Pulled off one of the brake drums and my brakes are covered in gear oil. There is also gear oil coating the inside of the tire, so it's not a particularly slow leak.

Need to replace a seal I'm sure, but where do I find it, how does it come off, where do I get the part..? Never done this before, so a link to a how-to, or detailed instructions would sure be helpful.

A link or place where I can find the part, and how much it costs would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks in advance!

 

Pull the rim off

Take all the little bolts out and pull the axle

Pull the drum off

Take the special socket and stick it up inside and loosen the spanner nut.

Pull the hub.

Go to autozone and get the special timken seal that is about $30-$40

Follow the instructions with the seal and use the installer that comes with the seal.

Get new shoes and install them

Put it all back together. Use a little smear of grease on the bearings to lube them till the oil comes back out from the rearend to lube them. You can use rtv on the axle to seal it back.

 

Timken doesn't sell the Scotseal.
Their number is exactly the same as National/Federal-Mogul, 370047A

These are JUNK
I have changed them 3 times on one side.
Polished the stub the first time, installed a SpeediSleeve the second.

Get the SKF 34384 seal that seals to the axle housing and presses in by hand.
NAPA carries these.

You DO NOT want the 34386, whatever the counter guy says.
It's the same **** as the Timken and National.

Ask me why I am so sure of this....

Because when you have to replace a BRAND NEW $90 set of 3" severe duty brake shoes (twice!) you are sure to get incensed.

 

Timken 370047A at autozone is the seal that you glue onto the axle stub, and has worked well for me. I have never used a Scotseal, but from what description I have read it sounds like it's the same type of seal.

To the original poster; The original seal looks like a ordinary seal, it drives into the hub that turns, and seals on a smooth surface on the axle stub. These more expensive seals drive into the hub also, but they do not seal onto the axle stub, you put a little rtv in the area and they seal to that surface. The seal that turns is actually made into the seal assembly.

 

I went through this on monday...

The SKF seal IS different than Timken/National.
Doesn't need to be driven with. Anything but a block of wood and a push.

Will report back in a week or two about how it fixes my problem.

 

I am sure it's different, but it works on the same principle doesn't it?

 

The same principle, but not the same execution.

I wish I knew why the Timken/National/Federal-Mogul seal has failed again and the SKF/ScotSeal Plus XL on the passenger side has stayed leak free.

I'll admit, the first time could be operator error.
I cut a disc of birch plywood and used that to drive it in.
(it did seem to go in square?)

My axle is straight, the bearings are good.
I even mic'd the end of the housing in a few different directions when I had the hub off, but it is not out of round.

 

The one I got from autozone came with a large round metal cup to use as a install tool along with a hammer. Those large seals are hard to get in straight on any type of application. It's easy for them to get "wavy" and wrinkle the seal.

 

That's why I didn't dare try and tap it in with a hammer.
I cut a disc of plywood and drove it in square.

The second time, I used a proper seal driver.
With a long handle it's easy to see the seal is going in straight.
Damn thing still leaked.

Been catching up on a lot of maintenence the last few weeks.
I hate working on a broken vehicle in the snow/sleet/cold.

 

I tend to use a Permatex anaerobic flange sealant for these kinds of things (which also requires a surface prop/activator component), e.g.:

Permatex 51031 - High Temperature Anaerobic Flange Sealant | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Permatex Surface Prep 24163 - Activator For Anerobics | O'Reilly Auto Parts

My installation tools are made from plumbing parts, I even made a YouTube video (although I don't have 3-4 hands and couldn't record the actual beating action):