My axle seal keeps leaking after replacement.

[Mike_eash 59]

Hello 

Guys I changed my axle seal recently and it is still leaking. I was suspicious when I pulled the old one as it still looked very new and in great shape. I changed it anyway just to see and sure  enough it's still leaking.

I  have no up and down movement on the axle. I have some in and out movement 1/8" the other side has the same amount of in and out movement so don't see a problem with that.

Does anyone know what else can cause a seal leak other then wheelbearing because I don't feel like it's the wheelbearing. I could be wrong but there is just no play 

Any advice is greatly appreciated 

And thanks in advance

[lynnmor 7,352]

In your photo it appears that the seal lip is knackered.  I enlarged the photo but it gets too pixelated to see clearly.  Does the seal appear centered, it looks like the axle is below the seal center.  Is there a groove worn into the axle where the seal rides?   The seal should be installed a bit inboard so the hub doesn't ride against it, you have wear marks on the seal.  Are you sure that the oil is leaking at the seal?  Cleaning all oil off and doing a short run might show exactly where the problem lies.  It is possible that the oil is leaking where the seal is in contact with the bore, some sealant applied there is a good idea when installing seals.  look for a crack in the housing while you have it completely clean.  Now my best guess is that the off center appearance of the axle to seal is the issue, a bad bearing can fool you and show no play if rollers are jammed up.

[ri702bill 8,479]

34 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

In your photo it appears that the seal lip is knackered.  I enlarged the photo but it gets too pixelated to see clearly.  Does the seal appear centered, it looks like the axle is below the seal center.  Is there a groove worn into the axle where the seal rides?   The seal should be installed a bit inboard so the hub doesn't ride against it, you have wear marks on the seal.  Are you sure that the oil is leaking at the seal?  Cleaning all oil off and doing a short run might show exactly where the problem lies.  It is possible that the oil is leaking where the seal is in contact with the bore, some sealant applied there is a good idea when installing seals.  look for a crack in the housing while you have it completely clean.  Now my best guess is that the off center appearance of the axle to seal is the issue, a bad bearing can fool you and show no play if rollers are jammed up.

Did you put tape over the keyseat before installing the new seal?? If not, you MAY have cut the lip - "k-nackerd" as @lynnmor described it.

[rjg854 11,471]

Just like Bill mentioned check that key seat for any burrs and lightly file any possible sharp edges that might be sticking up, and then some tape over the keyway.

[Pullstart 63,080]

Electric tape * and grease the seal and shaft.  

[Mike_eash 59]

Thanks for the info guys 

I plan on putting one more seal in following advice above

If it leaks again then I will assume it's my bearing

[Mike_eash 59]

Update for anyone in the future searching for clarity on the above described issue.

After some test runs I realized the importance of reccessing the axle seal.

With mine being to far forward the axle was slightly out of round where the wheelhub touches the axle. All I did was reccess the seal about 1/4" and I believe it solved my issue. So far so good.

So reccessing the seal is very important 

The seal I removed was also not reccessed so I assumed it needs to be flush. However the one I pulled looked like it had been replaced fairly recently as it still looked new. Had I just pushed that seal back further I would never have needed a new one.

Lesson learned!!

Thanks again guys for responding