Rear axle Hubs- Is this normal?

Hi everyone, I decided to install new brake shoes today, and Noticed on the rear axles grease is present between the hub and the base of the axle tube where the backing plate for the brakes is. Its not leaking bad, its just coated between the axle and hub. Im affraid if I regrease the axle, itll push more out and get on the brake drums and contaminate the brakes. The oil seals on the axles are new both inner and outter on both axles.

Is this a sign of another problem that Im not aware of? :? Thanks fellas for all your help!

 

the inner seal keeps gear oil from coming down the tube.
the outer keeps axle bearing grease from contaminating the brakes; the metal shield or protector directs leakage to the bottom if leakage occurs and keeps centrifugal force from slinging grease everywhere.
all that being said, I suspect the outer seal is not sealing and/or the sealing surface on the hub has a groove worn into it.
I would clean the hub seal surface (where the seal rides) and inspect.
You will be headed for a grease/brake shoe problem if you don't take any action, that's for sure.
It could be excess axle grease that has just thinned out a little and has seeped by the seal; you could clean everything up and run it for a little while, then re-inspect also.
you might want to also check the axle vent on top of the tube to make sure it's open.
your call

 

I cannot get my drums off. How did you pry your drums off to get to the brakes?

 

I had a helluva time gettin the drums off, I adjusted the brakes shoes to where they were well off the drum and hammered it accordingly with a ball peen hammer. Used a long flat head screw driver to pry between the backing plate and the drum itself.

However I cant get the front drums off for the life of me...

 

jp, just so I get you right, if its not the outter seal, then you suspect the sealing surface on the hub may be bad? The piece that has the studs for the lugnuts is the hub right? If thats bad Would I need new hubs?

Or how about if the axles are bent? if the axles are bent would that cause grease to leak? Cause I noticed the rear wheels tend to wobble. I have rotated the rear wheels to the front to see if maybe the rims are bent, but I feel theyre the axles. They dont wobble too bad though.

 

For getting the drums off, adjust it via the slot in the back so its real loose, then use the claw of a hammer. It will usually come of pretty easy. put the claw between the lip of the drum and the backing plate, with the head of the hammer facing the other side of the vehicle. just pull towards you. you should notice movement right away.

 

Ive inspected the hubs, the left hub is cracked half way down to the base and the face that meets up with the seal is very worn, and has scrape marks on it.

The right side hub has signs of wear and is pitted, but I dont know what these should look like new, Ive included more pics let me know what you think, thanks!

Is it me or are you all getting 'server too busy' messages too? Pictures will come as soon as server stops acting up

 

I was told my axles where the tapered kind, I may be wrong. Please let me know if Im wrong.

 

I'm gonna say it's the lighting in the pic, looks like a 2 piece tapered axle to me. My RR hub was cracked just like the one in the pic, split thru the back side too and took out the seal. I'd assume that it would cause a "wobble" in the wheel due to the increased clearance. I will say I'm not familiar with that 2 piece brake drum:? I did end buying a new hub, came with wheel studs already pressed in.

 

Patchy,

A note about your front axle. Most likely you have a Dana 27 front end. The drums and hubs are held together by swaging of the wheel studs. The drum and hub come off as one unit when you remove the wheel bearing nuts.

 

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all your help, I did manage to remove the front ones, Like you said, I had to remove the front hubs and all. The Rear hubs are definately dead, and will be replaced in the comming months.

As for the 2-piece brake drum, theyre on the way out, theyre kinda warped, and Ive never seen anything like it. My father in law says he has seen them before back in the golden years.

Do you think a hydraulic press would be nice to have in order to press these studs off the drum? My studs are serrated. I didnt know you can get them smooth. I have about 20 serrated studs in a bag.

When we removed the front drums we saw the outter bearing is pitted as is the track it rolls on (anyone know the name of that part?) Im gonna have to order all new outter bearings and seals for the axles. The rear is a Dana 44 and front is a Dana 27.

PS- and yes we damaged one of the drums getting the hub off, but these two pieced relics are gonna get tossed. Anyone know where I can get new drums at a reasonable price? The local Advance Autoparts wants about $100 a piece and my 4wd parts catalog has them for $50 something and change but dont know how much theyd charge for shipping. Thanks again everyone.

 

Patchy,

I buy most of my parts from Krage Motor Sports at
http://www.jeepdoc.com/default.asp

I bought drums from them and the price was good and so was the quality.

As for the front bearings you want to order the bearing and race. The race is that track you mentioned. Knock the old one out with a punch and carefully press or tap the new one in. You can get them from Krage also.

Pressing the swagged wheel studs out through the drum and hub will ruin the hub unless you cut away the swagged material from the drum side. I have heard of guys using a hole saw on a drill to do this. Remove the drill bit from the hole saw, use a saw that just fits over the studs (1/2" ID on the saw) and cut down until you get to the hub. Do not cut into the hub.

I don't really like the above procedure so I put my drums in a milling machine and removed the heads of the wheel studs then knocked the studs out from the hub side. I'm a machinist so I have a milling machine handy.

Good luck.

 

Grandpot has it right
the only correct way to do it without fear of damage.
the cutter looks like a heavy, beefy, HD hole saw.

 

Ok, Ive ordered all the seals, bearings and bearing races. And wanted to ask how the front axle bearings are lubricated? Are they lubed by the pumpkin? or is there another way? Ive heard on other forums that you could make a mixture of axle grease and gear oil to put into the bearing side of the dana 27 axle called 'knuckle butter'. I just want to make sure these new bearings get the lubrication they need, thanks!

 

The front axle bearings or spindle bearings are packed in grease like most vehicles, the knuckle butter or knuckle pudding is used to lube the king pin bearings. Those are the bearings on the top and bottom of the front knuckle. You put the knuckle pudding in the knuckle through the pipe plug hole on the back side of the knuckle, this will lube the king pin bearings the axle u-joint and the bushings the axle rides on.

 

Update on whats going on. Got the new Omix Ada Brake Drums to replace the old 2piece ones. The stud holes are large enough to where you wont need a hole saw to cut off.

 

I just went through what you are going through. I had a cracked hub also, my breaks were covered with grease.
New hub, seals and bearings. Yes you have tapered axles.

 

ib4, what did you use to remove the rear axle shafts and bearings? Slide hammer, puller?