The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Cost to replace seal?

Got new tires and when they pulled this wheel the oil spilled out of the cover. How much can I expect to pay to have the seal replaced? On 1951 GMC 3/4 ton pickup.

You will have more than just seal problems- - - - -most likely the brake shoes will be saturated with oil, so factor in the cost of a brake job, both sides. It's also very seldom a hub seal fails without worn out bearings creating enough vertical movement to allow the seal to wear out. RUN- - - -do not walk away from any "mechanic" who would be willing to just change seals without fixing the other problems!
Jerry

What Jerry said.

Another thing to check is the vent on the rear axle. There’s a reason for the oil to dump out the bearing. With a plugged vent pressure builds up in the axle housing.

Depending on where the leak is, the wheel bearing seal at the inner bearing will cause the lube to infiltrate the brake drum. If it is only leaking at the outer end of the axle shaft then it wouldn't damage the brakes and is an easy and inexpensive repair.

I would guess they pulled the axle shaft out instead of pulling the lug nuts, is the wheel itself covered with oil? Is there oil on the back side of the drum or coming out of the drum? There will always be oil behind the axle flange, you can jack up one side at a time, so the oil runs towards the center of the truck and replace the gasket fairly easy. The oil will automatically filll the hub while driving, but adding some is advisable. If there is oil at the back of the drum, then your cost just went up, if the wheels are dry and it appears they shop pulled the wrong bolts, then you are out a simple gasket and a little sealer. As mentioned above, there is one hub seal at the back, and one gasket at the front, deterine which end is leaking and report back.

Good point, Joe. Some shops that work on mostly late model vehicles have never seen a full floating axle, and unbolting the wrong part would definitely cause a big leak. Especially if the rear end housing was slightly overfilled with lube!
Jerry

What I'm curious about is "spilled out of the cover" , if this is a "wheel cover / hubcap " then that oil is coming from the axle flange gasket or loose flange bolt. Oil would't fill the hub cap if it was the rear seal, right? The shop manual references the axle removal / install procedure . Looking forward to hearing feedback from Rudedog53 on Joe's question.

The only oil is on the axle around all the bolts. The only thing done was the tire removed, not the axle. I had noticed a black soot, or what I thought was brake dust, on the wheel. I'm including a photo of the wheel with the axle cover that the oil collected in.

I'm going to guess that the leak is at the axle flange gasket, not the inner seal of the hub. That's a pretty simple fix, and that gasket fits 3/4 and some 1 ton trucks for at least 30 years, up to at least the mid-1970s or newer. Any local parts store should have one in stock, or at least be able to order it.
Jerry

Thank you and everyone for your replies. I’m taking it in to a shop that specializes in axles and gears. I’ll let them inspect everything to make sure no other problems exist. Here’s a photo. Not a show truck, but it was my dad’s and has always been a work truck. Love driving it but not sure how much longer I can drive it. It’s getting harder to back into my garage. No power anything!

I doubt the wheel/hub cover could hold that much oil, they pulled the axle bolts. In the first pic, you see what looks like wrench marks. Doubt you need a new seal.

We've gotten away from axle flange seals in the last 20 years. These days it's a thin coat of RTV.