HELP! What the fook am I doing wrong?

I posted on here last week about me swivel grease being deposited all over me front discs. http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f7/me-deepender-tried-kill-me-66377.html

Well, I took it all apart, replaced the seals inside the stub axles (the ones behind the phosphor-bronze bushes) and the hub seals (the right way round this time).
I also checked the axle breather, and that was clear.

Today, I re-filled the swivels with one-shot and took it for a 5 mile test-drive.

The ****in discs are covered in swivel grease again!

What am I doing wrong?

Am well ****ed off and for 2 pins I'd torch the ****er - I still haven't found the source of me vibration either!

I can only think of 2 possibilities but they both seem pretty unlikely -

I might have over-filled the swivels slightly, because there was some residual grease left in there, but I can't see how that would cause a leak. There's only turning parts inside, nothing to create any pressure.

The CV joints were replaced when I re-built the axle. The replacements were made by Allmakes 4x4 and so weren't genuine parts. I guess it's possible that the outer drive-shaft is under-sized so that there's a gap between the drive shaft and the seal inside the stub axle.

For grease to get out it must be a bloody big leak.

I had pitted chrome and broken seals and the grease still stayed in!

Fookin bump!

I needs elp - aint gorra clue wot to do!

Did you do the brake caliper bolt up good and tight? Is the grease being washed out by EP90? If so, are your axle breathers OK? If not then (and i know you dissed the suggestion before, but just to make sure!) it might be worth re-checking the swivel ball seals (although, as you said before, you thought it was coming out in a different place).

odenne said:

Did you do the brake caliper bolt up good and tight? Is the grease being washed out by EP90? If so, are your axle breathers OK? If not then (and i know you dissed the suggestion before, but just to make sure!) it might be worth re-checking the swivel ball seals (although, as you said before, you thought it was coming out in a different place).

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions mate but..
The brake caliper bolts were torqued up to 100Nm as specified. I can't visualise how that would affect this problem anyway.
There is no diff oil (ep90) getting into the swivel.
The swivel grease is coming from the back of the hub, through the inner hub seal. It seems to be migrating along the drive shaft (inside the stub axle), then back along the outside of the stub axle, past the hub bearings and out onto the disc.
The axle breather was checked and clear - if it was pressurising, I'd expect to see ep90 in the swivels anyway.
I'm fookin puzzled.

Treworgey 90 said:

Thanks for the suggestions mate but..
The brake caliper bolts were torqued up to 100Nm as specified. I can't visualise how that would affect this problem anyway.
There is no diff oil (ep90) getting into the swivel.
The swivel grease is coming from the back of the hub, through the inner hub seal. It seems to be migrating along the drive shaft (inside the stub axle), then back along the outside of the stub axle, past the hub bearings and out onto the disc.
The axle breather was checked and clear - if it was pressurising, I'd expect to see ep90 in the swivels anyway.
I'm fookin puzzled.

Click to expand...

hmmm...As a user of EP90 in my leaky swivels, undoing the brake caliper bolt (the one that holds it on the top of the housing) releases the bottom part and drains the oil out (coz it goes through the plug into the axle housing) . But if it's tight then it int that! (unless something has got stuck between the plug and the housing?)

I agree that if it was axle pressure pushing or washing out then you should see EP90 so don't get that at all!

Only other thing i can think is the seal has become fooked again somehow?

odenne said:

hmmm...As a user of EP90 in my leaky swivels, undoing the brake caliper bolt (the one that holds it on the top of the housing) releases the bottom part and drains the oil out (coz it goes through the plug into the axle housing) . But if it's tight then it int that! (unless something has got stuck between the plug and the housing?)

Click to expand...

I guess you mean the top swivel pin bolts, that hold the brake flexi mounting bracket, not the actual caliper mounting bolts?

They were tightened to 65Nm as specified.

If they were loose, then there would be play in the swivel and the grease would come out around the big seal - not from behind the hub?

Fu*king ell Trewey, sounds like you got a pile of problems going on m8, wish I could help, but not heard of that one - good luck

granma and sucking eggs, Trewy - but you havent overfilled the bearings with grease - have ya?

The Mad Hat Man said:

granma and sucking eggs, Trewy - but you havent overfilled the bearings with grease - have ya?

Click to expand...

It's possible that I overfilled the swivels a bit - yes. There was still some residual grease in there, so I put half a sachet of one-shot in each side.
But I can't see how that would cause a problem? There's only rotating parts inside - nothing to cause any pressure??
Or does the internal volume in the swivel housing vary significantly as the steering moves from lock-to-lock?

i wasnt thinking of the swivels, more the packing of the wheel bearings. I have had a similar problem with overpacking of bearings, so when they get hot, the grease expands and forces itself past the seals. Not so much the volume changing, so much as the grease increasing in volume.

duz that make sense?

It's deffo swivel (one-shot) grease that's leaking, not the LM that I packed the bearings with.

Plus there's a hooge gap in the middle of the hub for any excess bearing grease to go into, before it passes the hub seal.

is yer stub axle still true ? - you've not driven through a big pothole at speed recently ? - that would also elp explain yer wobble

fair enuf Trew - but its getting to be "clutching at straw" time - int it ?

Sean said:

is yer stub axle still true ? - you've not driven through a big pothole at speed recently ? - that would also elp explain yer wobble

Click to expand...

That's a thought!
BUT me swivel grease is leaking both sides. :frusty: :frusty: :frusty:

do you know exactly where it's leaking from ?

clean it and drive a few 100 yards etc

It's coming out from inside the hub. The grease seems to be travelling along the driveshaft (inside the stub axle) then back along the outside of the stub axle, past the hub bearings / seal and out over the brake disc.

I wonder if it's possible that the driveshafts on the new CV joints are under sized? (They're Allmakes 4x4). That would leave a gap past the inner seal in the stub axle.

Anyone got a CV joint kicking around that they can measure?