Oil Leak under front wheel

Hi,

I have noticed a small patch of oil beneath my passenger side front wheel when parked up on my drive. It is definitely oil and not brake fluid so I'd like to know where it's leaking from. I have gaiters on the bearing housings although these are the originals by the look of them (23 year old S3 109 LWB petrol ex MOD). Is this likely to be a bearing needing a full replacement? Any ideas?
Many thanks in advance.

MarkEE

Hi Mark..
I have come across a similar problem before and its probably worth a look, Infact i have something similar on my Disco. The difference being that mine just leaves a lovely pattern on my wheel...
My thoughts would be aound the axle breather, this has been discussed before, so click the link have a read and see what you think..
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/showthread.php?t=386
Hope this helps.

Hi Accy,

I actually had a problem with a blocked breather causing a pattern on the front wheel some months ago. I don't think it is that this time because the oil leaks when the vehicle is stationary. Thanks for the reply anyway though, much appreciated.

Regards

Mark

Hi Pal

i had this problem on my 90, the swivel oil seals had gone and also the swivel balls where pitted, so replaced the seals and cleaned up the swivels with a soft pad and used a special grease insted of gear oil to fill the hubs witch is availible from britpart, seems to have done the job!

hope this is helpful

Graham

I know this is an old thread but nowadays i have the same problem. And i didn't want to cause thread mess by starting new threads about old matters...

My rear wheel used to leak and i made a paper gasket for the middle cap and the problem had been solved.

This time oil coming out of the FW Hub, just through the center selector part. Can i solve it as simple as the rear wheel or should i prepare myself for problems with the hub?

Oil on/under the wheel is either swivel seal or hub seal - if the oil is inside the brake drum it's the hub seal. Hub seals are easy enough to do, swivel seals are a bit more involved and may require a new ball if it's corroded. A blocked breather would also push oil out of the diff seal.
The freewheel hubs I used to have had a rubber o ring seal between the stationary and rotating bit of the hub where you switch it on and off. Sounds like this has gone. If it's the type with the screws or bolts around the end plate, undo them and take the plate off. The o ring is between this plate and the centre ring.

i think i should have changed all the seals at once...
do i need any special tools? is it easy to DIY?

Thanks a lot...