CV Joints and Lip Seals?

[jawn101]

Thanks for the photos!

I installed the stainless-steel sleeve kit that came with rubber lip seals from P.J. Grady last year and my passenger-side shaft is leaking again. I don't want to have to by new lip seals every year. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to the "double-lip" (means something totally different to clarinet players, BTW) seal versus the OEM one which is part metal? Should I install one of each and see which leaks first?

They are one solid piece of rubber (with a spring inside), vs the original seals which seem to be pressed together from multiple pieces of metal, felt, plastic, etc. These disintegrated upon removal into their constituent elements. The double-lip ones will never do this.

Also, the double-lip design is meant to keep the lubricant in and contaminants out. This means that external dirt, oil, grease, debris, etc will never be able to get in and damage the internal oil seal around the shaft.

Some more pics (we took a lot of pics)


Prying out the first layer of the old seal, a metal ring


This metal bit completely detached from the rest of the seal. Happened on both sides.


Fishing out the inner felt and rubber


Finally hooking the rubber portion out


What's left of the old OEM seal vs the new single-piece double lip configuration

Hope this helps...

[Farrar]

Thanks, Jon. I think I will try one of each. The one I got is a metal outer sleeve, with a rubber seal inside overhanging the inner surface of the metal, with a spring inside the rubber to hold tension against the inner surface. Since it only cost me $4 I might as well give it a try and see how it holds up between now and Road Trip of Doom er I mean DCS Orlando

[sean]

Nice pics but I would suggest folks be real careful using a screwdriver and not a puller. Score the seal wall and your in for some real leaking.

[jawn101]

Nice pics but I would suggest folks be real careful using a screwdriver and not a puller. Score the seal wall and your in for some real leaking.

Very good advice. I hadn't thought of that and will have to have some strong words with my mechanic. Speaking of which, a big +1 on not using a crescent wrench on the fill/drain plugs...

[DMC5180]

Jon,

Did you Degrease things after the flanges were installed or leave it for corrosion protection?

[jawn101]

Jon,

Did you Degrease things after the flanges were installed or leave it for corrosion protection?

Haha, right? Every time I chisel off that gunk it seems like it was holding the car together. So far we only cleaned the immediate area around the flanges to be sure we didn't push any gunk back inside the case. Eventually I'll probably clean all that crap off.

It's amazing, sometimes we take the gunk off and the yellow zinc is pristine underneath. The gunk probably built up in the first year or so the car was on the road and kept everything perfect since then

[Farrar]

It's amazing, sometimes we take the gunk off and the yellow zinc is pristine underneath.

I was amazed to find out that the frame was originally gray, not black.

[jawn101]

I was amazed to find out that the frame was originally gray, not black.

Yeah, many color changes surprised me. Brake calipers - yellow. Frame - grey. Suspension arms - black. All of the above were pretty monochromatic when I got the car...

What's that you say? The transmission is made of aluminum and not seasoned cast iron?

[Farrar]

What's that you say? The transmission is made of aluminum and not seasoned cast iron?

That's about how I felt when I cleaned the oil pan for the first time... "Hey, this isn't a really grainy sand-cast piece of black metal after all..." :P

[Morpheus]

Lots of great info and pics in this thread, thanks fellas!

I have to rework my cv joints and pull my transmission apart, but that comes later on. I need to get my frame in shape first.