Help: 2 axle seal failures on this trip, leaking again

[cgreer00]

The front left axle seal is leaking badly on our motorhome and I am losing hope in getting it fixed. Plus we are well over 1,000 miles from home in the middle of a 6 week trip. I don't know what to do at this point.

When we got to our destination in Florida I could smell something burning when I hit the brakes and saw fluid all over the inner rim of the wheel. A mobile mechanic came out and repaired it with a seal he cross-listed from NAPA. We made it up the coast to Virginia and once again there was oil all over the front rim. We had the seal replaced this morning at a very well-rated truck shop with a National part, and they said it should be good to go. We have made it 100 miles up the road and all of the oil has leaked out again. We are outside of Salisbury Maryland and in a campsite for two days...supposed to head out Sunday when nothing is open. I told the shop this morning to look closely and make sure that ALL of the old seal was gone, including the wear indicator. They said that they did.

So why is it leaking so badly again? My wife and kids are definitely tired of dealing with it, and I am as well. It is threatening to grenade the trip we have been planning for months.

Can I put thicker Lucas Hub oil in it to slow the leak? Is there something else I can do? At this point I have lost confidence in any of the shops on the road being able to fix it, and I can't keep paying $300 for a shop to put in a seal that fails almost immediately.

[Ralph_Cramden]

Ivylog wrote:
Switch to grease instead of oil. My front axle and tag are grease.

I was thinking bad advice LOL, but then I read the disclaimer in your Sig.

Perhaps the OP should switch to peanut oil, Crisco, or urine. I would think if it's gear oil coming out, that's what is specified to be used for the application unless some dummy in the past worked some magic?

[eHoefler]

Some seals use an internal wear ring, when installed, they are pressed on the spindle when the hub assembly is installed, and does not rotate on the spindle. Stemco seals usually have a wear ring pressed on the spindle, which makes for a replacable wear surface. If the Stemco was used without the wear ring, it will leak. If a seal was used with an internal wear surface, CR and National use this design, and the wear ring was not removed, it too will fail immediatly.

[wa8yxm]

I would rather keep oil in it. There are two things.

I see many have commented on the vent. IF the Vent is clogged.. Well See above. We will leave that to their knowledge as I personally have never seen that happen. but then I ... My Experience is very very limted (ONE RV, the One I'm sitting in, on this issue)

IF the seal is actually bad.. NOT the axle seal but a power steering seal.. Not an RV but a Car, and not mine but my MOTHERS.

Every time she did a hard left turn (As I reecall) the seal blew. EVERY TIME.. IT was replaced under warranty several times till the warranty ran out and the dealer changed hands. he replaced it (at his own expense) one more time but was not all that happy with the service record so he sent his steering guy to Hamtrammack to study at the factory..

Came back and found the shaft it sealed had a "Burr" (Rough spot) that was tearing up the seals.

It can happen on an axle too.

[midnightsadie]

might as well order brake pads now so they,ll have them when you get the seal repaired.

[enblethen]

It may need a complete spindle assembly.
Can you tell if the hub is getting hot. Bearings? Overheated could cause spindle to warp. Brakes dragging?
Do you have the seal numbers? National? Napa?

[path1]

Match up seals by part number or flop on counter and used eyeball then look at reference book? Some seals very very close in size.

[cgreer00]

This is a 2002 Workhorse W22 chassis, 22.5 inch rims. Black plug is definitely not clogged. I have used a mobile mechanic in Florida who worked on rigs his whole life. He used the Napa part. I then used a very well-reviewed commercial truck shop on the Chesapeake Bay and they used the National part equivalent, said the seal went on just fine. Drove it 100 miles today to the next campground and ALL of the oil had leaked out by the time I arrived. Nobody nearby can work on it so I have ordered the original STEMCO seals to a place in Boston to get them installed there. It is a 7.5 hour drive and I will just pull over a lot and continue to put more oil in. I don't really have any other choices at this point, but I am beyond frustrated and it is costing a small fortune for a stupid $40 part.

BTW, the oil is leaking on the inside all over the rim and caliper. It is not leaking on the outside at all.

[Ivylog]

Switch to grease instead of oil. My front axle and tag are grease.

[midnightsadie]

holiday week end, call a few mobil techs ,see if they have some idea,s. just a shot in the dark ,but you don,t no if you don,t ask.

[jorbill2or]

Any good commercial truck shop should be able to fix this quickly , provided the brakes aren’t coated ( a major fire danger don’t drive it if they are ) . Even then it should be a normal repair as these are standard truck parts. The problem is finding a component repair shop.they should be able to tear it down and fix it knowing the issues you’ve told us. They need to look further than a simple seal replacement . You’ve had a bad run of shops is my guess and these hub seal repairs are normally simple and sometimes given to the “new “ guy maybe that’s what’s going on .. good shop bad mechanic. I’d call the shop it was done at and raise H ..

[rgatijnet1]

To answer your question....NO, do not put in thicker oil. If the vent is clogged, it will still leak out. What you need is a real mechanic, not the junior guy that was just promoted from tire changes and lube jobs, to find the problem.

[wolfe10]

Yes, let us know what chassis or axle you have.

Did it leak out the inner seal or outer seal? If outer, what is the condition of the center rubber plug-- they can shrink.

[enblethen]

What is make of the chassis? It is very possible that the vents are plugged.

[MountainAir05]

This is just a shot in the dark. Is the outer pin hole plugged where you put in the oil. If so when it get hot it leaks around the seal not venting out the hole. Is the outer seal dirty or clean.

A lot of thing can go wrong when putting in a any seal. Most good shops should be able to install one since they have it apart. If they put in the wrong part number the first time and they they use that the second time then. Then you can see where that goes. Hub has a damage spot that is not sealing. The list can go on.

Did they put in too much oil