Rear Wheel Seal Installation Trouble on 29-27

[jps]

I need some advice on changing out the rear wheel seal.  It is a dense felt donut-shaped seal that is held in place next to the wheel bearing by a stamped-metal ring.  I think the old seal leaks.  When I take off the wheel, the old seal is compressed to fit nicely into the metal ring and it goes on and off the axle when installed in the wheel without any trouble.  The new seal, however, is not yet compressed to size and therefore is a little larger in OD, and then when compressed by the metal ring the ID is too small to fit over the axle.  I have tried for about 4-5 hours total to get the wheel re-installed with a new seal and it will not go on (the seal ID is too small).  I bought new seals from Bob's and ordered the correct ones for a 29-27 Standard, and Bob says that they are the correct size (he has made them this size for 40 years and the dimensions are per the Buick service manual).  Bob said to soak the seal in motor oil and I did that but it did not help.  There is some trick to getting these installed and I don't know what it is.  Can anybody help?

 

Thanks.

 

John

[midman]

John,

 

Since no one answered for you year car I can tell you my experience with the seals on my 31. One went on fairly easily, but the other was a bear. I finally made sure it was well oiled, the axle seat was lightly greased and tapped the drum on with a dead blow hammer (soft faced). It took a couple of hits but it started and went on and it seems OK. I made sure the drum/seal assembly was square to the axle. Not sure if the set up on your year car is the same. Of course I made sure my brakes were backed off as well.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

Chuck

[Hubert_25-25]

I have not changed the rear seals on my 25-25 yet, but here is an observation.  The sheetmetal part that holds the felt seal may not be truly aligned with the bearing in the hub.  The bearing race on my car axle is the exact outside diameter of 2" PVC pipe.  By using the PVC pipe, I can align the felt seal, so that hopefully it will last longer by really being centered.  I can see where it can be installed easily slightly off center.  After tightening the bolts, I should feel comfortable that the felt seal is aligned and centered before the wheel ever gets near the car.  You could make this pilot shaft out of wood, or turn a PVC pipe down, or add Foil tape to build a PVC pipe up.  This should help you see initially how the felt fits into the holder by itself first too.  Bevel the front edge of the PVC pilot shaft to make it easier to slip on.  Don't forget about the gasket with the 6 bolt holes between the seal flange and the inner brake drum.  Thin cork paper and RTV works well here.

 

Hugh

[jps]

Thanks for the ideas Chuck and Hugh.

 

I noticed in pictures from an older posting regarding replacement of a seal on a 1925 that there was a cork gasket between the seal flange and the inner brake drum as Hugh mentioned.  There isn't one on my leaking wheel.  So I made my own but it seemed to interfere with tightening the 6 bolts, and I broke 2 of the bolts while tightening them.  So I abandoned use of the cork seal.

 

I haven't looked at the other wheel yet to see if it has a gasket or not because the car is still on a jack for the first wheel.

 

John

 

[midman]

John,

I used silicone gasket maker in place of the cork and it seemed to work fine

[Hubert_25-25]

I agree if the cork will not fit.  You do not need the cork, but grease can seep thru the space between the sheetmetal holder and the brake drum and ruin your linings, so modern silicone or RTV sealant is a good choice.    Hugh