HOW TO: Install rear axle seal kit

[Lost John]

Well, I borrowed a 6 point 1 13/16 socket from work today. The axle nuts came off way to easy. And the drums almost fell off with one light wack of a hammer.
The right side was covered with oil and the left side was mostly dry?
I did call WW this morning and bought 2 kits and 2 spacers. More later...John

[Lost John]

I took apart the right side today. No slinger, no washers of any kind the only o-ring was the small one had dry silicone on it.
Now the kit from WW had ,I think the correct spacer for the 1 ton. The large o-ring looked right along with the seal. The 2 washers only slid over the threads, ant not the splines Does the 1ton washers alide over the splines?
I really appreciate any and all help or suggestions on this project.

[Lost John]

I just finished reading all the posts (like I should have in the beginning)

Now I know -No washers,-small o-ring will strech and work,no large o-ring unless seal housing has a groove .

I did notice that the new spacer ,where it goes against the o-ring is different. Might use the old spacers .

Have a guy at work that has a HF seal driver. Project for next week.

[BarryL]

[Lost John]

Thanks, I believe I will use the old spacer. I don't see any wear on them . ..John

[Lost John]

I'm sorry if I drive you guys nuts. I'm trying to figure out why the seals were leaking.
On the right side, the weep hole was plugged in the backing plate. Which explains the wet shoes. The paper gasket was good, so that leaves the o-ring, Which was streched way out of shape. I think I'll use a bigger o-ring. Does that sound logical ?
The spacers , should I use the old one with the groove in the edge or the new one with the sharpe edge? WW said I can return the new ones.

Please Help Thanks ...John

[BarryL]

Use the new o-ring as supplied with your old spacer. I wouldn't worry about that small a groove as long as it's smooth.

[Lost John]

The groove that I'm talking about is the ridge from being torqued on old installations. The new one is sharp on the top edge but I suspect that it will mash abit after being tightened?

[BarryL]

[Lost John]

Ah-ha ,I'm learning something new all the time. All of my mechanic friends and
every one here say's use the old ones. Those new ones just didn't make sense to me....Thanks, John

[Who.Me?]

I've got the drum off and am draining down the RGB to fix a slight leak. I've had all this apart a few times before, so I'm good with the procedure.

Inside the drum there's a weird distribution of oil that's making me wonder if the issue is with the seal. I'd like to understand why it's leaking, rather than just replace the seal with another kit and hope it fixes it. I've tried a few kits in the past and have settled on the CSP kit.

There's oil on the backplate below the drain hole area that collected on the brake pipe and ran down, dripping off the bottom of the back plate and wicking through on the cylinder in to the drum.

The brake shoes and drum are dry, but the backplate has a sheen of oil that extends up above the seal carrier. There is oil on the nuts and washers that hold the brake adjuster assembly to the backplate.

Why would oil be up so high? I initially wondered whether it was melted grease, but I grease brake parts with copper grease and this oil is amber-coloured. I also wondered if it was actually brake fluid, but again, I can't understand how that would get so far up the back plate?

If the oil was being slung around, surely the drum and shoes would be contaminated, and they aren't.

Any ideas?

_________________
Andy


Looking for info on my truck's history. Are you from Campbell California or nearby. Do you recognise it? ... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=636786

[Eric&Barb]

[Who.Me?]

[Stocknazi]

[avocado_tom]

[jays58s]

I’m working on an April of 1963 walkthrough panel that my buddy recently purchased. It’s been sitting in a garage for 9-10 years, so I’m bringing it back to life for him. This thick beveled washer was in the bearing cap before the axle seal, is this the correct washer? I’m used to seeing the thin ones on 1965 and later Beetles.

[swharris]

I've not read the entire thread, but the last set of spacers I sourced were from Rancho Transaxle in Fullerton. I live near by and just stopped in. They seemed to help fix my leaking issue on my '62 (small nut). Not sure, but I don't remember a step like the WW ones that have been posted. Does anyone have experience with Rancho spacers?

[vwsplitvan]

Noticed a leak on my splitscreen bus with beetle straight axle kit and Type 3 rear drum brakes.

so stripped it down to fit new seal and noticed it had a TransporterHaus aluminium bearing cover.

No drain hole in this type of bearing cover, and no oil slinger installed either.

Just asking what others have done with this set up. As there seems to be no info anywhere on these.

I found the larger rubber ring seal had been distorted causing the leak.

So Is this bearing cover used without the oil slinger washer and without the oil deflector (like on the earlier bug) ?

Thanks
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SBS #20 UK

RHD 62 Ragtop Beetle Beryl Green
LHD 69 Squareback Peru Green
LHD 63 Splitscreen Highroof Pearl White