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george man

Active Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #1

Hey Guys,

My defender has been off the road for about 3 years but is going in for an MOT this week.

While it's been sat, the drivers side rear axle hub has been slowly leaking oil down the wheel.
What could be causing this?

I trust the garage but it's always good to have an idea if it's a simple matter of replacing a gasket or whether there's something more serious wrong with it!

It's a replacement rear axle from a Disco (Don't know if it's 1 or 2 but it has disc brakes).

Cheers

 

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gse1986

Active Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #2

Possibly blocked breather in top of axle, so as axle is heated by weather the air expands and ends up pushing past the seals in hubs instead.

You need to unblock the breather on top, I'd replace seals as they could be knackered, and perhaps bearings while you're there

 

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george man

Active Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #3

gse1986 said:

Possibly blocked breather in top of axle, so as axle is heated by weather the air expands and ends up pushing past the seals in hubs instead.

You need to unblock the breather on top, I'd replace seals as they could be knackered, and perhaps bearings while you're there

Click to expand...

Is un-blocking the breather a simple job? As in... do i need any specialist tools? Same for the seals... is that simple?

 

mojo247

Active Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #4

I've found it's sometimes the joint washer (item 15 on here) or it could be any of the seal along the stub axle.

If it's been sat idel for 3 year, might be worth replacing all the seals and, as @gse1986 says, the bearings while your at it!

 

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mojo247

Active Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #5

Sorry, just read it again! Here's the rear axle pic, same part numbers pretty much!

 

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george man

Active Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #6

Ah ok when looking at it i did think it was coming out from the joint washer.
It's due a good service so i'll get them to do the bearings too if needed

Thanks for the help guys

 

mojo247

Active Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #7

at least do the bearing seals if the bearings seem ok!

 

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george man

Active Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #8

Cheers mojo247, I'll definitely check them out!

 

jamesmartin

Well-Known Member

• Dec 12, 2016

• #9

oil shouldnt reach the wheel bearing hub ,blocked breather ,its a sign seal in stub axle or outer seal in the hub if fitted is poor

 

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gse1986

Active Member

• Dec 14, 2016

• #10

george man said:

Is un-blocking the breather a simple job? As in... do i need any specialist tools? Same for the seals... is that simple?

Click to expand...

All depends how blocked it is. Unscrew the fitting (probably a banjo bolt) on top first and take a look - you may found its in the fitting that it's blocked. Otherwise, you'd just need to play it by ear.