Play between axle & hub?

How much play should there be between the axle and the hub assembly (D30) if the hub is tightened down but the axle nut is not on yet? I've got almost 1/4" (just by eyeballing it anyways) and after I tighten the axle nut down, it pulls the axle shaft out a little bit and then gear oil seeps out the end of the tube, so I'm assuming that since the axle is tapered right after where it goes in the seal it must not be in far enough and not sealing. Anybody with experience on these?

xj92 said:

How much play should there be between the axle and the hub assembly (D30) if the hub is tightened down but the axle nut is not on yet? I've got almost 1/4" (just by eyeballing it anyways) and after I tighten the axle nut down, it pulls the axle shaft out a little bit and then gear oil seeps out the end of the tube, so I'm assuming that since the axle is tapered right after where it goes in the seal it must not be in far enough and not sealing. Anybody with experience on these?

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The stub (axle) shaft that goes through the hub it designed such that, when the nut is installed and torqued properly, the bearings are preloaded and all lash is taken up. It's not possible to be certain of the condition of a hub unless the nut is in place and torqued correctly. When tight, there should be NO PLAY AT ALL.

The axle shaft is not tapered in the sealing surface. The splined section is undersized to the sealing surface (so the splines can pass by the seal without hurting it), but the sealing area should be a smooth cylinder, not tapered.

Did you inspect the shaft for nicks, scrapes, rust, etc. in the area of the seal when you had the shaft out?

The outer axle holds the bearing from coming apart when the nut is tight. There should be no play in the axle and hub after the nut is tight. As for oil leaking is this a large amount or small. If you push the axle to far in it might be pushing on the seal enough to allow a small amount to spill in to the tube but shouldn't continue to leak. If you are driving it for a long time and still leaks the seal might have been damaged and will need replacement. This requiers the diff to be removed. Damage can happen to the seals if the axle is pushed in incorrectly. The seal surface on the axle is not tappered.
HTH

mark

Mark Hinkley said:

The outer axle holds the bearing from coming apart when the nut is tight. There should be no play in the axle and hub after the nut is tight. As for oil leaking is this a large amount or small. If you push the axle to far in it might be pushing on the seal enough to allow a small amount to spill in to the tube but shouldn't continue to leak. If you are driving it for a long time and still leaks the seal might have been damaged and will need replacement. This requiers the diff to be removed. Damage can happen to the seals if the axle is pushed in incorrectly. The seal surface on the axle is not tappered.
HTH

mark

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Now that I've thought about it some more and triple-checked everything, I think it must be this seal inside the diff. When you say it requires the diff to be removed, does that mean just the diff cover and you can then access it, or gears and all?

By the way, it's the right-side long shaft that I removed and put back in.

Well, the gears do have to come out. It's just a matter of pulling the bearing caps and pulling the carrier and ring gear out, then replacing the seal and putting them back in for future reference. I learned the hard way you have to be very careful when putting the axles back in. Since I'm at it I guess I'll upgrade to 297x shafts & joints though.