Oil Leak at Wheel

[Floridakamper]

This morning, I was cleaning my jacks and noticed an oil trail on the bottom of the driver's front tire. There was also some in the bottom of the steel wheel. It is not a large amount and does not look like brake fluid. There was really no accumulation on the conncrete pad under the tire. It appears right under the grease fitting by the wheel. We're in Las Vegas and it is VERY hot (104) yesterday. Do I have an oil filled bearing or something in that area that might be leaking? Could it be that Vegas heat liquified some grease...?

[John H...]

Bob, That is a tough one without more investigation. If you are familiar with the difference in odor between oil and grease, you may want to give it a sniff test. My best guess is that the grease shouldn't liquefy at that temp., but if there isn't anything else nearby that could leak or spray there, then it could be. I have seen heat proof grease that you could hold a small torch on a dab of grease and it won't liquefy. Let us know what you find... John H...

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floridaguy Do I have an oil filled bearing or something in that area that might be leaking? Could it be that Vegas heat liquified some grease...?

Floridaguy, There is a seal on the insiide of the rotor hub. If you see fluid coming down your tire and pooling in the rim ... that's what it is. You can still drive the MH.

Pull the center of the hub cap off and observe the bearing cup. Pull the rubber cap off the center and add 3 to 4 ounces of fluid. Replace the plug. When you are driving the centrifugal force will retain the fluid in the hub. When you stop the fluid will leak past the seal but it should not rush out.

Get 80W-90 gear oil.

No the Vegas heat is in no way causing the fluid to leak out. Here are the local service centers.

Fairway Chevrolet
3100 East Sahara Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89104
(702)641-1400
Fax: (702)432-3633
paulbrowncsv@fairwaychevy.com
Mapquest | Google Maps Rate this dealer


Findlay RV
4530 Boulder Hwy. Las Vegas, NV 89121
(702)435-2500
Fax: (702)435-8014
Mapquest | Google Maps Rate this dealer

[Floridakamper]

Thanks for your response John and Driver. I'll get some gear oil this afternoon and add if needed before we get on the road in the morning. I'll check it periodically on this trip but will try and wait till we get home to deal with it. What is the fix driver and is it something I can do myself?

[Stevegd007]

Also consider the wheel bearing has failed and needs to now be replaced. I had to replace a front wheel bearing when the same thing happened to me.

[1ciderdog]

Driver - He lives in FL and is presently in Las Vegas and plans driving home which would be over 2000 miles so my question is does he run a chance of oil getting/soaking into the brake disks and ruining them, or having additional problems? If it is seeping is there a potential that it may drain faster and lose enough fluid to cause bearing problems? Just call me curious Bob

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floridaguy What is the fix driver and is it something I can do myself?

You have to pull the tire and wheel. Remove the caliper. Remove the rotor. R&R the inner seal observing if there are any metal particles floating around inside the hub which would suggest a damaged wheel bearing.

Unless you are very comfortable with this task I would defer to a service center.

The seal that you are going to need is better off ordered from a Workhorse Service Center because compatible seals appear to leak or at least they did on both my front disks. Resolving those leaks Workhorse seals were used and they have been good for the past 2 years.

I would opt to get the seal replaced before traveling the 2,000 miles back to Florida.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1ciderdog .... does he run a chance of oil getting/soaking into the brake disks and ruining them, or having additional problems? If it is seeping is there a potential that it may drain faster and lose enough fluid to cause bearing problems? Just call me curious Bob

Like I wrote when the wheel is spinning the fluid pools inside the hub and is held by centrifugal force.

The seal keeps the fluid from leaking out when he's stopped overnight. In my experience the fluid did not leak onto the braking surfaces when I had my bi-lateral leaks. I was very concerned about this and I looked - no contamination on the rotors.

I made it back to my service center some 350 miles away from the onset however 2,000 miles is a lot further than that and I would be concerned about that amount of distance.

[JCM]

Last year I drove from BC Canada to Arizona - California and back with a dribbling driver side seal. I took along a bottle of oil and once added about a teaspoon full. Never had a problem with the bearings BUT kept an eye on it till I got home ( over 2,000 miles). Then I replaced the seal. Just carry some oil and keep an eye on the amount of loss. It didn't affect the brake pads or rotors.
I heard this may be caused by jacking up the rig allowing the front wheels to hang in the air.

[Floridakamper]

I filled it with gear oil today. It took a little more than 3 ounces.....I think it was empty. I checked the other side and it's OK. I'm going to try and make it home, checking it before I get underway each day. If I find it empty after a day’s driving, I'll re-evaluate the plan. JCM, did you replace the seal yourself or have it done? I talked to one of the service centers Driver provided info on. They said the common leak point is where that reservoir bolts up to the hub. That part is only $25. What Driver explained sounds like something else. Thanks for getting on the right track with this. Bob

[JCM]

The leak is usually the inside seal and that is the only place were the oil can dribble down onto the inside of the wheel and rotor. I had it done.
If it was where your service center said it would be dribbling down on the outside of the wheel and not onto the rotor.

[BBDogHouse]

Thanks for all the great info. This is my first post. I have the same problem. I just joined this site to find out about oil leaking at the wheel. I currently have the front driver side tire raised off the ground and a little leak. The oil/dust cap was off and I'm looking for a replacement.
Is it possible that it leaks because the wheel is off the ground? Howe difficult is it to replace the houisng?
Thanks to all! BBDoghouse

[Floridakamper]

JCM suggested that having the front wheels raised may contribute to the leak. I looked at a part today at a WH service center that was the reservoir and it include the rubber cap. I don't think they sell the cap by itself. The part was $25.

[Floridakamper]

Driver, I've been looking over some old posts on this subject. I now have a question if I overfilled the cup. With the rubber cap off, if you fill so oil will just not over flow out of the cap hole, are you overfilled? I see a line that runs from the 7 o'clock position to the 5 o'clock position. Between the ends of those lines, it says minimum oil level. Nothing says maximum. The minimum level appears to be just below the bottom edge of the cap hole.