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Re: rear axle seals

To: "Allen C Miller, Jr." <acmiller@mhcable.com>
Subject: Re: rear axle seals
From: Dave & M <rusd@velocitus.net>
Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2005 08:48:38 -0600
Hi Allen,

The bearing "should" be tight in the carrier. You can press or drift the 
bearing out with a wood or plastic driver. It helps to warm the hub to 
about 200 degrees F. The seal is in a blind corner & must be carefully 
pried/driven out. Get it back in the right direction, lip facing to the 
outside of the car. It can be replaced with another wood or PVC plastic 
driver. If the bearing is so loose that it just drops out, I would use 
some Loctite Bearing Set compound when replacing it. Or replace the hub. 
On the BN2, make sure that the bearing spacer ring projects .001 to 
.004" out of the hub. I don't believe it has an O ring, just the paper 
gasket. Later cars had an O ring. The LH side octagon nut has a LH 
thread. RH side has a RH thread.

The paper gasket compresses to about .004 thickness, thus the .001 to 
.004 spacer projection requirement, as the bearing needs to be fully 
clamped in the hub at the same time the gasket is compressed.  I like to 
use Permatex Aviation Sealer on the paper gasket. Polish the seal 
running surface with crocus cloth to make sure that it is perfectly 
clean & smooth.

Torque the octagon nut to 100 ft lb, or as tight as you can get it. The 
threads could actually withstand 200 ft/lb if you could get them that 
tight. It may help to square up the end of the socket to a perfectly 
sharp square inner shoulder. Some sockets have a chamfer which reduces 
the amount of grip on the thin nut. This may seem like a lot of torque 
on the nut but there are considerable forces at work to move the bearing 
in the hub, If this happens, the inside of the hub will become loose on 
the bearing.

Make sure that the nut locking tabs are in good condition. This would be 
a good time to replace the hub extension nuts & make sure that the studs 
are in good condition. Good nuts are self locking, but I still use Green 
wicking type Loctite on them. Torque these nuts to 55 ft/lb. There is 
nothing worse than having the hub nuts loosen. It lets the oil out 
through the paper gasket & soaks the brakes with gear lube & also a 
wheel may fall off.

Good luck,
Dave Russell
BN2

Allen C Miller, Jr. wrote:
> I've ordered new O-rings, lockwashers and seals for the rear end, and have an
> 8-sided nut socket. The half axles are out as part of a Lempert 3.54
> conversion, and I want to do the seals while all is disassembled. Are there
> any tips or practical tips from those of you who've done this? In particular,
> I'm wondering if the rear bearing is a slide fit or whether you need to use a
> puller, which I would have to line up for the project.
> 
> Allen Miller BN2-m




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