My back axle oil seal has started to leak.Is it easy to replace it ?. Martin

Location: Chichester

What axle is it Martin ie banjo type or two piece and where is the leak and is it oil or grease?

Location: Near M1 Motorway, Jtn 28

Hello Brian, it looks like oil, its coming out of the back plate of the brake on one side and running down the tyre. I'm not sure what axle it is,its a 1934 model if that helps.Thanks Martin.

Location: Chichester

Martin,

Not very easy- needs the back axle pulled out and stripped- another case where *Mr Woodrow is invaluable!

*'The Austin Seven Manual', available from all good Cherished Suppliers.

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Melbourne, Australia.

Why would I need to remove and strip the axle if it appears that this oil seal,sits behind the wheel bearing? Surely this can be done from one side or am I missing something?. M

Location: Chichester

The seal in the back of the hub is there to stop the wheel bearing grease escaping. if it is oil escaping this should be kept in place by seals either side of the diff and never actually reach the hubs, these seals require dismantling of the axle to replace.

Location: NZ

The Austin is new to me, I have only up until recently done short journeys. Last week I drove it for about 60 miles and the leak has started since then.But I will check the level just in case the previous owner overfilled the axle, thanks for your response to my problem.8

Location: Chichester

Thanks Ian for the information on the oil seals,it looks as if it is going to be a bigger job than I thought if its the diff seal.M

Location: Chichester

Some owners have drilled a drainage hole in the axle case to allow oil that has got past the oil seal to simply drip out. There is no reason why you should not do this as an interim measure until you can do proper repairs.

If you look at your axle under the car from the rear, you will see on each side of the differential are cover plates to the meshing adjustment, the oils seals, which originally were felt, are located to the respective wheel side of these inside the axle case. Modern lip seals can be fitted to replace the felt, but the axle half-shaft needs to be in good condition with a smooth surface, otherwise, the leak will continue.

I re-built my axle last year and I considered the lip seal alteration, but I was worried how they would stay in position in service, I was not comfortable that it would work as well as expected and so I went with the felt seals, as originally fitted.

The only way the seals can be replaced is to strip the axle down, the advice given in the previous post to get the Woodrow Manual is indeed worthwhile!

It is not a difficult job to do for the average mechanic, the difficulty will stem from abuse and past bodges & poorly executed repairs, but once disassembled, damaged parts can be replaced.

Good luck with your repair!

Location: Saltdean, Brighton

Hi Martin, for a few years I have only put sufficient Castrol D140 oil into the back axle to cover the lowest teeth on the crown wheel, which is well below the Austin recommended level but, it all gets flung around so lubrication is adequate and leaking to the hubs minimised.I have covered over 10,000 miles like this and noted no detrimental effects.
I do make a point of checking the level probably more frequently; no excess in there so, any slight loss has to be replaced ASAP.

Ian Mc.

Location: Shropshire

Hi Martin

If you were really lucky perhaps your car has hydraulic brakes and a cylinder is going!

For an axle leak of that order linings are presumably already soaked and more or less ruined. Diff side seal replacement is not a minor exercise for a beginner (or anyone). But an opportunity to remedy any dodgy axle ends (with no or minimum lapping). Unless the diff replacement gasket assembles to the exact previous thickness, adjustment is affected.

Unfortunately aluminium shoes and possibly glue bonding preclude a session in the dishwasher to degrease linings.

In the meantime, has the car been parked for a long period on a serious cross slope? It has long been recognised better not to fill diffs completely. If the car has been garage serviced it is likely a thin 90 grade oil has been used. A cross section of the hub appears in the downloadable owners books and nearly every publication. By tilting the axle may be able to drain via the hub greaser plug. If not cemented the hub flanges may easily separate to drain oil. Very effective wheel seals and gaskets as recently under Skimming Hubs will help and may cure. Many moderns allow diff oil to the hubs and rely only on a lip hub seal to contain it .

Although the time you pull the hubs etc on the way to the full job. But can at least work on your knees instead of back.

Bob Culver

Location: Auckland

Martin

It's not too bad of a job really once you get started, when we did my special we started early morning and it was back together the same day.

Leon

Thank you for all your replies to my leak.I am going to clean everything up, and check the back axle oil and experiment with a slightly lower level and keep a close eye on what happens
Thank you all for your help
Martin.

Location: Chichester