Oil coming out of axle at hub

[DW]

Hi

I've got a brand new Escort Axle built by SPC, with Ford hubs. I've overfilled the axle with nearly 3 litres of oil. Went out on the road for the first time yesterday (and passed its MOT). However I have some oil coming out of the axle shaft on one side. Surely the hub bearing / oil seal should stop this? Or is it possible to overfill the axle to the point where there's too much?

 

Looking at the Tony Weale book with diagrams of the Ford Axle, the bearing acts as the oil seal too (on the old Ital there was a separate inner oil seal and an oil seal housing). The Ford axle seems to rely entirely on the bearing to seal the oil in the shaft. That doesn't strike me as likely to give a particular tight seal.....

 

David

1700XF: click here

 

Edited by - DW on 18 Oct 2008 16:41:43

[Nigel Fox]

The oil seal is integral with the bearing.

 

According to my Escort manual the axle should be filled with 1.1 litres of oil. 3 litres sounds a lot to me, the axle casing may be becoming pressurised and finding it's way out at the weakest point.

 

 

[DW]

Hi Nigel

I've taken the 1/2 shaft out. There doesn't appear to be an oil seal....presume there should be a piece of plastic or something on the inside face of the bearing? There's also a groove around the rim of the bearing - should this have a sealing ring in it?

 

SPC recommended I overfill the axle to avoid oil starvation on the diff.

[Bricol]

The oil seal is on the wheel side of the bearing and normally makes an excellent, long lasting seal. I've just had two go - on 25 yrs old, untouched axles - so pretty good.

 

But 3 ltrs of hot oil being thrashed around might be asking a bit much!

 

Bri

[Paul Richards]

I'm very familiar with oil leaking from Ford rear axles. It tends to escape around the bearing on the halfshaft, rather than through the bearing. I would suggest withdrawing the halfshaft and smearing some silicone sealer into the corner of the axle where the bearing seats.

Replace halfshaft and Bobs your mothers brother.

I used to replace Ford diffs on a weekly basis and this cured the problem 99.9% of the time.

 

Paul Richards

Area Representative - L.A.D.S. (Lancashire and District Sevens)

LADS Website

Growing old is compulsory - Growing up is optional

[DW]

Is the oil seal then integral to the bearing itself? i.e. it's the rubbery thing in the middle of the bearing - it's flat on one side and recessed on the other. The flat side is on the wheel side. So it's all fitted OK, just maybe too much oil.....will take some out and see.

 

And add some silicone.

 

Edited by - DW on 18 Oct 2008 18:29:07

[w7rren]

David as you mention -

There's also a groove around the rim of the bearing - should this have a sealing ring in it?

 

When I built a Ford axle a few years ago the bearings didhave an oil seal around the rim, in the middle of the outside edge.

Does sound like too much oil .

Mark.

 

 

Born again sevener

1st time around back in 1991

[elie boone]

Is the axle vent. blocked ? with 3 liters in it u need a tube thats going to a little reservoir.

[DW]

Shouldn't be elie - I used the breather to fill the axle. I've not got a tube going to a reservoir, just the breather. If I fit a reservoir, is that simply to catch excess? Does it need to be vented itself?

 

I've now been out in it again, and the side I've siliconed hasn't leaked, but the other side has! I'll take that out, silicone it, and see if that fixes it. I haven't given it any welly, so it may be both sides will still leak. I'm going to give SPC a call to see if Steve has any advice.

[DW]

I've spoken to Steve at SPC. He tells me that the bearings are supplied by BRT and that their current bearings aren't quite designed the same as they used to be. They must be getting them manufactured somewhere else. He's found that the oil seal that goes around the rim shears when it's inserted into the axle, so he leaves it off and uses silicone instead. He also says that the oil seal between the inner and outer race isn't as well designed - it used to stick out a bit and would seal against the collar of the axle, but it doesn't stick out anymore (perhaps that's why I thought I didn't have an oil seal!).

 

Have called Burton Power and they use BRT too, so seems like I'll just have to try loads of silicone.

[S47zz]

3 litres is far too much oil - the halfshafts will be running in it constantly and that's not good. or the way ford designed the axle to work.

The hub seals are integral with the bearings as mentioned above and normally seal very well, that's assuming you use the recommended quantity of oil, and standard hub bearings. undoubtably the oil is pressurised and forced it;s way passed the seal.

How did you fill up with 3 litre of oil? the filler also acts as overflow so simply remove the filler nut and drain of the Xs oil B4 replacing the hub bearing/seal.

 

[DW]

I have a breather on the top of the axle, so used that to fill up. Other threads suggest overfilling the axle. I've now drained some off, but would estimate I've still got 2 litres in there. Clearly though new bearings from BRT aren't as good as they used to be.

[wheely]

Think you will find that if the bearing has groove around the outer race then this is for applications that use a snap ring to locate the bearing in a certain position rather than for an O ring to seal.

The seal arrangements have designations also, for either rubber seals (LLB)or steel shields (ZZ). Have a look on the SKF or NTN sites for some technical info but there's lots of it.

Getting back to what Ford specified, in terms of designation for the bearing, should give you the required bearing fit for the housing,shaft and the seal type. Sometimes easier said than done but a dealer may still list the part.

Bearing quality does vary and there are some cheaper products on the market now. I would only specify SKF or NTN when purchasing replacment deep groove bearings or buy what was fitted by the manufacturer in the first place.

If you have a look what is on the shield in terms of letters and numbers you should be able to i.d the bearing and determine the quality from that.

 

Edited by - wheely on 21 Oct 2008 12:13:32

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

If you need quality bearings at sensible prices, I can put you in touch with my bearing supplier pal.

 

 

[DW]

Thought I'd post the resolution to this one! Turns out the oil was seeping between the bearing and the 1/2 shaft itself; although the bearing is pressed on, the fit wasn't good enough to stop oil leaking between the 2 parts. New bearings, no problem.