I replace the brake linings on my 26 T Pickup today.
The axle seal was stuck on good.
I used a bearing splitter and a 2 armed puller to get it off.
With new modern seals and new linings,
Maybe now it will STOP!
Looks nice!
If you have any rear end oil thinning the grease and leaking out, you want to pull out the bearings and sleeves and install new inner seals.
Steve, As I understand it, these new outer seals are all you need. (?)
As seen in the first picture..very little was leaking. I was just being a little proactive by installing the modern outer seals.
Mike;
Are those Watt's seals? I installed them on my '14 T 35yrs ago and still working great.
Count me among the skeptics on that one. Even if the new outer seals keep everything in, they wouldn't keep oil from the rear end from thinning the grease on the bearings if it gets to them. That doesn't appeal to me.
It was suggested on this forum a couple of years ago that minor oil leaks that resulted in oil getting on the emergency brakes and also on the wheel spokes could be stopped by drilling a small hole in the axial housing under the outer bearing and would allow oil to come out before it got to the outer seal. I tried this and it has worked for me. I used a 1/16 bit. Had to put tin cans under the holes and collected some motor oil. After a period of time I did not have to put the cans under the holes as the leakage pretty well stopped. It did stop the seepage of oil on the brakes and spokes. Certainly if the leakage is moderate, new inner seals would be the best option.
My comment was in response to Hal. You guys type faster than I do.
Hal,
In my opinion Steve is right. You need good inner oil seals and I speak from experience.
Richard,
Outer seals were purchased from Snyder's
The rear axle oil won't hurt the bearings, in fact it might lubricate better than grease. The problem is of course is that if can reach the outer bearing it can leak out of the axle. I think the inner neoprene seal is the best way to avoid an oil leak. The outer Watts type seal should be used with the inner seal if you want a belt and suspenders approach.
I've wondered about oil in the outer bearings myself but the inner bearings run in oil all the time. I suppose the grease provides a higher pressure film for the loading on the outer bearings. The argument fails though when I see some the choices for "grease" being used. Also, the surface load could actually be higher on the inside bearings due to axle flex and ring and pinion forces.
"The argument fails though when I see some the choices for "grease" being used."
Ken, Care to expand on this?
The heaviest of trucks on the planet use 85W90 for wheel bearing lube. I think Model T rear axle bearings will survive quite well with it.
The last thing I want to do is add grease to the list of argumentative subjects. Some folks live and die by "grandpa's old formula". I'll just say that I've seen some grease used that wasn't meant for bearing forces or heat. But that would lead to another long thread.
As a side note: My brother is an aerospace engineer by education and does analytical work for a living. (I can't say any more on that either.) Back when reproducing the Model T axle was at the height of discussion, I asked him to look into some of the forces involved in the axle and bearing design. (I was going to make axles but someone beat me to it.) Turns out that the bearing load (psi) is actually quite small. So small, you could probably use 3-in-1 oil as a lube for the outer bearings but heat is the limiting factor. So use a grease that is designed for bearings.