Wheel Bearing Seals
Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:51 pm
As I have been running the disc brakes now for a couple of months on my Pinzgauer 710M, I've been wondering what other changes should be considered as well.
I've heard from a couple of people that Jim at Goatwerks says that the wheel bearing seals should be upgraded when a disc brake conversion is done to a more "modern" type seal that has double lips rather than the original single lip type which is used. I couldn't come up with why that would be - the bearing isn't affected by drum vs. discs - but I am sure he is right and I don't doubt his well earned opinion.
So - I've asked a couple of "bearing" guys that question and one today finally came up with some reasoning that made sense to me. He says the second lip on the seal is just there to work as a "dust seal" to keep foreign material out of the seal - which would wear and even damage the seal resulting in leaks.
On the drum brake setup the seal is mounted in a well protected area that limits what can hit the seal. With disc brakes, there is more opportunity for dirt/mud/water to reach the seal - so a better seal with a double lip is needed to achieve long life.
That seemed like solid reasoning - so I ended up ordering a pair of SKF brand seals with double lips that should drop right in place of the original seals (not really a drop-in swap as its more like an all day project to change one of the wheel bearing seals actually)
I'll post up the model number and some photos once it arrives. Hopefully its the right one - but they were only about $7 each plus shipping ($10).
I've heard from a couple of people that Jim at Goatwerks says that the wheel bearing seals should be upgraded when a disc brake conversion is done to a more "modern" type seal that has double lips rather than the original single lip type which is used. I couldn't come up with why that would be - the bearing isn't affected by drum vs. discs - but I am sure he is right and I don't doubt his well earned opinion.
So - I've asked a couple of "bearing" guys that question and one today finally came up with some reasoning that made sense to me. He says the second lip on the seal is just there to work as a "dust seal" to keep foreign material out of the seal - which would wear and even damage the seal resulting in leaks.
On the drum brake setup the seal is mounted in a well protected area that limits what can hit the seal. With disc brakes, there is more opportunity for dirt/mud/water to reach the seal - so a better seal with a double lip is needed to achieve long life.
That seemed like solid reasoning - so I ended up ordering a pair of SKF brand seals with double lips that should drop right in place of the original seals (not really a drop-in swap as its more like an all day project to change one of the wheel bearing seals actually)
I'll post up the model number and some photos once it arrives. Hopefully its the right one - but they were only about $7 each plus shipping ($10).