Spitfire spitfire rear hub seals

[cutlass29]

Help please,

Rebuilding spitfire rear half shafts...everything apart no problem, cleaned up and all ready to go back together. PO had at some time replaced seals/bearings....inner seals in hubs are orientated different...one of them is backwards!

Haynes manual says fit inner seal to hub with seal lip trailing...does this mean lip is towards the uj end, so it is trailing when you push it into the hub or is lip towards the center of the hub so it will be trailing when you slide it on the shaft ?

New to the forum and tried the search thingy but struck out.

Any help would be greatly apppreciated.

 

[70herald]

Help please,

Rebuilding spitfire rear half shafts...everything apart no problem, cleaned up and all ready to go back together. PO had at some time replaced seals/bearings....inner seals in hubs are orientated different...one of them is backwards!

Haynes manual says fit inner seal to hub with seal lip trailing...does this mean lip is towards the uj end, so it is trailing when you push it into the hub or is lip towards the center of the hub so it will be trailing when you slide it on the shaft ?

New to the forum and tried the search thingy but struck out.

Any help would be greatly apppreciated.

It sounds illogical but both of them should be "backwards"
Here is a letter I got from John Kipping a few years back when I had problems with grease ruining my rear brakes.

The usual cause of excess grease inside the brake drum is a professional
rebuild of the rear wheel bearings at some point in the past. All the repair
books quite categorically state that the inner bearing grease seal is fitted
backwards so grease can get out and water can't get in, people who think
they know what they are doing always fit it the wrong way round (ie
backwards-backwards), as it is double lipped all excess grease promtly goes
out the outer grease seal and even if the trap plates are fitted correctly
some grease finds its way onto the shoes. Sorting the problem is a major
drama as the hub has to come off, and you shouldn't even attempt this
without a version of the original hub puller. Don't listen to anyone else,
it is guaranteed the hub/stud assembly will be bent if you try and remove it
with normal garage equipment - I used to do a very good trade in (straight)
secondhand units.
John Kipping

 

[cutlass29]

- I have the hub off, using the correct puller, and disassembled...trying to get it all back together.

- so if I understand correctly inner seal is inserted into hub so lips will be towards the uj...this is the way i read it in the manual.

It is a pig trying to get it on this way....the lips naturally want to fold under as the hub is slid onto axle.

 

[billspit]

Gadzooks. I'm most certain I put mine in backwards! If I can borrow the puller from an old friend I may work on re-doing them.

 

[70herald]

Gadzooks. I'm most certain I put mine in backwards! If I can borrow the puller from an old friend I may work on re-doing them.

I wouldn't bother taking them apart just to turn around the oil seals, but take the wheel and brake drum off before you grease the rear bearings. If the inner ring is in "backwards backwards" the next place for the grease to escape is into the brakes. Not real good for the pads.

 

[cutlass29]

thanks 70herald...

Will continue on tonite then...came to a standstill the other night and couldn't believe it should be that difficult to push hub up the axle. With the grease I added to axle to help slide hub on it is difficult to see if sealing lip is in correct position (facing towards uj)...have to hope when I grease the hub the pressure will push the sealing lip back towards the uj.

Is there a trick to this I'm missing ?

Will also heed your advice and grease the hub with drum off and hope grease oozes from inner seal.

 

[guzzul]

- so if I understand correctly inner seal is inserted into hub so lips will be towards the uj...this is the way i read it in the manual.

Sorry to jump in on this so late, but yes, I think you have that correct. The lips of the seal 'trail', when the seal is inserted in the trunnion. This applies to the outer seal as well when you install that on the axle.

So the outer seal lips naturally trail smoothly when you slide the seal along the axle, but the inner seal lips want to curl under as you push it 'up' the axle. This should not be a big problem though given the axle is pretty smooth and if you put a little grease on it there is nothing to pull at the lips of the seal. But there is no way you will know if the lips have folded under unless you pull the hub off again.

To drive the trunnion onto the axle shaft I just used a piece of iron plumbing pipe with an inner diameter (1-1/6" as I recall) that slides over the axle and just rests on the bearing race of the outer ball bearing. If you search this forum on "Spitfire rear hubs - where to position bearing?" this should give you a reference point on the axle to position the front of that bearing race. I found the description of where to position the 'flinger' not that useful.