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front wheel grease seal/retainer

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  • Wheels / Tires: front wheel grease seal/retainer

    How tight should the grease seal fit in the wheel opening? On one side of my 56 Hawk, the seal is tight and on the other side it fits loosely over the bearing so that when the wheel is removed the retainer/seal and bearing are left on the spindle.

  • #2
    The Front Grease Seal needs to be pressed (tapped) flush into the backside of the Hub of the Hub/Drum assembly, not onto the Bearing. If it spins, then the Hub is worn out or Seal is too thick, wrong Seal.
    StudeRich
    Second Generation Stude Driver,
    Proud '54 Starliner Owner
    SDC Member Since 1967

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    • #3
      The seal is the right one in that it fits well in other side. I must have a bad hub assembly because the seal spins easily and remains loose even when tapped into the hub. When I disassembled the set-up initially, the old seal was also loose in the hub. Are replacement hubs available?

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      • #4
        I am pretty sure New NOS Hubs have been NLA for years, but salvaging one from someone's worn out Used Drum is a good source, because they rarely wear out, it takes loose Brg. Adj. or too tight Adj. to destroy them..
        StudeRich
        Second Generation Stude Driver,
        Proud '54 Starliner Owner
        SDC Member Since 1967

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        • #5
          There are a couple things you can do to remedy the situation without replacing your hub. One is you can add a little bit of RTV gasket maker around the hub before tapping your seal in, and let it dry before installing. If you can "throw the seal in from three feet away"... in other words there is no resistance and the seal just falls in the hub, you can either measure the seal and have the auto parts store look up a seal that has a very slightly larger OD, or you can "stake" the seal into the hub using a punch. You could also hammer all aroound the outside of the inside of the hub which will slowly work the metal toward the center of the opening and close it up a bit. You need to use finesse in doing this, or you will end up replacing the hub anyway.
          Sometimes it is necessary to think outside the box, especially if parts are not readily available, or the parts are priced so that you have to take out a second mortgage on your house to buy them.
          If you have reservations about the above fixes and have access to a machine shop, you could spec out seal with larger OD and have the inside of the hub machined to match.

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          • #6
            I have repaired hubs like this before in my shop. I would either try to bore the housing to fit a slightly larger O.D. seal or if there is enough material in the hub I would bore and sleeve it back to factory specs. Neal

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Tom5663 View Post
              How tight should the grease seal fit in the wheel opening? On one side of my 56 Hawk, the seal is tight and on the other side it fits loosely over the bearing so that when the wheel is removed the retainer/seal and bearing are left on the spindle.
              Tom,

              You could take a hammer and sharp center punch and pein the surface of the hub inwhich the seal sits to tighten the fit of the seal. If you'd prefer to buy a new hub, or used one, I'll take a look and see what I have?

              Bo
              Bo

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              • #8
                2 points: I have successfully "staked" a front hub on a Champ truck with good results being careful to apply the same amount of force with each tap. You try to keep all the same depth/expansion. Second, (I always forget to add this to suspect posts) make a note and keep in the glove box/owners' manual any changes made to stock parts)....I once transplanted low mileage 63' front spindles/king pins into a 59' 2 dr wagon......made a note.....

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                • #9
                  Thanks everyone. The solution that I came up with was to use a strip of heavy foil tape with an adhesive backing. By covering the outer rim of the seal and then carefully tapping the seal in the housing, it fit nicely with no play or looseness. The test will be once the car is on the road to find out if the fix will last.

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