Bearing hub seal ?.....

[Nickathome]

Another thread made me think about this one. When I insatlled my bearing seals a while back, I "distorted" I guess is the best word I can use to describe a couple of them after I hammering them home. They weren't exactly flat on their outer edge after I was finished. I don't think they are out of round, just dinged up a little from the way I seated them. Will this cause me any problems say in the spindles getting marred or grooved in anyway from this? Just curious to know, thanks.

[HingsingM37]

Nick,
The seal lip contains a spring loaded garter around the lip. Naturally no distortion of the case is wanted during installation. If you slightly "compressed" the metal case, ie; A few thousanths as opposed to really bending it, trouble should be nominal. Of course if the case was wallopped enough to distort the sealing lip contact to the spindle and disloge the spring, sealing is comprimised and dirt/water will enter. The lip is bonded to the case, distortion of the case will distort the sealing lip. You would really have to have smashed them to cause the metal case to rub on the spindle enough to cause damage. You would have felt this upon assembly. If it is going to keep you up at night, a re-work is in order

[Nickathome]

David;

No, I did not bend the cases so much as to expose any springs, but I did whack them hard enough while trying to seat them that a couple of them did bend noticeably in spots. Again, I did not see any spring material exposed or anything like that, and I did not to my knowledge feel anything during assembly. I have driven the truck since with no issues. I am still curious though. Chalk it up to never having done that sort of job before.

[Cal_Gary]

We had to install all those types of seals using a brass drift in the Army-many got dinged around like yours but never leaked. Like David mentioned, you'd really have to have BFHed it to ruin it altogether.
Gary

[Nickathome]

I'm not as a concerned with leaking as I am wiht the spindles getting damaged. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't relish the idea of a leaking seal, but that is an easier fix to me than mangled spindles. I just talked to my ex-mechanic friend and he had the same attitude that as long as they are not leaking, no harm done unless they were cracked or springs protruding etc, which isn't the case of mine at all. I may just pull a wheel one day soon, just to ease my mind a bit.

[MSeriesRebuild]

I'm not as a concerned with leaking as I am wiht the spindles getting damaged. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't relish the idea of a leaking seal, but that is an easier fix to me than mangled spindles. I just talked to my ex-mechanic friend and he had the same attitude that as long as they are not leaking, no harm done unless they were cracked or springs protruding etc, which isn't the case of mine at all. I may just pull a wheel one day soon, just to ease my mind a bit.

Your mechanic friend isn't sharing valid advice in this case. How can you tell outwardly whether the seal is leaking or not? Simple answer, there is no way to tell. A wheel hub seal isn't sealing oil in an M37 application, so there will be no visible leak, damaged or not. If you packed the bearings with good quality correct grade grease, it wouldn't run out if you didn't have a seal in place at all. In the case of wheel hub seals on an M37, the purpose is 99% keeping dirt, water, debris out rather than lubricant in. If you distorted the seal case much at all, sealing lip contact is jeopardized. Out of round sealing lip will result from distortion, out of round spells imperfect contact with the mating surface & possible problems. The spring David mentioned will never be seen as a protrusion. It is on the inner sealing lip & will simply fall out of place in the assembly if a seal is damaged to that point. They will also come off on occassion just from the slight jarr of driving the seal into the hub bore. I always check to see that the spring is still properly in place after driving in a seal, it's just a good habit to check & be certain. None of us can tell you whether yours is distorted enough to bring about any of the above mentioned issues, although I can say it dosen't take much to mess up the show. My philosophy is this, if a seal is accidentally distorted by us, even if its just slightly during installation, it comes back out & a new one is installed correctly without damage. We don't run risk like this, what you do is your call.

[Nickathome]

I'm not as a concerned with leaking as I am wiht the spindles getting damaged. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't relish the idea of a leaking seal, but that is an easier fix to me than mangled spindles. I just talked to my ex-mechanic friend and he had the same attitude that as long as they are not leaking, no harm done unless they were cracked or springs protruding etc, which isn't the case of mine at all. I may just pull a wheel one day soon, just to ease my mind a bit.

Out of round sealing lip will result from distortion, out of round spells imperfect contact with the mating surface & possible problems. None of us can tell you whether yours is distorted enough to bring about any of the above mentioned issues, although I can say it dosen't take much to mess up the show. .

Charles;

What are the problems that would arise? Mess up the show in what way? That's what I need to know. Worst case, what happens? Least case what happens?

[MSeriesRebuild]

Nick, you are really asking the impossible question, all anyone can say would be a guess at best. I'm saying that if the seal lip isn't sealing against its mating surface 100%, the door is left open for problems. Water getting in will cause rust damage on the bearing surfaces. If left unchecked for a while, rust pitting, hard surface material flaking, eventual bearing failures are a concern. Dust, sand, especially brake lining dust, any other abrasive debris that finds its way in will blend with grease causing abrasive damage & premature bearing failure. If you do any off-roading in muddy water conditions, all this can take place really fast if seals leak. Driving on paved roads in the rain will speed up the process also. This can induce salt water in areas such as where you are as I'm sure salt is applied to roads during the winter months. If the seal itself was perfect & the lip spring is off, it will not seal as there is no internal pressure applied to the seal lip to hold it snug against the spindle seal mating surface. Once again it's impossible for me to say what may or may not be going on. These are just a few examples that could be problem issues if the installation didn't get done correctly. This is why we always double check the springs & everything else when installing any seal. Hub seals are especially vulnerable if there is a leak. If oil is behind the seal, the oil leak helps retard the entrance of outside deris. Since there is no oil here to leak out, it's really just an open door to the outside elements that you know nothing about until the assembly is pulled down for inspection or a problem shows up due to damaged components.