Re: Leaking axle seal?

[Simon Favre <simon@domain.elided>]

Well, autocrossing does put some stress on the suspension and drivetrain.
I would tend to think the tire rubbing is unrelated. That happens all the
time at autocrosses. ;=)

If you feel the green goo and it's thick and sticky, that would be gear
oil, or the original lube inside the sealed bearings. If it's thin goo,
it might be brake fluid.

The rear wheel bearings do wear out. You can't really see them at all,
even with the rotor off. To see and feel them & check for wear, you have
to pull the axle shaft. After removing the wheel and rotor, undo the 4
bolts behind the dust shield and pull the axle shaft out. Sometimes the
axle shaft pops right out, sometimes you need a slide hammer puller. The
pullers can be rented. To replace the bearing, you need a press. The
bearing is held on to the axle with a shrink fit collar. The best way
I've heard of to remove the old collar is to carefully feed it to a
grinding wheel, until the collar is so thin, it cracks from the tension
of being on there so tight. Then, the press can get it off easily. I 
remove 2 of the studs from the bearing retainer plate to get between the
plate and the bearing with a "clamshell" bearing splitter/puller. It's
nice having a press at home. ;=) You can also take the axle and the new
bearing to an auto machine shop to have them do it. Always do both sides
at the same time.

To finish the job, you also need new grease seals. They go in the axle
tubes before re-inserting the axle shafts. The spring in the seal faces
toward the diff.

Glenn Wasserman wrote:

>After checking my '93 Spider out after an autocross this weekend, I found
>some green fluid leaking from behind the brake rotor on my driver's side
>rear wheel. This is the same tire that rubbed on the inside of the wheel
>well.
>
>Do these two symptoms have anything to do with each other? Seems like too
>much of a coincidence..
>
>In any case, I'm presuming the green fluid is gear oil, and that the most
>likely cause if it leaking is the axle seal. Does this sound probable to
>anyone else?
>
>If it is the axle seal, is it easily visible by removing the brake rotor?
>How difficult is it to remove the axle - do I need to open the diff? I think
>that would be a very mess job...

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