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8.25 question - replaced axle seals, small leak noticed

anthrax323

anthrax323

NAXJA Forum User
Location
San Antonio, TX
Hey all,

I just finished a KJ disc swap on my 8.25" (2001 XJ) and replaced the axle tube seals while I was in there. I went under the car this evening to re-bleed/flush the system and do some final E-brake adjustment and noticed a small amount of gear oil pooled on the inside of each wheel (it's leaking out of the axle tube and down the backing plate). Needless to say this is causing a bit of an issue with E-brake adjustment, as the oil is preventing it from grabbing the way it should.

In any case, is it expected to have a small bit of oil leak after re-filling the diff? I'd really, really like to avoid pulling the axle shafts again, so any insight or anecdotal evidence reflecting that this is normal would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 
Yeah, just used some red grease since I hadn't popped the gear oil open yet.

I installed Timken seals in the same orientation as the old seals (thin lip out), but have since read that the tensioning spring needs to face inward (mine faces out). Could that lead to a leak in under 100 miles?

Or could this merely be a result of slight overfilling? My axle is shimmed 4° and my driveway is less than level, so I might have been able to squeeze a little extra oil in there (even though I used just shy of 2 qts).
 
Totally agreed...

Next question is this: can E-brake shoes make ANY kind of recovery after meeting differential oil, or are they toast? Issue right now is that they don't seem to grab, even under extreme pressure (vehicle starts to move at about 1/2 throttle with the E-brake set).

The cost of this disc conversion is suddenly skyrocketing thanks to a stupid mistake...
 
I thought about it, but upon inspection they were fully saturated in gear oil (even after cleaning). As such, I dropped nearly $200 last night on Mopar pads and shoes, as well as OEM shaft seals (which only go in one way)... After cleaning the piss out of all the brake components and getting everything buttoned up, I'm good to go.

Now my E-brake can lock 31" tires at 60 MPH. Woot.
 
It is a Parking brake not an Emergency brake. It can be used to slow you down if you do have a brake malfunction. They are designed for parking only though.

If the shoes are saturated, I would replace them. If you can apply 1/2 throttle and they are still holding, that's great. The real test is to find a steep hill and see if it holds while in neutral.

jworth-you beat me to it.
 
Agreed - the lock-up test simply indicates that it is actually grabbing quite well now, whereas previously it wasn't.

Now, at a stop, it will hold until a little over 2/3 throttle. Plenty to hold the vehicle and a typical trailer load on a realistic incline.

I'm insistent on my E-brake working as well as mechanically possible after an experience I had in my old '70 Skylark... I bought it in OKC and drove to SAT with it, only to learn en-route that the master cylinder was pitted and losing pressure (and was the wrong one all-together I later discovered), all 4 cylinders were leaking (drum brakes all around), and none of my tail lights worked (learned a lot since then). In rush-hour traffic on IH-35 in downtown Dallas, safety was ensured only by the delicate balancing of the E-brake and neutral on the tree.

Needless to say, I don't foresee ever having such a terrible braking problem on the XJ, but I'd like a functional E-brake if that day ever comes.
 
Thanks for the input jay. In this case, it was indeed due to backward installation of the seals (apparently, it's common knowledge in the automotive world that springs on seals always face the lubricant/fluid they're retaining).

After installing seals in the correct orientation (again, OEM seals give you no choice), the leak is no more.
 
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