Mark, I had this problem with a Chicago Rawhide rubber seal in my TR6 diff.
I am not sure how similar these units are to the TR4, but in my case I
surmise that the OD of the seal is a hair too large. Of course I didnt
think to measure the OD before I installed. The seal starts in ok, maybe a
bit on the tight side, but as the outer metal case of the seal approaches
the outer diff case, it gets harder to seat. In my case I stopped when I
couldnt seem to press it in any further. Thats when I noticed the outer
face was distorted. I was afraid to go much further, but if you dont go far
enough, the back side of the pinion flange may rub on the seal. Just make
sure you drive the seal in using something that will contact the seal near
its OD. My diff doesnt leak, although its only been 1500 miles.
Did you check the cylindrical surface of the pinion flange shaft for wear?
The seal tends to wear into the pinion a little over time. In my case it
didnt look too bad the first time I changed the seal (happened to use a
leather seal), but when I took out the diff a second time (due to bad
leaking) the pinion flange surface it felt a little rough when I ran my
fingernail across it. I cleaned it up with emery cloth and put it back in,
with the rubber seal this time. In retrospect, I suspect it doesnt make too
much difference if one uses leather or rubber (is this coming out right?),
although I dont have enough experience to comment on how long either one
will last.
John Lumia - 1976 TR6 (possibly with an early rear diff)
Mark Meany wrote:
>I replaced my old leather based seal, which didn't leak, with a new
>synthetic material seal from TRF back a few months ago. The diff was out
>of the car (still is) so I figured what the heck, might as well take care
of
>it. I had to fight a bit to get the new seal in & I wouldn't doubt if I
>inadvertantly distorted its shape. Afterwards, I carefully stood the diff
up
>on the pinion flange & put in probably a half a cup of 90 wt gear oil. It
>leaks through the new seal. Not major amounts & granted the vertical
>position certainly exaggerates mattters. Anyway, I bought another seal
>from Moss on speculation & it appears to be closer in appearance to the
original one removed. Making a short story long, was the consensus that the
>rawhide type seal was a better fit in the housing than the synthetic
alternatives?
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