I was checking my tire pressure when I noticed some globs of grease on the inside of my passenger side wheel well. I looked behind my wheel at the axle and saw this...




..it seems ive blow out a seal.
My question is, is this safe to drive with on, lets say, a 4 hour drive this weekend?

Thanks

 

My personal opinion I would not drive it. Reason is you don't know how much grease is left in the wheel bearing and I wouldn't want to take the chance of having the bearing lock up or blow apart on you at highway speed. But like I said thats just my opinion.

Ryan

 

ahh dont listen to ryan run her till she blows.....besides if she does go out on ya u buy the parts i'm sure we would love to get together and help out.....that is what dtr is all about

 

Yeah but I dont feel like risking my rotar assembly locking up or having a wheel FALL OFF while im doing 65mph

 

Not to mention the guy who's offering to help is about a 23 hour drive away...

 

im willing to help. whether much help or not, im only 23 seconds or so away.

 

Go and get a new seal and repack the barrings. shouldn't take more than 15-20 min.

 

Thanks rbrett but the parts wouldnt be in till monday....plus i aint got any larger tools....who knows...we'll see

 

Its been a while since I had mine apart. Is there even a seal there that would leak grease? The axle shaft goes thru the center of the axle on which the axle bearings ride. The seal on the rotor wouldn't cause it too leak there? where is the other seal at? I don't remember one in there. I guess I'll refresh my memory when i do the brakes soon.

 

If I'm not mistaken there is a seal at the back side of the hub where the axle goes in.

 

Yeap... and my guess is you'll also find the roller bearing in the spindle being toast, outer stub worn.galled at the roller, and some hub bearing wear... which has let the axle shaft wobble and egg the seal...

 

thats what i figured. im keeping my fingers crossed though and hope it just went out due to age.

 

I am going to go out in left field and say that the grease didn't come from the wheel-bearings.

I think it is from the steering knuckle joint, be it king-pin or ball-joint.

It is kinda hard to tell from the picture.

There is a rubber V-lipped axle seal, inside the spindle; but, I doubt any grease from it could get to where that grease is.

If that seal, the needle bearings, and half the axle-shaft are gone, it shouldn't have any effect on the normal operation of the truck, so long as the hub is not engaged.

Besides, unless the hub is packed completely full and pressurized, I just can't envision grease "blowing" out, even if the hub-seal were missing.

The seal is there to keep water and trash out, more than to keep grease in.


Of course, I may be wrong.



To be on the safe side, jack that wheel up and feel for bearing looseness, also roll the wheel, listening for strange noises and feeling for roughness.

If that grease has migrated out around the axle-shaft, it has to have been pretty hot, especially in that quantity.


Also, invest in a pressure-washer.

 

I must be getting old and slow, or maybe I am just slow, meticulous, and careful; because, I just got done going through the left-front wheel-bearings on the son's truck.

I started on Saturday morning and finished on Sunday evening; and, I only serviced the wheel-bearings; I did not attempt to remove the spindle to get at the axle/bearings, which probably would have added another half-day to the schedule, unless the needle-bearing was bad, then I would have needed another day.

I was more than twenty minutes getting a jack-stand situated, the wheel off,
and laying out the tools.

 

Yes... you are It will definately take me more than 15-20 minutes but i belive that can be torn down and done correctly in under and hours time (wheel bearings). if you are simply taking them out repacking and reinstalling.