Rear axle seal

[Mr Moose]

Hello out there.

I've just had the brakes done on my '89 Cherokee ltd, and my mechanic has pointed out that the rear axle seal is leaking.....so I asked him to replace it....but aparantly this is not possible without cutting off the wheel bearing with a blow torch and replacing both the bearing and the seal at the same time (the bearing is in good condition).

Does this sound legititmate?

[Bob Barry]

You can't replace it without removing the rear seal, but you should NOT take it to a butcher who would remove the bearing with a friggin' TORCH! :eek:

The proper way is to drill part-way through the bearing retaining ring and crack the ring the rest of the way through, then press off the old bearing, which usually distorts and ruins it. Then you remove the retaining plate, knock out the old seal, drive in the new seal, clean up the shaft where the seal rides (if it's got a groove or is pitted, you should replace the shaft as the seal will leak soon after if it doesn't have a clean surface to ride on). Then you slide it over the shaft and press on the new bearing and retainer.

This is on non-C-clip axles; if yours has a C-clip, I don't know if the bearing is pressed on the retainer, or if, like Chevy axles, the bearing remains in the housing. If the bearing remains in the housing, then you don't have to destroy it.

The main reason torching off a bearing or retainer is bad is because the heat can change the temper of the axle. I'm sure many mechanics
"do it all the time" and "never had any problems with them", but it still ain't right and can lead to axle problems down the road. The torch is just a lazy mechanic's chisel in this instance.

[Mr Moose]

Hey thanks for the advice.

My chiltons manual talks about splitting the ring, as you've described.

I'll make sure he doesnt attack my jeep with a blow torch :eek:

I'm not being charged labour for this, so perhaps that's why he want's to go the quick route.

Thanks again!

[gsmikie]

Bob Barry..........you make me proud

[FSJ Thing]

When I first read this post I was about to freak out because hitting the bearing with a torch would definitely screw up the axle because I beleive the bearing is made out of a harder metal, so if he hit it with a torch, he would probably melt the axle tube around the bearing before the bearing would start to melt.

[Bob Barry]

Originally posted by gsmikie:
Bob Barry..........you make me proudThanks, Dad!

;)

[kyjman]

I myself being a Master of the cutting torch did my rear axle bearings by cutting the retainer ring with my torch, then cutting the old bearing off. If its done right with the torch and by someone that knows not to get too much heat on the parts, then its ok. I now have about 30,000 trouble free minles on my truck since the bearing job. For some one without really good skills with a torch I say go the other way by drilling and cutting with a chisel....good luck