Wheel bearing oil seal help please!!

the oil seal that came with my bearing kit is driving me mad, I've tried pressing it on every way imaginable but I can't seem to get it to fit. I don't want to force it too much in case it distorts, I'm tempted to put it in boiling water to soften it but not sure if that's a good idea.

anyone know the trick to getting these buggers on

please help, it's a sunny day and I want to go do a couple of lanes this evening.

get the old bearing race and cut a notch in it with a disc cutter or hack saw. put the hub on the bench and use this to gentle tap the oil seal in place. i did it by tapping at 12, 6, 9, 3 oclock until it was all the way in. also try using busters guide for rear wheel bearing
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f41/rear-wheel-bearings-renewed-58851.html
but use as a guide only cause from the pics it looks as if he put the oil seal in backwards. hope this helps

yep inner seal wrong way round outer right

thanks short round, got it on now, I was following busters guide but I was getting impatient so just needed to stop for 5mins and go back to it after a brew and a fag and it's sorted thanks.

problem I've got now is with the new bearing in, oil seal on but the hub won't go far enough down the axle the races are in as far as they'll go so I can't work out what I've done wrong. Any ideas?

try again they often jam

jamesmartin said:

try again they often jam

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thanks James, I've tried loads of times but I can't see why it won't go on far enough, think I'll leave it for a bit and try again, probably me just being an idiot and making some ridiculous error.

If it is something stupid I'll let you all know so you can laugh at my rookie mistake

daft question but you did take out the old race from the inside of the hub before banging in the new one. but yes as said they can get stuck on occasions, only advice i can give is make sure the hub is straight when placing it back on so you don't damage the oil seal when putting it on.

Stab in the dark here Barmatt as i've not done this myself...but has the half shaft got a 'key' or 'lip' on it, like propshaft, so it only goes on properly if its alligned?

storm99 said:

Stab in the dark here Barmatt as i've not done this myself...but has the half shaft got a 'key' or 'lip' on it, like propshaft, so it only goes on properly if its alligned?

Click to expand...

it has got a lip so I guess I'm just not putting it on correctly, currently having a break from it before I lose my rag but I'll let you know what happens in a bit.

cheers for responses

@Short Round. yes I did take the old races out taa.

storm99 said:

Stab in the dark here Barmatt as i've not done this myself...but has the half shaft got a 'key' or 'lip' on it, like propshaft, so it only goes on properly if its alligned?

Click to expand...

nope should go on anyway due to it just being a spine similar to a steering wheel (cr*p example i know) so at most slight turn in either direction should slot it onto the shaft

thinking about it there is a small lip at the back that you will need to lift the hub slightly to slide onto

see piccy attached

SHORT ROUND said:

thinking about it there is a small lip at the back that you will need to lift the hub slightly to slide onto
View attachment 22769
see piccy attached

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thanks mate, tried agian and still not going on, this thing is ****ing me off now.

the bearing will only go down the axle to the lip which just doesn't seem far enough, I'm starting to wonder if I've got the right bearing kit ( I have, I checked chassis numbers).

screw a bolt into the end of the shaft and give it a pull you may have pushed the shaft in abit when trying to put the hub on. i tend to do that trying to get the bl**dy circlip on at the end.

and the wheel bearing part no. should be RTC 3429 and oil seal FTC 4785

thanks for the help short round, think I'm gonna leave it for tonight and finish it in the morning, I'll update tomorrow.

you need to hold it square while tapping end with block or such

jamesmartin said:

you need to hold it square while tapping end with block or such

Click to expand...

that's probably where I was going wrong :doh:, thanks mate you're a legend

obviously you need to be sure your inner race is driven all the way into the hub. there should be no gap behind it where it butts up against the step.

also if the inner seal is fitted the wrong way (later type seal has large sealiing lip sticking out) it can stop the hub feeling right. but if you take it oiff again you'll see the seal is damaged. the early design seals will fit both ways but not work as well the wrong way!

pull the inner seal out again and test the race on the stub axle, will it slide on all the way? or have you already tested it?

I've tested it without the seal on and it was the same and I've checked the races are driven all the way in a few times, I think James might be right and I just need to give it a bit of encouragement with a mallet.

have you tested the bearing on the shaft on its own?

that way you can feel if its getting stuck wiothout the weight of the big heavy hub making you sweat

if its getting stuck then a little emery cloth around the stub axle will take the few thou off which it needs to fit like a glove

good luck