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Third time is the charm–not!
Had the tag axle seal replaced for the third time at Prevost Ft Worth a couple of weeks ago. They had one of the senior technicians do the replacement, so I’m pretty sure it was done right. He stated that if it still leaks, it could be the hub has a crack in it. When the hub gets hot and the crack expands, it causes the leak. When we got home to San Antonio, the inner part of the tag wheel was wet. It is definitely the axle seal, unless the Knorr brake chambers are leaking brake fluid!;) Has anyone run into this issue with a hub?
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11 Replies
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Per,
Prevost, or whoever has to deal with the seal replacement has to accept the fact that the history of replacements is such that carelessness should be ruled out and the true problem identified.
If there was the slightest suspicion the hub may have a crack then it should have been cleaned and a penetrating dye or some means of detecting cracks should have been used before assembly. The surface the seal seats in needs to be inspected for an out of round condition or any defect that would prevent the sealing of the outer race of the seal. A last resort would be a replacement of the entire hub.
The stub on the tag axle has to be inspected and checked to see if that is where the seal failure occurs. Continuing to replace seals and hope for the best is not the answer.
When you Knorr-Bremse calipers leak fluid you see it on the dash pressure gauge.
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Some housings have a replaceable hard chrome plated sleeve/cap on which the seal rubs.
Maybe only available on the drive, don’t know, but it might be that you need a better wear surface.
It is my opinion that most seals are ruined/damaged on instalation by an incompetant/careless mechanic.
See a display of most of what you need to do a bearing seal and stud job on a 96 chasis.
JIM
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Per
I have had tag and drive axle seal issues on every Prevost (3) I have had. Usually the same one gives me problems over and over again. On my current 04 H3 it is the curbside tag. been replaced twice can’t get more than a year out of one. Work done at Prevost in Nashville.
I had the thought that possibly the long time of sitting without moving the wheels during certain times of the year may somehow be the culprit. May sit for 2 to 3 mos.
KT
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Pack it with grease problem over, my front and tag are grease packed works great.
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It is my experience that more curb side seals fail than street side. I don’t know why or if this is supported by information from people who keep such records. On every coach I have owned the curb side drive axle seal had been replaced. I never replaced a seal I had previously replaced and I know some had well over 100,000 miles on them.
Sitting has zero affect on the seals because when installed correctly, and the hub nuts have been tightened according to the shop manuals the hub is centered and there are no forces acting on the seals. As soon as a wheel that has been sitting for months turns (like all of my coaches) gear oil is coating the seal. I can see the benefit of packing with grease as I do my bearings after replacing a seal, but as long as gear oil is in the hub they should do just fine.
I have no clue why some coaches have problems with seals. I have no clue why some fail, and others go forever.
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Well, I’m heading back to Prevost Ft Worth tomorrow to see if they can finally get this right. I’ll keep you apprised. We’ll be leaving the coach up there for Marathon to put the bedroom wood flooring in, so it may be a month to see if the last repair took.
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While your there at Dallas, have rear differential vent replaced, not just look at and here tech say it’s fine. Our experience especially with our past H3-45, Coach 0586 we went thru a plethora of flange seals. We, like your recent travels, have had a varying altitude changes. If vent is closed, “diff” pressures climb from use, coupled with altitude changes, thousands of feet during a travel day, can result in oil being pushed out
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It is probably a good idea to check or replace the vent, but it won’t do anything for the tag axle he is having issues with….(g).
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I probably could have saved you some serious cash on your flooring.
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Youre right Mark 3101, diff won’t have anything to do with tag. Miss read the posting. We had so much trouble with our H flange seals I read more into Per’s.
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Had the coach in the shop today. The inside of the wheel was definitely wet, as I saw at home, but not as bad as last time. When they got the wheel off, there was no indication of a leak from the seal itself, the best they could surmise was the oil level was slightly high, and it offed the excess oil through the vent hole as Jon had mentioned earlier. Won’t get the coach back for a month, so it will take a while to see how it holds up after a long trip. Did get the bad air leak fixed–one of the air lines in the middle of the coach had burst–took about 5 minutes for aux air to bleed down after engine shutoff. A minor air leak in the Norgren and line for the camera door will be replaced tomorrow.
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