Axle Bearing question

[White Lincoln]

(This is on my Town Car)
In removing the left rear axle on my Town Car, I noticed the seal was leaking somewhat. I replaced the bearings / seals back in 2008 at about 40k miles ago. Is this normal for seals to wear and leak somewhat or is this an issue with wear in the axle allowing gear oil to seep through the seal? I was going to replace the seals since the one is leaking, but wondered if I have another issue to address as well. The pic is the current seal. The other side is dry.

 

[MadMikeyL]

What does the axle look like? Usually on those when the bearing goes bad, it wears a groove in the axle, and you have to replace both the axle and the bearing, otherwise the axle can move around and damage the seal. They also make a bearing and seal unit that moves the bearing surface further out on the axle and is meant to save axles that have been damaged, but in my experience those don’t last as long since the axle wasn’t meant to be riding on that part, so they are good for keeping a beater going for another year or so, but not recommended for long-term.

 

[White Lincoln]

What does the axle look like? Usually on those when the bearing goes bad, it wears a groove in the axle, and you have to replace both the axle and the bearing, otherwise the axle can move around and damage the seal. They also make a bearing and seal unit that moves the bearing surface further out on the axle and is meant to save axles that have been damaged, but in my experience those don’t last as long since the axle wasn’t meant to be riding on that part, so they are good for keeping a beater going for another year or so, but not recommended for long-term.

Axle is smooth as a babies butt... polished from age, but still smooth, not groves or low spots. That was my first thought as well. I first ran my finger very gently over the axle where the bearing and seal would be and could not find any indents, scratches or anything other than a smooth polished surface.



I am not saying I am any expert, but I only see polished wear from age and use. It could be microscopic, not enough for me to worry about. I just wanted to know if it might be something else other than the axle, like a seal that was just not that great of a product.

 

[White Lincoln]

On another note, for all you welding guru's out there....

Can I weld these broken and cracked parts on my brake dust cover? I would be using Flux welder.







Or is there a better way to put humpty back together?

 

[MadMikeyL]

Yeah, that axle looks fine. It could just be a defective seal. Or if the seal isn’t installed perfectly flush, it could leak, but that looks ok to me too.
As for the backing plate, it can be welded, but welding thin sheet metal like that without burning through takes some practice. Honestly I would just delete them.

 

[XR7-4.6]

That metal is probably too thin for that welder IMO. If you want an ugly but functional fix you could pop rivet another piece of sheetmetal onto it to take up that space.

Or just ditch them, if you run ceramic pads they don’t generate all that much dust to shield anyway, which is why a lot of newer cars don’t have them

 

[White Lincoln]

That metal is probably too thin for that welder IMO. If you want an ugly but functional fix you could pop rivet another piece of sheetmetal onto it to take up that space.

Or just ditch them, if you run ceramic pads they don’t generate all that much dust to shield anyway, which is why a lot of newer cars don’t have them

That is what I was thinking too. "J-B Weld to the resque! lol I have always had this rattle when I would hit a bump. The first rattle I found was the rubber muffler mounts in the rear had snapped and the muffler was rattling on the frame. I think this is the last one I have. The dust guard was rattling because the mount snapped and it was lose from the caliper frame. All I can think is that Costco banged the crap out the dust shield taking the tires on or off... or I did it! :O

The pads I put on in 2014 where ceramic. Leaving the dust pan off is something to consider.

Thanks for the feedback Mikey and XR7.

 

[White Lincoln]

Update:
Well... I DID IT! I got the dust cover crack welded, a second piece of metal put on to replace the torn off piece and got the 3rd locking screw mount welded on! Not to say there were some "issues" and I burned a whole through in two places, but I think it will hold. I think what happened and why the parts are broke is because "someone" could not find the 3rd screw and tried to break off the dust cover. The service manual says "two screws and one nut hold the dust cover on". Liars. There are THREE screws and one nut.

The welds went fine unless I kept the heat on too long, then I would get a hole. Otherwise, it was simple little tack welds.





The parking brake is turning out to be a challenge as the springs are almost not stretchable by hand. But I figured a way to put them on with little effort. Now I just need to put it all back together and move the car out of the garage and re-arrange it back into the garage. Yeah, passenger side is too close to the wall and I can't get the axle out out of the housing. Rooky move for sure. I bought all new bearings, seals, shocks and full set of brake parts. RockAuto had 4 brake shoes and the hardware assembly for $10! Can't pass that up. "I hope they fit".... I had to get the seals from Walmart, the bearings from Amazon and the shocks from RockAuto, "I hope they fit". That was a lot of shopping to track down parts I could get in a few days and not cost me my monthly mortgage payment. It's sad that part stores charge so much. I was going to buy a pair of bearings from O'Reily's and the guy rang up the cost and I about fell down... $50! I got my set from Walmart for $13. I believe they were the same product. "I hope they fit".