Stuck Grease Seal in Rear Bearing Covers

[RONIN10]

I did some digging around and couldn't locate any posts that address this...

I'm in the midst of rehabbing my rear suspension and it appears that the outer grease seals in my rear bearing covers have not been removed in a VERY long time. As such, they're frozen in the groove which the seal presses into. I've been trying to remove them, but with very little success. I've soaked the bearing cover in PB Blaster, pried at the material with a small screwdriver, but the only thing I've manage is to do is tear up the grease seal, leaving most of that perimeter rubber wedged in groove.

Any tips or tricks to getting the rest of that material out so I can replace the seals? Maybe something that would dissolve the rubber? Bake it out?

Looking around online, replacement bearing covers seem hard to come by (unless you want chrome which I don't), so removing that stuck material seems like the only solution.

Thanks in advance.
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle

[gevmage]

[RONIN10]

[Pink MG]

You can put the cover on a couple real short 2x4's so the face of the seal is above the bench and knock it out from behind with a drift pin or like tool. I actually used the jaws of my vice instead.

Or you can spend a couple $$ and buy a seal removal tool K-D Tools or Lyle make them.

I just did mine ('74 Beetle) and used a drift. I'm sure they've been in there for 36 years too. They are supposed to fit tight...they're pressed in.

Be sure to clean up the surface on the bearing cover before you reinstall the new seals. I finger wiped a little grease on the outer diameter of the new seal so that it pressed in without getting warped. Finger wipe a little grease on the inner lip before you reinstall the bearing cover too.

I think the German Elring seal kits (1 each side) were # 311 598 051

[gevmage]

[Pink MG]

I think the outer seal on the swing axles are the same as the IRS...at least the listing for the seal kits cover both types with the same part number.

[RONIN10]

Got 'em out...

Wedging a small screwdriver and leveraging it out worked. Turns out I what I was assuming was part of the bearing cover itself was actually just the metal ring encased in the rubber which explains why I was so hesitant to do much to it without further input. Once the fear was gone, I pried to my hearts content. The first one popped out easy, the second required a bit more effort, but still popped out easy.

On the comment about the IRS vs. swingaxles kits...the kits I purchased include two o-rings (one large, one small), a paper gasket, and the grease seal itself. My understanding is that the small o-ring and the gasket are specific to the swingaxles, the large o-ring is for the IRS, and the seal itself is shared between the two.

Thanks for the input!
_________________
Andrew

Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle