here with a leak that side tire has been a air when needed tire.. it will go flat in a day or so..

 

[RedFirstGen]

Thanks for all the great info. Now to decide if I want to try and diagnose and fix myself or go through the PITA hassle of getting it to the dealer for them to try and fix. Or just suffer with a leak for a while...