What causes an axle seal to fail on a car?
Also, failures can occur when moisture combined with salt from roads penetrate the seal and contaminate the bearing, or over time the grease used to lubricate the bearing can liquefy leaving it dry causing a failure. This is what a failed axle bearing looks like.
How do you replace front wheel bearings and seals?
Grasp both sides of the rotor and with a thrusting motion pull outward. This will cause the nut to contact the inner bearing and force it from the hub along with the grease seal. Be careful not to drop the rotor. After thrusting the rotor outward, the bearing and grease seal will release and remain on the spindle behind the nut.
What happens when a bearing fails on a front wheel?
When an axle bearing or bearing hub fails, it may cause the wheel to have play from top to bottom, but not always. Grasp the tire firmly and jog the wheel back and forth and from top to bottom to confirm the failure. On straight axle differential style of vehicles a bearing failure will be indicated by leaking gear oil.
How can I tell if my rollers have a bad bearing?
Remove the nut completely to remove the bearing and seal to clean thoroughly. Use a shop towel to wipe the bearings and races clean. Look for a metallic pieces in the towel after cleaning which is an indication for a bad bearing even if you cant see it on any of the rollers. Also lines can be present on the rollers as well.
Also, failures can occur when moisture combined with salt from roads penetrate the seal and contaminate the bearing, or over time the grease used to lubricate the bearing can liquefy leaving it dry causing a failure. This is what a failed axle bearing looks like.
When do you need an axle seal replacement?
Let’s start with the first question. The axle seal replacement is not a part of regular maintenance, the seal only needs to be changed if it leaks. How do you know if an axle seal is leaking? Gear oil or transmission fluid drops on your driveway are some of the early signs.
Grasp both sides of the rotor and with a thrusting motion pull outward. This will cause the nut to contact the inner bearing and force it from the hub along with the grease seal. Be careful not to drop the rotor. After thrusting the rotor outward, the bearing and grease seal will release and remain on the spindle behind the nut.
When an axle bearing or bearing hub fails, it may cause the wheel to have play from top to bottom, but not always. Grasp the tire firmly and jog the wheel back and forth and from top to bottom to confirm the failure. On straight axle differential style of vehicles a bearing failure will be indicated by leaking gear oil.