Bearing Hub Seal Question.

I've got grinding/rubbing sound from rear of Landy. Checked rear diff, level ok, wheels off and checked brake pads, calipers, mud shields, all ok. Took flanges off to put wheels back on to give them a spin and noticed 1 side had oil in when dust cap removed. Presume seal has gone, question is could this be reason for grinding/rubbing sound? Did put wheels on and gave them a spin no grinding/rubbing sound from either.
Also, realise I need to replace seal, but can I still run LAndy locally a few miles until seals arrive?

Can't think why a blown seal would offer a grinding/rubbing sound.
Could it be the input bearing on the diff or one of the propshaft UJ's ?

You should be fine running with a blown seal as long as the oil isn't seeping onto the brakes or being thrown onto the road (as a motorcyclist I hate that).

Thanks Mik for response. Oil safely in axle/wheel bearing, only knew there was an issue with seal on removing rubber hub dust cap.

On review, it's not a grinding just a sort of rubbing sound, which is consistent with the rotation of the wheels/tyres/axle, i.e. rubbing sound slows as I go slower and speeds up as I go faster. Although can't hear it when I get up to a reasonable speed over other Landy sounds. Thought it might be brakes rubbing, but hubs seemed to spin freely? Just had MOT today and Landy given a clean bill of health, apart from surface rust on chassis. Rear tyres don't look to be wearing abnormally and used a Infrared Thermometer to check discs, hubs axle, diff, etc. nothing seems to be getting too hot? Anymore thoughts? Thanks

You got an advisory on surface rust on the chassis ? FFS what are these eejits on ?

Sounds like you checked all the usual suspects, you could try removing a prop shaft although that is getting radical if it isn't causing you any problems...
Problematic things tend to be very noisy before they need repairing.

The mud shields behind the disc can make your sort of sound, only just touching the disc or something jammed between them.
Older models allowed axle oil to migrate to hubs to lubricate them so running like you are is no problem.

Yup, as above on the seal. It should be fine for a short period. Indeed, on the front hubs sometimes people take them out so the steering swivel and wheel bearings share the same lubrication as the axle.
In terms of things making a scrapy sort of noise, another problem I've seen is where the bolts holding the discs onto the hubs have started to come loose. This means everything looks and feels OK when you jack the car up and rotate the wheel and feel for slack by hand, but can yield scraping noises as you drive around.

I had the same problem, though it was intermittant, after inspecting all sorts over the course of about 6 months I finally found that the little mud shield part of the rear diff input flange was loose and rubbing on the diff nose.

Thanks for all responses and constructive input. Checked all, but all seems ok. As I've checked all possible solutions suggested above and the lack of any heat from diff, brake discs, hubs, etc. will continue to monitor and continue on my "Merry Landy Way!"

Thanks again fellow Landy Fettlers.