On my Elva Courier race car, which uses a Morris Minor (Spridget) rear
axle, the most common place for oil leaks to develop is at the lip seal
which is pressed into the inner face of the hub and rides on the machined
surface of the axle tube stub end.
Cornering exerts a lot of leverage on the axle tube and the only thing
keeping the hub square to the tube is the hub and bearing which absorb
tremendous force, plus end loading. Even with the special double bearing
hubs these forces are still exerted on a very short section of the axle and
when the machined surface gets scored and/or the lip seal is damaged oil
will leak into the brakes, and all of the silicone and new O-rings and
paper gaskets will not stop it.
The solution is to pull off the hub and press a sleeve over the end of the
axle which is a very thin piece of formed metal that essentially renews the
metal surface, fit up a new lip seal and reassemble. Chicago Rawhide
manufacturers the seals and the corresponding sleeve kits. They cost about
$50.00 and take only about 5 minutes to install once the hub is off.
Best--Michael Oritt
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