Leaking Hub flange seal

[heinkeljb]

Review of a new part being made available to Haflinger owners by HaflingerParts.com aka James Price.
I was cleaning the rear brake drums on Lurch (My Haflinger) following a Trials event and discovered that one of them was a bit oily. Checked to see if it was leaking brake wheel cylinder – Nope, not brake fluid. Must be Oil form the hub!
In order to solve this oil leak, you need a minimum of the following: -
The O ring (700.1.34.271.1)
The Race for the Oil seal (700.1.34.127.1) – Now in Stainless steel.
The rubber seal for Hub (900.3805
The Oval O Ring (700.1.34.277.1)
And just in case you have to split the hub, the Gasket for a rear hub (700.1.34.266.1).

James supplied me with all the parts, two of which are newly remanufactured. The Oval O ring which saves you having to use a badly fitting round “normal” O ring and a Stainless-Steel race to go on the Hub Flange shaft for the Oil seal to run on.
Now, the Race is available in ordinary steel, but as you will see in the picture, it can suffer from a) wear from the Oil seal and b) from pitting occurring in the steel due to inferior steel being used to make the part. There is no other reason for what you see in the picture as the part is coated in oil all its life!

For some, this might cause an issue, because it is difficult to see how you repair this race without sending the part to a machine shop.
Well, the answer my friends is that you can replace this part with a nice shiny new Stainless steel part from www.Haflingerparts.com!

An easy way to take the old race off the shaft is to heat the race with a hot air gun or a blow torch, when the rubber o ring which is inside it gets hot and expands, it will push the race up the shaft allowing you to take it off with little effort.

Making this part out of Stainless-steel ought to reduce the chance of it leaking oil after extended use because it is less likely to develop a trough where the oil seal lip runs all the time, as seen in the first picture.
As you can see, the part fits perfectly and goes on in the same way by fitting the rubber O ring, then the Stainless-steel race. Tapping it down on to the shaft using a piece of tubing.
All in all I think it is a worthwhile cheap upgrade to fit that will reduce the likelihood of your hubs developing oil leaks which could contaminate your brake shoes and fitting this Stainless-steel part will keep your hub oil in the hub for longer!

John

[AustHaflinger]

I have used a speedy sleeve in that situation and they work well.

[heinkeljb]

True enough, they are another useful aid to keeping a Haflinger going.
They do require some extra work to be fitted correctly. It is possible to get a sharp edge to stand proud from the surface which damages the seal when the shaft is installed. Of course, you should check for such things, but it can happen. Also there is a limit to surface damage they can cover and work correctly.
Conclusion: Like all repairs of a vehicle, It depends on the damage involved and how much work, the availability of repair parts, cost and expertise of the people involve as to which options for repair are chosen.

John

[Czechsix]

This is probably something I'll have to do next year. I have the leak also, but I was leaning towards a complete front end rebuild. I'll see how it looks once I get into it, haf is put away for winter.