Best Practice for Installing Inner Axle Seal??? (9 Viewers)

[LINUS]

If nothing else, I’m thinking people will learn something seeing this thread.

Some like me have literally every Craftsman socket in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 -drives, both metric & SAE & were trained to use them to drive seals, press bearings, etc.

And for those who that’s impractical / too much crap to have in a garage - I see a even more compelling reason for Joey’s tool.

I have quantity, but living in metro areas guys need be selective in what they buy/store in their garage.

No matter, I bet everyone had a takeaway - maybe just not all exactly the same one.

 

[6894kevin]

My wish list on Joey's site just got another item....

 

[Rifleman]

Absolutely nothing wrong with the Harbor Freight seal drivers.

The Harbor freight bearing race driver set is what i like to call a 50, 50 tool when used for installing seals. Installers who use them to install seals with, stand a 50, 50 chance of installing the seal incorrectly (case in point the cocked seal in the photo above), or damaging it. You see there's a reason why the Wits End seal driver is designed the way it is. Made with it's piloted end to center and hold the seal, and it's shoulder, the chance of you damaging, or improperly installing the seal is greatly reduced.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I've always used a block of wood with a nice square end cut on it as a driver.
If the block is wide enough to span across the full width of the seal, the block will stop on the shoulder of the axle tube/knuckle and prevent the seal being driven past flush.
If the block is 8" of so long is easy to see if you're driving it in true.
Rotate the block a 1/4 turn after every tap or two to further help the seal go in true.

 

[bicycleagent003]

Just saying, the Wits End seal installer not only makes the seal go in straight, it also very slightly (and evenly) pushes the seal in past flush. That way the seal is sitting on a new surface, not the one that already has over 200k miles of wear on it.
So, while I appreciate that there other are ways to get the seal flush, I haven't seen a comparable technique or tool to accomplish what the Wits End tool does. And the price is less than the cost of paper towels, gloves, oil, etc., to go back in there. Much less the time and frustration.
Just my two cents.

 

[LINUS]

I was in town driving by myself (so my mind wanders like a Gumball cartoon).....but I was thinking about this.

I get a ton of us somehow grew up holding tools or learned along the way, but for a ton of guys who were smarter than myself and stayed in school long enough to get a 4yr degree and now are circling back to tools, Toys, and whatnot - Joey’s tool makes the job exponentially easier.

You’re in a full-ish day of labor, some ~$300 in parts & grease, gloves, towels, etc.

You botch this seal install, you wasted ALL that work.

You’re going all the way back in on that side.
And re-ordering a kit / 1/2 a FAS kit -buying grease & all that noise.

Again.

I’m now firmly of the opinion that unless you do seals super-routinely with other applications - buy a damn seal tool from Wit’s End.

It may be $30-$40 or some, but you’re invested in that axle say 8-10x that in parts- let alone labor going into it.

Having a SST just for this was easily justifiable IMO when I thought back to axle services between mine & the 2 guys I helped thru theirs.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I don't disagree with above, but there's more than one way to fxxk a cat.

No doubt the right tool for the job makes life easy. It's a matter of balancing dollars and storage space for tools.
As a shade trees mechanic, I'd love a bigger collection of tools, and buy the best quality I can justify, when I can justify it.

Whatever works.

 

[Rifleman]

I don't disagree with above, but there's more than one way to fxxk a cat.

No doubt the right tool for the job makes life easy. It's a matter of balancing dollars and storage space for tools.
As a shade trees mechanic, I'd love a bigger collection of tools, and buy the best quality I can justify, when I can justify it.

Whatever works.

In my case I'm lucky, i don't need to buy Wits Ends seal installer, i have a complete machine shop at home so I'm able to make whatever special tool i need to do the job correctly. But in the case of the back yard mechanic, Ninety nine percent of the time I'd agree with you, you use what you have to get the job done. But when you consider not only the time it takes to do this job, but the cost to tear it apart again. All because you made a mistake installing that inner seal, 30 or 40 bucks spent on a tool like what Wits Ends sells, to correctly install that seal, that sounds like one hell of a bargain to me.

 

[KWalkerM]

I just use a large half inch socket flipped backwards and a 3 inch extension through the middle of the socket to drive it home carefully. Never had issues with that method plus using the Marlin Crawler HD seals

 

[LC4LIFE]

I have never had any issues using "normal" seal drivers, sockets, pvc pipe, etc., but I also have an entire suite of very nice tools and I can tell you there is nothing like a nice well made tool, especially SST's or their liking. Either way, I have a rebuild coming up relatively soon, and even though I have all the tools to get this seal driven in, I prefer something like the Wits'End seal driver. In fact, I just purchased it tonight as I want no room for error when I finally dive in. I view it as a small price to pay for a bit of insurance so I won't have to dig into the axle for another long while.

 

[NLXTACY]

I have never had any issues using "normal" seal drivers, sockets, pvc pipe, etc., but I also have an entire suite of very nice tools and I can tell you there is nothing like a nice well made tool, especially SST's or their liking. Either way, I have a rebuild coming up relatively soon, and even though I have all the tools to get this seal driven in, I prefer something like the Wits'End seal driver. In fact, I just purchased it tonight as I want no room for error when I finally dive in. I view it as a small price to pay for a bit of insurance so I won't have to dig into the axle for another long while.

and shipped

 

[IvanRoux]

and shipped

Hi, I live in a remote area, so I need a tempory fix until I can obtain a Wits End Driver. Anyone care to give the exact dimentions of the driver for the inner oilseal for the LC 80 series. Much appreciated

 

[Broski]

I just use a large half inch socket flipped backwards and a 3 inch extension through the middle of the socket to drive it home carefully.

This