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Chassis Trouble in Albuquerque
We just pulled into the American RV Resort in Albuquerque, NM. On our way to much father points west. I had about 1.5 cups of very dark oil that ran out around my passenger side rear drive axle tires when we parked on our pad. It looks like it must be coming from between the tires, as it covers the inner surface of the outside tire and the adjacent outer surface of the inside tire. Oil is also sprayed up onto the wheel well above, and onto the surrounding adjacent airbag, etc. It quit leaking when we stopped, even while the engine continued to run. I assume that this is a drive axle problem, but the bus ran 300 miles today and 650 miles yesterday, with no apparent problems. I found a local business (statkusengines.com) who say they do this type of repair, but they don’t do mobile service. Should I chance driving it 12-14 miles there, or should we get towed? Do any of you have recommendations for a mobile service here in Albuquerque that can do this sort of troubleshooting/repairs?
Thanks for any help!!
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24 Replies
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Sam,
You have a hub seal that has failed and the problem is not knowing how much oil has been leaked out, the rear end holds about 5 gallons, but it has to be at a level for oil to get to the hubs and bearings. If it was me, I would try to find someone to check the rear end oil level and add oil until it’s full for the short trip to the shop. Towing isn’t the answer, you have the same problem with the possibility of a dry bearing.
You also likely have diminished braking on the drive and maybe even the tag if there is that much oil thrown around, so be very careful.
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Sam, as time says it is likely a catastrophic hub seal failure. Generally hub seal leaks fall in the category of annoying, but not serious giving time to see to repairs.
As you describe the problem however it could be dangerous to drive anywhere unless you can verify the differential is filled, and then only drive as far as necessary to get the seal replaced. Worst case is damage may have occurred which could be as serious as failed bearings or damage to the end of the differential end at the hub.
Raise it in the rear, block it under the support points and someone can slide under and sit up between the wheels to check and fill the differential.
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Sam,
I’m not sure whether they will do this repair mobile, but STEWART STEVENSON (1-505-881-3511) has a branch in Albuquerque and a mobile service vehicle. Good luck on the repair.
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Thanks for the replies, everyone! As it ended up, we were under a mile from the Volvo diesel service center recommended by the Prevost website. I eased the bus over there, and left it for the evening. The don’t do any mobile service, so towing or driving one more mile were my only two choices. On top of that, it was flash flooding here, even with small hail. They are supposed to tear it down in the morning and let us know the damage. I will keep you posted!
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Sam, if you can be there it will be educational and it will show them you care.
The first step needs to be to determine if the differential oil is low, and by how much. If it is full or nearly full I doubt if the problem is any more than a hub seal.
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Thanks, Jon. I am supposed to be there at 10 am, when they tear it down, but no one is allowed back in the huge work area. I’ve never really been convinced that it is due to insurance requirements. I think it is so nobody is bird-dogging them!
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Not allowing anyone in a work area to see work performed is a bull shit reason often blamed on insurance. Usually it is so people do not see how simple work is so the company can charge ridiculous prices.
Keep them on a short leash. Find out how much rear end grease had to be added to fill it. If it is gallons then they do have to determine the damage, but if it is a quart it is likely a simple seal replacement.
A small amount of grease or oil can look like a flood, when in fact it is very little.
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Seals are easy to find but if I remember right it takes a gasket and o-ring that is not common.
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A hub seal does not involve a gasket or O ring at the seal. The face where the axle is bolted does require a gasket.
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We were down 3 gallons of oil. The opposite side had also started to leak some oil. All of the brakes were saturated. We are going to have the brake liners replaced, along with the drive wheel seals and gaskets. Parts will arrive Monday, and we hope to be back on the road by Wednesday.
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If you were down 3 gals, then more than likely you have MAJOR damage to the bearings and the gears in your differential. If that’s the case there will be a lot of metal in the remaining gear oil.
Good luck
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Yeah, you never know until everything’s torn down. As a non-mechanic, I just keep my fingers crossed. The shop thinks that I am really knowledgeable, however, because I say what all you guys write here. Helps keep them on their toes. LOL! They are letting us have full access to the bus now, so I can see what is being done. It is safely plugged in and up on jack stands in the very back work bay of the huge work area.
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Sam, I have never heard of any hub seal leak suddenly lose 3 gallons. By suddenly I mean a day of driving or less.
3 gallons would show a film of oil all over the wheels, brakes, wheel well, toad, rear doors of the coach, etc.
The bearings in the hubs are lubricated by running in oil collected in the hub from the oil in the differential pumpkin running in and out of the hub as the coach tips on sloped ground or the crown of the road tips. Please post the cause because this is a most unusual situation and in the interests of safety it might be prudent to either carefully inspect all bearings, or just replace them and their outer races.
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The bearings look good. They are out and look fine. But, there was literally oil everywhere in the wheel well, and all over everything. It was dripping down off the big mud flap behind the drive tires. The brake pads are totally saturated.
I will try to take some pictures to post next time I am at the shop. Kim found us a real nice, brand new place to stay, about 10 miles away.
I presume that we were leaking for around 900 miles, and it got steadily worse as we drove. There was no leak on the floor in our garage when we left home. We feel fortunate that we didn’t lose our brakes, and fortunate that we have had no “on the road problems” like this in 7 years and about 50K miles of driving. We keep up with all maintenance to the max (we still use Jon’s maintenance sheet of recommendations, and our mechanic stays on top of it regularly). We even had all our airbags replaced before we hit the road this time, too.
Sometimes, poop happens, in spite of our best efforts!
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There is a rear end vent on curb side of you axle housing. Make sure something like wasp or something did not block it. some kind of pressure caused both sides to fail at once. Just a been there situation(easy to check) Mine exited through pinion shaft seal. Slung oil every where. I would completely drain it and clean. Last synthetic 5 gal pail for rear end cost me $170. This is all intended to help you ask ??? Bob
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