Weeping rear axles

Hi All,

Since doing an oil change in my rear diff a few weeks ago I've had oil weeping slowly out of the hub. It's not a flood, the fluid levels haven't dropped noticeably and I don't think it's a big problem, but I'd like to fix it before it has the chance to become one.
I assume there is an oil seal in there somewhere which is where the oil is seeping through.
When I've looked at the parts catalogue I can't quite figure out which part is the oil seal.
She's an 1984 88" so the relevent sections seem to be 1J12 and 1J13 but they seem to list two bearing kits, RTC3534 and RTC3537. The conflict occurs in that the former is listed as upto '80 and the latter '80 on, but the parts catalogue for '80 on lists both...

So, which kit do I need for my rear axles?
Any suggestions which bit is actually causing the problem?
And lastly, is replacing these bits a tricky job? (most difficult thing I've tackled so far is a clutch master cylinder replacement to give an idea of experience and skill levels).

Thanks in advance.

check your breathers first

rtc3537 is kit youd want if axle is age of truck

Thanks for the clarification jamesmartin.

Trax...um...breathers? what? where? why? how?

Oh, found them in the parts catalogue... what do they do? And more importantly perhaps, how do I check them?

brass nipple ontop of long tube ,they unscrew

Buy yourself a Haynes or other workshop manual. These explain in reasonable detail what is what. Probably connecting with someone in your area who has a bit more experience in Landies and a few tools will be required.

pdf Land Rover Manuals | Landroverweb.com might help. Replacing the hub oil seal and bearings is a reasonably simple job but it's worth getting the hub box spanner to do the job with. Should be about a fiver, order it with the kit. The breathers are on top of the axle casing near the diff, they are there to prevent the axle case pressurising when the oil gets hot (and forcing oil past the seals) whilst keeping muck and water out. Yours should have a tube running up somewhere under the rear tub.

I have the Haynes manual and it sucks!
I want the LR Workshop one, but have been told it's far to close to Christmas for me to just go and buy it :S

Oxides, can I repair/clear/fix the tubes or do I need to just get new ones?

Blow them clear - the LR manual is in my link.

As far as I can see neither the LR manual or the Haynes one mention the breathers. They have the older, non-pipe parts shown in the break down and don't mention clearing the breathers.

They're in one of the parts book drawings - you should be able to disconnect and either blow through (with an airline if blocked) or use a thin wire to clear.

I had a similar problem. After removing and replacing the rear halfshafts (and fitting new gaskets in the process) I had oil weeps. Checked breather because it's a known issue. But still had weeps despite clear breather.

Turned out there were slight leaks around the end caps on the half shafts - one had a hairline crack and one was just weeping where it was supposed to seal against the end of the halfshaft. Replaced the caps and the associated O-rings and everything was fine.

Only minor snag was that I couldn't get identical replacement caps (part No. 219098). Local landy specialist sorted me out some alternatives - can't remember what exactly they were though. They're a sort of rubbery plastic and needed to be warmed in hot water to make them more flexible when preparing to push fit them on.

1 check yer breathers are clear(there the brass valves on top of the axle if the brass ball moves there fine.

2 if it still persists and you get oil leaking into your brake assembilly replace the rubber boot that goes onto the steel collar, to do this youl have to take the brake assembly off and pull out the half shaft. also take care when fitting the rubber collar that you push it on consistently and use good quality when i did it i put two britpart ones on in a week befoure taking them off and putting a craddocks one on.

3 if it still leaks the steel collar that you place the seal over has probably worn, lever it off being careful not to score the edge of the axle and put a replacement in the oven to warm it up. then using oven gloves slide it on and leave it to cool and contract to a snug fit.

make sure if your not fixing it straight away your opening up the brake assembly to clear all the oil out of the shoes and drums.

the breather once unscrewed off the axle should have a noticeable rattle from inside it, that is just the little ball rattling in it which is supposed to stop water/muck getting into the axle whilst letting pressure out

a bit of wire/air/petrol to clean it then screw it back in

Thanks all.
While I was ordering my new heaters I noticed that a new breather is only £3 so I got one.
I'll fit it tomorrow and try to recondition the old one.

Just out of interest, did the new breather fix the problem?

Sorry, meant to post an update but have had an enforced absence from the landy for a week or so...

Anyway yes, new breather (mine was the small bell rather than the pipes) and no weeping since. Best bang for you buck fix I've encountered yet.
Thanks to all for the, as ever, fantastic advice

what yer sez theres supposed to be a ball in the bell type breathers ........i punched the fookers out with a drift then replaced the rivveted bell and had done with

Glad it was a painless fix

mrwoppit said:

As far as I can see neither the LR manual or the Haynes one mention the breathers. They have the older, non-pipe parts shown in the break down and don't mention clearing the breathers.

Click to expand...

It's in the routine maintenance section of the landrover manual!