[Ford-ferguson] Re: leaky rear axle seal

Carl Baker carl.baker at pnl.gov
Tue Aug 1 08:53:32 PDT 2006


On Monday 31 July 2006 08:02 pm, RUSSGMAN at aol.com wrote:

> 1 Is the bottom brake shoe toast or can I somehow clean off the brake  shoe
> and remove the gear oil?

Your local auto parts store sells something called "Brake Kleen" or some such 
that does a pretty good job of salvaging soaked brake shoes.  But getting 
them relined is remarkably inexpensive.

> The gear oil continues to drip out and I assume there is a seal around the
> axle within the axle housing. I havn't pulled the axle as yet because I
> need to find something to catch the gear oil I assume I will release when I
> pull the axle.

There are two seals on the 8N, but both are "outboard".  Little gear oil 
should be lost when you remove the axle - it shares a sump with the 
transmission and hydraulic system, so you can get an idea of the oil level by 
checking the dipstick on the side of the tractor.

>
> 3.  Exactly where is this inner seal and how do I remove it?  Is  it
> attached to the axle or pressed into the axle housing?
>
> 4.  Are there other seals I am not aware of????
>
>   I noticed the bearings had no grease on them, I assume that the leak
> washed it all off.
>
> 5.  Is there a particular wheel bearing grease which is preferred  by the
> group?  Exactly how does one 'pack' these bearings?
>
> 6.  Since I am not sure how long the grease has been gone how can I  tell
> if the bearings are OK or at least reasonably OK?
>
> I am going by the IT manual but it doesn't address these particular
> questions.  The exploded views are very helpful but it's not the same as 
> getting my hands into the problem.  Is there a preferred aftermarket 
> manufacturer for these parts or is the New Holland dealer ship down the
> road  from my work convienient and good enough?
>
> 7.  Is there anything else I need to inspect while I have this  apart??
>
>  I assume I will be working on the other side sometime in the future  and
> would like to get this taken care of with good long life parts.
>

If I recall correctly, there are only the two seals, and the bearings run in 
oil, not in grease.  If they're not obviously damaged the bearings are 
probably fine, but new bearings are cheap.  The key to having these seals 
work properly is to have a solid tight fit between the tapered spline on the 
end of the axle and the wheel hub (held on by the big 2" nut on the end of 
the axle).  If you can't get this tight you may need a new axle or a new hub 
(or both).
-- 
-- carl
Carl Baker
Richland, WA
509-375-2724



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