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.