Leaking Rear Bearing on +2!
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:12 pm
Yes, that's right. My offside (for the UK) rear bearing is leaking oil!
There are one or two drops appearing after a drive, at the bottom of the outer rear bearing. The oil then runs down the hub housing and drips onto the rear wheel. The shock absorber was replaced recently with an insert (Monroe type). my first thought was that the insert was leaking internally and oil was finding its way onto the stub axle. There is no external leaking anywhere else and the shock absorber action is fine.
There happened to be a plugged hole in the outer shock absorber tube below the level of the bearings (drilled some time ago). I unplugged the hole expecting oil to pour out - nothing! And yet the oil is still slowly leaking.
So how can shock absorber insert oil get through two layers of steel and find its way onto the bearings?
I remember applying some grease on the inside when I changed the bearings a couple of years ago. This grease was quite old, and oil may be leaking out of this. Can the bearing housing pressurise and force this oil out when the bearings are turning? The oil is tan brown in colour. Is shock absorber oil clear or brown? Any other ideas? - this has me foxed.
Dave Chapman.
There are one or two drops appearing after a drive, at the bottom of the outer rear bearing. The oil then runs down the hub housing and drips onto the rear wheel. The shock absorber was replaced recently with an insert (Monroe type). my first thought was that the insert was leaking internally and oil was finding its way onto the stub axle. There is no external leaking anywhere else and the shock absorber action is fine.
There happened to be a plugged hole in the outer shock absorber tube below the level of the bearings (drilled some time ago). I unplugged the hole expecting oil to pour out - nothing! And yet the oil is still slowly leaking.
So how can shock absorber insert oil get through two layers of steel and find its way onto the bearings?
I remember applying some grease on the inside when I changed the bearings a couple of years ago. This grease was quite old, and oil may be leaking out of this. Can the bearing housing pressurise and force this oil out when the bearings are turning? The oil is tan brown in colour. Is shock absorber oil clear or brown? Any other ideas? - this has me foxed.
Dave Chapman.