Swing axle seal order of assembly

That last paragraph.  That’s how I’ve always done it.  Less things to shift out of place with the spacer as part of the cover.  I remember Al Gallo had trouble with (I think) one of the O-rings slipping, but I may be wrong.

I used to use a little Permatex as glue to hold the flat gaskets in place for easier assembly - Used it on the big O-ring once to hold it, too.  If I was dealing with old, uneven surfaces from earlier screw-ups before me, I would do a VERY thin coat of Permatex on the flat gaskets to hold and better seal them, but that was a last-ditch effort.  Hope this helps.

...had the same problem and everything got settled by simply replacing that thick spacer and just following the directions in terms of gaskets.  I went through 6 gasket sets before a friend here in Atlanta saw the problem.  Good luck

I did everything according to the picture using all new parts, very carefully cleaned all the surfaces, put it all back together. Now I noticed the right side is weeping lube again. I’m giving up. I’m just going to wipe it off once in a while.

Fpcopo VS posted:

I did everything according to the picture using all new parts, very carefully cleaned all the surfaces, put it all back together. Now I noticed the right side is weeping lube again. I’m giving up. I’m just going to wipe it off once in a while.

My strategy as well.  After several repairs due to failed brakes on the right side I finally got it "good enough."  As long as the brakes work of I can live with some seepage.

*cough* IRS *cough*

*cough* Not possible on a Beck *cough*

IRS & A-arm on the new one though, correct?

Oh yeah.  Coilovers, R&P, the works.

David, that stuff is a real PIA !  You sent me a link when I was  having trouble getting mine together correctly.

When the oil stopped drooling out, I cleaned it up like I was going to eat off all parts concerned. I lightly applied a thin coat of the red high temp silicone on everything and reassembled the whole mess in the order prescribed in that video. I thought the hardest part was not tearing the the paper seal on the backing plate.  I'll see if I can find it if you still need it.

Also, I got German seals from Bug City in Connecticut.  They didn't look much different but they worked first time. I had to take the drum off this spring to replace a brake cylinder and they were still dry as a bone.

I know some purists might say you shouldn't need any sealer.  Well, I used it and it worked.  So....

Bug City ,  51 Rowley St. Berlin, Ct.  860-666-2489  .  Luck, brother.

First thing is buy a decent seal kit. I have a couple brands we use often. Problem with many kits have been the sealing lip of the seals isn't right and the orings become soft when contacting the gear oil. It's tedious but not difficult. Also important is to make sure the spacer surface is clean and smooth where the seal contacts it. 

And if your having a issue with gear oil dripping, pack the the bearing with some grease

Anthony posted:

First thing is buy a decent seal kit. I have a couple brands we use often. Problem with many kits have been the sealing lip of the seals isn't right and the orings become soft when contacting the gear oil. It's tedious but not difficult. Also important is to make sure the spacer surface is clean and smooth where the seal contacts it. 

And if your having a issue with gear oil dripping, pack the the bearing with some grease

Thanks for that, Anthony but could you please say what brands of seals and O -rings you recommend and where they can be had ? 

See photo. 

Hey all,

im going to revive this thread as it appears to be an issue? My right rear axle seal is now officially leaking. This on on my 550 not a 356.

anyone know a good part # etc for replacement by chance? Scanned the threads and can’t find anything other than it seemingly being a re-occurring issue.

thank you in advance-

Hi, Chappy. All I can add to this is the German seal kit. Worth the extra money and probably the wait. I did both sides twice before I bought the German stuff. They worked first time. Maybe it was just luck, but sometimes you need that.

This is one of the more frustrating speedster experiences you can face. A seemingly simple operation that you get to do more than you think is reasonable. Best of luck.

This is definitely the Achilles Heel in these swingaxles. I suspect it's the same on old Porsches as well. There's also different styles of bearing cover styles depending on the year, some use a bigger metal washer and some don't. We've also found that some kits do have the metal washers and some don't or just have one. The gauge of the metal on the replacement kits for the smaller one that is supposed to go inside (Washer 7 on the exploded diagram) seems to be lighter than OEM. Our hypothesis is that when they get torqued and experience the friction they squish and their ends get jagged and they kill the small O-ring. So either use a thick gauge OEM unit or none at all and like a previous poster said, pack the axle bearing with thick grease. We also treat the bearing covers and all surfaces with silk gloves; meaning very delicately and make sure there are no deep scratches, scores, leftover sealant, etc. We clean everything meticulously and try not to use any heavy sealants on the paper gasket on the mating surface between cover and axle; we use Permatex Aviation Sealer. Also the retainer has to be installed as delicately as possible, avoiding hammering them in. On that paper gasket we've read different things; most kits have two. We've read one of them goes between the backing plate and the axle and the other one goes on the other side, between the backing plate and the bearing cover. We've also read that Bugs only use one while Buses use two. God knows. So far this procedure works for some time but eventually small leaks will develop. That design is a pain in the ass.

Bugs use only 1 paper gasket, and that goes UNDER the bearing retainer. The backing plate goes directly on the axle tube.

Impala, you are indeed correct. The "washer" included with the new seal kits is junk, and it will squish out and cause your axle nut to be loose, then bye-bye go the splines and $$$$$ you'll pay. Throw it away, use an old one or none.

Make sure everything is SMOOTH and clean and BURR-FREE! Everything should go together by hand, not pounded in place. Don't forget the inner O-ring behind the spacer. If you think you'll cut the inner O-ring, put masking tape on the splines.

You may need to sand the seal/bearing retainer smooth and flat. No more than just to clean it up. I install the outer O-ring onto the bearing after the paper gasket. The final piece is the retainer/seal carrier. The the drum or rotor goes next and the nut.

I use a 3/4" breaker bar and a 3 foot pipe. The factory spec is nowhere near enough, get at least 350 ft. lbs. on it. Don't forget a new cotter pin.

I find that using a heavy duty gear puller when removing the axle tube. Hammering on anything to get it out will cause you leakage problems in the future.

I have NEVER had a leak at the outer axle area, but I have had some at the inner boot and flange area. Always clean everything and ALWAYS use a new seal kit. Every time.

Cheers