Offroad-Express

Searched on here, but have not found what I am after,
Got an oil leak...


Not sure what seal(s) to order from the shop.
Im guessing its the seal that holds in the front diff oil,
do I need a kit or single? I am ok on the tools -
can I do this in my garage, or is it a bigger job than it looks

Cheers, Tom.

Just the front inner axle seal. Not a complex job, but it is messy and may take a little while if you haven't had a hub apart before. But good practice for when you break a CV so you'll know how it all comes apart...

Start at the outside and work your way in...

Jack it up so that side of the axle is higher than the other - keeps the diff oil in the housing. Make sure you have lots of rags and a catch-pan on hand as there will be plenty of oil and grease...

Remove wheel
Remove free-wheel hub outer
Remove circlip
remove freewheel hub inner
Remove brake caliper
Remove wheel bearing and hub
Remove CV and axle
Remove oil seal

Replace in reverse order with plenty of grease.

While it's apart - check for signs of water penetration and consider replacement of king-pin bearings and wheel bearings if they are at all suspect. Also consider changing diff oil..

Having said all that - the photo looks as if the oil is reasonably clean, and if you don't do any driving through deep water or mud, then there's no real urgency. Just check diff oil level and live with the oil drips on the driveway. The kingpin and wheel bearings will be lubricated just as well with diff oil as they are with grease... But water can penetrate into the swivel hubs pretty easily, and without a good inner oil seal, it'll enter the diff which can lead to some pretty expensive damage

but oil in the cv, not grease , so change the inner seal

coxsy wrote:but oil in the cv, not grease , so change the inner seal

Good point - still not urgent as long as you don't use 4WD...

When you remove the axle and seal check the axle where it rubs on the seal as some times the axle can have a groove worn in it from the seal which can cause it to leak or the axle may have had moisture on it by the seal causing rust and pitting on the axle where the seal normally sits.

If the groove or pitting is not too bad then a bit of a rub around with some emery tape will normally sort it unless it is too deep.

that just needs a inner seal part number at bnt is 33-44-10.

If your really keen/good the you can do it by taking the king pin bearings out and sliding the whole hub and axle out in one go. be warned its bloody heavy. you will need to take the brake caliper and the wiper seals off first.
When you take the old seal out and put the new one in make sure it goes in all the way and is seated properly.

is an easy job just messy and heavy. And make sure you regrease the cv

Thnaks all for the advice here - just the info I was looking for.
Sounds like it should not be too difficult. I will check my diff oil after its done, tho I don't think ive lost too much - I was told these diffs hold something crazy like 8 Litres!?

Cheers, Tom

they hold 5.2 litres. thats why is important to get the new seal in properly as the front axles are swimming in the diff oil due to the high oil level