Rear axle seals making a mess...again (2 Viewers)

[jonheld]

Since we've both been on this forum for a long time it's worth mentioning that I'm sure you know how to orient seals and many other things better than most folks but I wanted to mention seal orientation as much for posterity/other readers as for a thinking outside the box suggestion, just in case.

Did you ever experience a situation where the hubs ran up to a high temperature? It seems possible that another cause for issues like these could be overheated seals from brake drag, bearing issues, etc. At the same time I'm throwing heat out there I can also think of situations where I've overheated bearings (hubs were very hot to touch, grease thinned and smelled burned, etc.) but the seals held up so this also seems an unlikely cause unless heat was extreme. If there are other signs of heat issues (cracked linings on brake shoes, seal damage, bearing discoloration, etc.) this could possible be related to the failures you are seeing. I'm drawing at straws here but it's harder to help folks, like yourself, that have likely thought through and attended to all of the setup details correctly yet continue to see an issue.

Hopefully the new parts and setup will solve your issue.

It's funny you mention that. After long highway drives, I make a habit of touching the back of my hand to all 4 hubs. Been doing this for years.
The fronts are always slightly warmer than the rears, but the majority of brake force in on the front, so I disregard it.
In either case, none of them are "hot".

 

[mudgudgeon]

Last time i did rear bearings i torqued the bearing preload similar to the TOOLS R US method for the fronts.

I cut notches in my 54mm hub socket so it doubles as a SST for the rear hub nut.

 

[baldilocks]

It's funny you mention that. After long highway drives, I make a habit of touching the back of my hand to all 4 hubs. Been doing this for years.
The fronts are always slightly warmer than the rears, but the majority of brake force in on the front, so I disregard it.
In either case, none of them are "hot".

Old school infrared thermometer…

 

[mudgudgeon]

Old school infrared thermometer…

Graduations go

- Ice cold
- cold
- warm
- yeah, that's startin' to warm up!
- oh yeah! There's a bit of heat there!
- 3rd degree burns

 

[baldilocks]

Graduations go

- Ice cold
- cold
- warm
- yeah, that's startin' to warm up!
- oh yeah! There's a bit of heat there!
- 3rd degree burns

Weep now, I didn’t say hurt yourself. If you can feel heat enough to make you think something is wrong. Something is wrong.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Weep now, I didn’t say hurt yourself. If you can feel heat enough to make you think something is wrong. Something is wrong.

No-one's weepin

 

[baldilocks]

No-one's weepin

 

[jonheld]

Last time i did tear bearings i torqued the bearing preload similar to the TOOLS R US method for the fronts.

I cut notches in my 54mm hub socket so it doubles as a SST for the rear hub nut.

Yea, I have the 1/2" drive dual purpose hub socket I got from Joey years ago.
Again, due to the design of the rear hub lock nut/thrust washer indexing, it's not really possible to be exact. I'm not really sure what the engineers were thinking when they designed this.
@Kernal had the right idea by adding 4 more holes to the thrust washer to be able to set preload a bit more accurately.
I would have bought a pair.

 

[jonheld]

Due to the hard to get short-side locking axle, I switched to RCV axles for the rear. They have a lifetime warranty, twisted splines are excluded. The hub has to be modified for extra dowel holes.

I'm having a hard time finding a set of new OEM inners. I reached out to RCV regarding modifications but haven't heard back yet.
Do you know offhand what mods need to be done to fit these?

 

[NeverFinis]

I'm having a hard time finding a set of new OEM inners. I reached out to RCV regarding modifications but haven't heard back yet.
Do you know offhand what mods need to be done to fit these?

Three options:

1. Install as is, but the 2 Toyota dowels are too small and would be ineffective
2. Drill out the 2 Toyota Dowel holes to the larger size.
   1. Or, drill four larger dowel holes in the other spaces, which will allow you to go back and forth between RCV and Toyota axles.
3. Drill 6 new larger dowel holes as RCV intended.

I was going to do option 2.1, but ultimately went with option 3. Also, one might be able machine down a couple larger dowels to fit the Toyota axle, and then remove the other larger 4.

@cruiseroutfit sold me new hubs with the 6 larger drilled dowels. I still have my old hubs which I can always put back on if I wanted to run Toyota axle shafts again.

 

[landtank]

To late now but did you check for bearing play before taking everything apart?

You check this by moving the axle in and out. Not like the front which is 12 and 6.

A loose bearing can affect brake pedal feel and “pump” oil past the seal.

 

[jonheld]

Three options:

1. Install as is, but the 2 Toyota dowels are too small and would be ineffective
2. Drill out the 2 Toyota Dowel holes to the larger size.
   1. Or, drill four larger dowel holes in the other spaces, which will allow you to go back and forth between RCV and Toyota axles.
3. Drill 6 new larger dowel holes as RCV intended.

I was going to do option 2.1, but ultimately went with option 3. Also, one might be able machine down a couple larger dowels to fit the Toyota axle, and then remove the other larger 4.

@cruiseroutfit sold me new hubs with the 6 larger drilled dowels. I still have my old hubs which I can always put back on if I wanted to run Toyota axle shafts again.

OK, mostly understood.
The picture shows a stub axle sticking out. Does this setup require a drive plate like the front? The RCV website provides no installation information, and I have reached out to them both on their tech support web form and email with no response.

@cruiseroutfit Kurt, will you hold my hand and gently brush the tears from my face?

 

[NeverFinis]

OK, mostly understood.
The picture shows a stub axle sticking out. Does this setup require a drive plate like the front? The RCV website provides no installation information, and I have reached out to them both on their tech support web form and email with no response.

@cruiseroutfit Kurt, will you hold my hand and gently brush the tears from my face?

Yes, it uses a drive plate like the front and a dust cap. Here it is all buttoned up.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

OK, mostly understood.
The picture shows a stub axle sticking out. Does this setup require a drive plate like the front? The RCV website provides no installation information, and I have reached out to them both on their tech support web form and email with no response.

@cruiseroutfit Kurt, will you hold my hand and gently brush the tears from my face?

Sure, shoot our parts team an email. info@cruiseroutfitters.com

We stock the wheel hubs, and as pictured we can offer them with the 6 dowels. We also stock the RCV rear axle kits which use an inner shaft and a drive flange versus a 1pc flange/shaft like the OEM. We deal with these exact parts daily.