Is my axle seal in too far?

[Trojan4x4]

Doing my axle seals and had a machine shop replace the bearings and retainers with OE. On the first try of course they crammed everything together and they had to reorder the retainer and try again. Got the axles back today, could you tell me if it's OK or should I either try and have then push the retainer out further. Thanks!

 

[Trojan4x4]

Other axle

 

[JohnMc]

Should be fine. It looks as though the seal lip is riding on clean smooth steel, and it won't seal any better if it rode any further along that ring.

 

[JZiggy]

Should be fine. It looks as though the seal lip is riding on clean smooth steel, and it won't seal any better if it rode any further along that ring.

Respectfully disagree. The axle shaft flexes under load so dynamically the sealing point may move in and out from where it's shown. The closer to dead center on the sealing surface the better :thumb3:

 

[mtbtim]

Respectfully disagree. The axle shaft flexes under load so dynamically the sealing point may move in and out from where it's shown. The closer to dead center on the sealing surface the better :thumb3:

I couldn't agree more with Jordan here. You ideally want the seal lip riding in the center of the polished part of the retainer. The polished part of the retainer is 10mm wide so 5mm in from the edge of the bevel is dead center.

You'd probably be good for a while, but as the bearing develops more play over time, the seal lip will be sometimes riding on the non-polished bevel and you'll end up with a leaking axle seal again. Dead center or close to it buys you the maximum longevity for this repair.

If you flip the retainer orientation with the bevel facing the ABS rotor, 5mm of polished axle showing is about right.

Check out this video [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I made for this repair to learn more.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AVhSDnw2ugo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Trojan4x4]

Dropped it off back at the machine shop, they are going to flip the retainer and move it inboard a little. Will report back,

 

[JohnMc]

But if your bearings are wiggling around that much, an oil leak will happen regardless of where the seal is riding.

Certainly not optimal, but certainly good enough for the purpose.

Be careful installing the axles with the bevel turned around, it will be easier to damage the seal as it slides onto the sleeve.

 

[mtbtim]

But if your bearings are wiggling around that much, an oil leak will happen regardless of where the seal is riding.

Certainly not optimal, but certainly good enough for the purpose.

Be careful installing the axles with the bevel turned around, it will be easier to damage the seal as it slides onto the sleeve.

If you've felt one of these new seals in your hands you'd know how pliable they are. I think you'd have to try to damage the seal by slamming the axle shaft into the axle housing. If you go in slow, there's no way you're going to damage the seal with the retainer flipped around.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Also, when I did both mine, there was about a 1/2" gap between the retainer and the exciter. It might be OK as long as the ABS sensor picks it up but I was just making an observation.

 

[Trojan4x4]

But if your bearings are wiggling around that much, an oil leak will happen regardless of where the seal is riding.

Certainly not optimal, but certainly good enough for the purpose.

Be careful installing the axles with the bevel turned around, it will be easier to damage the seal as it slides onto the sleeve.

In my experience Toyota bearings have quite a bit of lateral play even new.

 

[Trojan4x4]

Picked up the axles, I'm gonna call it good!

 

[mtbtim]

Picked up the axles, I'm gonna call it good!

Perfect! They did a good job.