Rear axle seals and bearings

TahoeTom

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Interesting the kit only replaces the bearing but not the race. Congratulations on doing the job yourself!
 

cardana24

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Interesting the kit only replaces the bearing but not the race. Congratulations on doing the job yourself!

that's right. In the instructions it says that this bearing needs to be changed out because it is .0xxxx" thinner than the OEM bearing. This makes room for the oil slinger.
 

79jasper

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Nice.
Did the brake hardware kit come from napa also? I might have to try that one next time. The adjuster cable on mine broke on both sides.

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cardana24

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Nice.
Did the brake hardware kit come from napa also? I might have to try that one next time. The adjuster cable on mine broke on both sides.

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No, I got the hardware from advanced auto. It was Wearever brand. It worked fine but I re used one of my "meat hooks" because either I bent one or it did not have enough of a hook to hold the spring very well.
 

ironworker40

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These Bearings don't need to be packed with grease. A little around the rollers and on the race so they aren't dry when you first drive it is all thats required if you want to. It looks as if you packed them like a normal front wheel bearing. These bearings get oil from the pumpkin, so they don't require packing with grease. You can also pour oil over them and fill hub with oil when installing them. If you jack up only the side you are working on, to tilt axle, you can also pour oil into hub (not down axle tube) just before you install axle to lubricate bearings. This also keeps you from loosing an excessive amount of oil from the rear while working on it. Thats why they are called oil bath bearings.
 
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dunk

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Looks about like every Sterling I've ever done brakes on. Never used the oil slinger kit though, have just swapped to new style seals since I learned about them. May try the oil slinger setup next time around, thanks for the informative post.

I've never packed Sterling beraings. I just dip them in oil or pour some oil on them before installing them. There will be oil in the lower part of the hub at all times once you drive a bit and oil sloshes around to the ends of the tubes. I suppose it can't hurt and could only help to have a little extra lube though.
 

cardana24

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Buy yourself one of these tools. You will never complain about those "meat hooks" again!

You insert one leg into the center of the circular spring, then use the other leg to twist the spring onto the hook. Easy peasy.

http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/RST10/BRAKE-SHOE-RETAINING-SPRING-TOOL/

I'll look into that, it would have saved me hours. I ended up using a pry bar to push the spring down while I used a pair of vice grip needle nose to hook the meat hook in. It sounds easy but it took me a while to figure that out, and then once I started using that method the pry bar liked to slide off the end of the spring just when I got enough force on it:mad: Oh well. I will know for the future.
 

fraree

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Just been reading all of these posts to see where I've gone wrong with my wheel seal & bearing replacement. Hope I can sort it this time. Did the right hand side, all good but the left, 2 attempts & still leaking !
 

chillman88

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Just been reading all of these posts to see where I've gone wrong with my wheel seal & bearing replacement. Hope I can sort it this time. Did the right hand side, all good but the left, 2 attempts & still leaking !

I had the same problem. I used a "scotseal" and ended up lightly coating it with RTV. Though it might not be necessary, I let it sit overnight before running it to make sure the RTV had time to cure.

Only with the "scotseal" type though. They spin inside themselves and don't ride on the axle the same way the factory seal does.
 

Cubey

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It will depend which axle you have, not just the ring gear size (I think). I have an F250 with Sterling 10.25, but its the HD, so it has the full floating axle of the 350. It uses the more expensive inner wheel seal vs semi floating. I had to replace one that was leaking a couple years ago.
 

Cubey

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Yes, the socket is a must.
Goes right into place. It comes with a metal cup looking thing, you lay it on top and hammer it in. A mallet or dead blow would be good.
If I Remember right, the drivers side lock nut is LH thread. Passenger side is normal.

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I had to get mine from Napa. Neither Oreilly, Autozone, nor Advance had it. Even Napa had a hard time finding the right one. I had a similar problem with a pulley puller for the vacuum pump's concave pulley. The free rental pullers wouldn't fit.
 

Big Daddy John

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I'll look into that, it would have saved me hours. I ended up using a pry bar to push the spring down while I used a pair of vice grip needle nose to hook the meat hook in. It sounds easy but it took me a while to figure that out, and then once I started using that method the pry bar liked to slide off the end of the spring just when I got enough force on it:mad: Oh well. I will know for the future.
Good idea with the vise grip needle nose pliers! I’ve always had success using them on the spring instead. Clamp them on the end of the hold down spring and you have leverage to push the spring in enough to get it hooked behind the meat hook. It also gives you some ability to move the spring and brake shoe up and down to get it into place. I use my free hand to reach around behind the backing plate and press in on the meat hook which makes it stand straight out!
It may not work for everybody but has worked for me for many years!
 

Cubey

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This spring tool should work. I bought one almost 2 years ago but the brake shoes were still decent so I left them.

Vim Tools B10 Truck Brake Spring Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YKI95C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bc0cCbTRK1CX6

5-6 years ago, Snap-On sold a better one under their Blue Point brand for around $30-40 that works great. I don't think they sell it anymore, unfortunately. I used it on a Dana 60 with the same type of Bendix brakes. Mine is in storage up in the NW and its probably in the very bottom of the piled boxes so it's not worth trying to fetch that one thing, so I bought that $10 one.
 

fraree

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Bought some parts for the rework on the left rear axle from Rock Auto. Hope they do the job this time

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