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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Axle seals on 41 coupe

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Axle seals on 41 coupe     41fatso 03-06-2011 @ 6:37 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 8 Joined: Mar 2011 After pulling my right rear drum on my 41 business coupe, I found my brake shoes saturated w/ gear oil. Obviously my axle seal must be leaking. Part # B-4245 seems to be the correct seal. It's been 25 years or so since I rebuilt my axle so I'm a bit older and rusty (forgetful) Am I going to have to remove both axle housings to do this job? It only makes sense to replace both axle seals even if the other one is not leaking. Perhaps I should replace the drum seals also? I'm looking for advice for the easiest way of doing this without pulling out the rearend again. supereal 03-06-2011 @ 8:59 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 The usual reason for oily brakes is overfilling the rear axle. Transmission oil runs down the torque tube, and will enter the axle, causing an over fill. The axle shouldn't be filled past the plug hole. Replacing the inner oil seals is a big job requiring special tools, and seldom necessary if the oil level is frequently checked. You should consider replacing the brake linings, but it is possible to wash them thoroughly with a solvent. Years ago, we used carbon tet fire extinguishers, which are now banned. Lacquer thinner or carb cleaner will work, but do it outdoors, as they are very flammable. The hub seals should always be replaced after packing the roller bearings with the correct grease. See my recommendation in the post above. Be sure the lip of the seal is facing into the hub, and also replace the outer hub seals, which are small fiber washers. The best hub seals are the ones with the red coating. We reordered some, which were not coated, and most of them collapsed before we could get them in place. This message was edited by supereal on 3-7-11 @ 9:13 AM 41fatso 03-07-2011 @ 11:12 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 8 Joined: Mar 2011 Thank You supereal, I know very well the work involved in pulling the axle by myself and am hoping to avoid it. Perhaps pulling one axle housing at a time and keeping the rear end intact? Or maybe changing the gear oil to the proper level & clean up the brake situation runs the risk of repeat saturation? I respect all advice. 37RAGTOPMAN 03-07-2011 @ 11:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1961 Joined: Oct 2009 if you level the car and remove the filler plug, will grease run out of it, it might be overfull, like super said, you can try replacing the AXLE BEARING SEALS also, these also keep the grease in, were the drums tight ? any movement and you might get a leakage, I would wash all the parts with CRC brake clean, everything, and maybe replace the axle bearing seals and brake lining's if are worn or will not clean up, also, maybe the trans oil was too thin, you could put a heavier lube in there, maybe from a tractor trailer rear,? do all this run the car for a few hunderd miles see if you see any signs of any leakage, pull the drums off and inspect once a year, make sure the level in the rear is just below the filler plug, take a mental note were it is, next time if is the same level it is not leaking, this will save you a lot of effort, if it is over, your trans is letting the oil, slowly running to the rear, just drain the rear and fill the trans, with heavier gear oil, I have a 64 JEEP, if I use light oil in the trans and transfer case it will leak out and this is with new seals, some of these older cars were made for heavier lubes, and there is little or nothing you can do about it, just check the levels more, just read the lube charts and you will see you were supposed to check gear lubes every 1500 miles to 2000 miles, just try this before you tear the whole thing apart for nothing, even new seals might not work, hope this helps, 37RAGTOPMAN supereal 03-08-2011 @ 10:48 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 There isn't much merit in trying to pull one housing, and then another, because the gaskets will likely have to be replaced and swapped to get the correct gearset backlash. Pulling out the rear end is no picnic, but neither is trying to lie on your back for hours, at least at my age. jerry.grayson 03-09-2011 @ 5:50 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 128 Joined: Oct 2009 The inner seal is a pain to replace, but the seal itself is sometimes not the problem. The seal can wear a valley on the axle where the seal runs. If this is the case a new seal will not correct the problem. In the above case the answer is a NEW axle and seal. Sometimes a seal can be installed over the old one in the housing to get the seal edge in a new place on the axle. 41fatso 03-11-2011 @ 8:22 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 8 Joined: Mar 2011 Thank You jerry, good advice. As I'm cleaning my brakes and draining my rear, I'm also weighing my options. wmsteed 03-16-2011 @ 10:25 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 As Super said, we use to clean oil soaked brakes with Carbon Tek which is a no.no now. Plain old rubbing alcohol will remove the oil from the brake shoes. Several companies, National was one, made an external axle seal replacement.. The seal was a neoprene affair that slid over the axle into the axle tube housing and did not require the removal and dis-assembly of the rear axle. Check around you might find an old car parts vendor that has these seals.. Some place I have an empty box from the last set of these seals I used on '36 Ford. Several people have commented about the oil level in the rear end.. Most people over fill the trans and rear end. The oil level should be about 1/2" inch below the fill hole. To check the oil level the plug is removed and your little finger is inserted into the hole, bending the finger at the first joint should touch the oil. Most people pump oil into the units until the oil flows out the hole, then they jamb the plug into the hole an tighten it up. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe 41fatso 03-23-2011 @ 8:48 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 8 Joined: Mar 2011 I finally removed my axle housing, passenger side, left my rear end intact, hung my backing plate so as not to disturb my wheel cylinder. This way I don't have to bleed brakes. i discovered that my axle is worn around the axle bearing. In other words, It's time to rebuild my rear end guys! Talk about opening a can of worms. I decided to simply replace the seal. and put it all back together again. I'll rebuild next season. After 22 years and 37,000 mi. I think she'll go another 1000 or so till I rebuild so It's off to Rhinebeck N.Y. shortly. Thanks to all of you for your advice and have a happy car show season!

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