[Healeys] Rear axle oil seals

[Healeyguy]

Bruce
This is very common and really of no great concern. If you put the brake drum and retaining nuts back on the o-ring joint will close back up and you shouldn't have a leak. I'm assuming the drum is off when you noticed the leak. You can test this by putting a spacer and nut over a wheel stud opposite the small countersunk axle securing screw and tightening,
Aloha
Perry



In a message dated 01/25/08 19:52:56 Hawaiian Standard Time, healeybruce at roadrunner.com writes:
Inspecting my rear brakes during the annual maintenance, at first all seemed 
OK.  But tonight I discovered a puddle of gear oil under the right rear hub. 
I can clearly see that oil is leaking out between the hub and the driving 
flange of the axle half shaft, and dripping off the stud.  I removed the 
retaining screw, and wiggling the driving flange expresses more oil from 
between it and the hub face.  There is no evidence of any oil leaking around 
the back side of the hub around the rear axle casing.  So, having never torn 
into an axle before, I have some pretty basic questions: 

1.  Does this indicate that the oil seal has failed, as I'm assuming?  Or is 
it possible that the joint washer between hub and the driving flange just 
needs replacing? 

2.  From reading the shop manual, it looks like I will need to pull the hub 
and bearing to get to the oil seal.  I can see I'll need to rent a puller 
for this.  Any tips/suggestions on this process?  It's also a bit of a 
mystery to me how the bearings stay lubricated, with the oil seal inboad of 
them. 

3.  The manual's directions for refitting of the oil seal, bearing and hub 
are not terribly detailed, and I don't get how to actually measure that the 
bearing spacer is protruding .001-.004 inch beyond the outer face of the hub 
and paper washer.  Can you check this with a feeler gauge?  What about the 
tubular drift to drive the hub back on? 

4.  The Moss catelogue shows an O-ring and an oil seal, while the service 
manual shows only the seal. ??? 

5.  Finally, after studying the exploded views of both the shop manual and 
the Moss catelogue, and evidencing my lack of experience with tearing apart 
an axle, I'm having trouble visualizing how the hub is actually mounted.  If 
you can pull the axle shaft out without removing the hub, what does the hub 
locknut thread onto?  It seems like it would have to mounted to axle 
somehow. 

Thanks in advance for advice. 

Bruce Steele 
1960 BN7 
Brea, CA