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coachmanrvr · 04-28-2019, 05:53 PM

So I found my 2012 driver side drive axle dripping some oil out from the brake drum. Anyone had this type of leak repaired? I really don't know how complex of an ordeal I'm dealing with... There was maybe 4oz of oil beside the inner dual wheel last time I pulled out. I'm going to make some calls tomorrow and see where I stand.

buddy110 · 04-28-2019, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coachmanrvr

So I found my 2012 driver side drive axle dripping some oil out from the brake drum. Anyone had this type of leak repaired? I really don't know how complex of an ordeal I'm dealing with... There was maybe 4oz of oil beside the inner dual wheel last time I pulled out. I'm going to make some calls tomorrow and see where I stand.

I had one done at NORVC last summer. It's pretty straight forward. The seal is located on the outer hub. In my case the seal was fine, the hub was loose. NIRVC replaced the seal anyway.

brobox · 04-28-2019, 06:33 PM

If it is leaking oil from the brake drum that sounds like an axle seal rather than a outer hub seal. Another problem, if it's dripping from the brake drum, hopefully the brake shoes are not oil fouled.

tom chelbana · 04-28-2019, 09:30 PM

We have a 18 London Aire on Spartan K3 chassis and just had to tighten the 8 bolts that attaches axle to hub to stop a small leak. Last year we found that the rear axle was over filled by over a gallon of gear oil which was causing our outside axle leaks. There are 3 locations to put gear oil in rear end and Spartan was over filling rear end.

ThePowells · 04-28-2019, 09:42 PM

Yes.

mymyst · 04-29-2019, 07:20 AM

FWIW Dept.;
I had an unusual leak occur in the drivers side drive axle hub this past fall. We had just returned from an 8,000 mile, 7 month summer travel schedule, where the bus had been touched by both our dealer, then a major annual service at Spartan Charlotte, and then a Cummins service center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We had just parked the coach at the house to unload over the course of a few days.
I walked out the morning after parking to hook up the utilities (while we unloaded and cleaned), and noticed a small pool of oil in the bottom of the outer drive wheel rim.
To make a long story short, I pulled the hub cover, and found the hub seal gasket shredded and dangling out from under the hub end cap (see pic). With Spartan factory assistance, we were able to locate a mobile heavy truck repair co. that came and pulled the drive axle in my driveway (wow!!) and replaced the defectice seal.
Now for the interesting part.....
When we removed the hold down studs from the outer axle hub, 5 of the 8 studs were "finger tight"!!!! The hub had loosened enough to work the hub end cap enough to heat the cap due to friction, scorching the inner diameter of the gasket!! Holy cow!
How we ever made it through our lenghty trip without the seal turning completely loose, I'll never understand...
We replaced the gasket with a higher quality seal, re-torqued to 165 ft.-lbs. (!!), checked fluid levels in the differential, and ensured the lube was not burned or scorched. Then we checked the end cap torque on the passenger side, all was torqued to spec.
Spartan's explanation was that these axle assemblies come to them fully assembled and full of fluid, and they never check them for such things as proper torque on the axle hub end cap. Apparently the assembly is fabricated on an assembly line, where the guy torqueing up the axle hubs on the driver side must have gotten it wrong for what ever reason, and mind got out the door with improper torque on 5 of the 8 studs....WTH!
The fluid loss was minimal and the situation could have been worse, but really??? On a $$500k motorcaoch??
Again, FWIW dept., just my rant!!

twinboat · 04-29-2019, 07:46 AM

They may say that the axles are factory installed but I doubt it came with the wheel cover bracket shown in the picture.

Installing that could have left at least 2 of the 8 studs under torqued.

Missing 25% of the clamping force could lead to some movement. Movement will wear out the gasket, causing less clamping and more movement.

Keep an eye on that axle and hub for leaks. Having loose studs can oval out the threaded holes in the hub.

coachmanrvr · 04-29-2019, 12:53 PM

Checked into Lee Smith in Chattanooga...now we wait. They won't give me a time they can even look at the coach.

brobox · 04-29-2019, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coachmanrvr

Checked into Lee Smith in Chattanooga...now we wait. They won't give me a time they can even look at the coach.

Let us know the verdict and possible cause. It will sure be helpful to others

coachmanrvr · 04-29-2019, 03:56 PM

They said 7:30 am in the morning so that's good. I'll update as I learn more

jherrin99 · 04-29-2019, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coachmanrvr

So I found my 2012 driver side drive axle dripping some oil out from the brake drum. Anyone had this type of leak repaired? I really don't know how complex of an ordeal I'm dealing with... There was maybe 4oz of oil beside the inner dual wheel last time I pulled out. I'm going to make some calls tomorrow and see where I stand.

That is usually a fairly minor repair. It is fairly common issue on semi trucks and trailers. Any truck repair shop will be able to handle it. I changed hundreds of them in my early days. It is rare for a seal to fail, usually there is an underlying cause. It is usually bearing related. Sometimes it is a pre-cursor to bearing failure or just simply the bearings get worn enough to cause some slop in the axle. It could just be that they were not tightened correctly and with a little wear you get some play and then it eventually makes the seal leak. They normally just pull the axle out and then pull the hub with the wheel/tires still attached to the hub to get to the bearing. Since you are paying for labor to pull the hub anyway, I would suggest to go back with new bearings/races even if they look good. No need to take any chances and you are already paying the labor to pull the hub and bearings anyway, the only extra labor is removing the old race, which should only take a few minutes more. Bearings are not that expensive. The first question I would ask the repair shop is if they need to pull the wheels off. If your repair shop says they are going to have to pull the wheels off, they are not equipped nor very experienced in this kind of common repair. JMHO

Gasman 2 · 04-30-2019, 05:22 AM

Glad to see you took the coach to a heavy truck repair facility. They will have the knowledge and equipment to make the proper repair.

Richard

coachmanrvr · 04-30-2019, 12:30 PM

They made short work of it this morning. He said he hates the seals that come stock on the unit and put a different brand. Said his biggest problem was cleanup which the pics verify! New brake shoes, seals, and three hrs labor. That was way faster than I expected. We stayed on the lot last night and I pulled out at 1:00 today.

Note the minimal brake wear with 75K on the clock.