Small vs. Large Hub seals
Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:12 am
I have to replace my rear seals shortly, but I am still curious about the seal sizes. I found these two posts in locked threads:
Thanks!
ExpeditionImports wrote:Just a follow up to this. As correctly noted above this was not a factory change to the larger seal, as they never issued a part number for the larger seal. However, it is common practice in automotive applications to go to a larger seal when you have leakage problems.
The larger seal gives greater seal surface area which helps to seal better. Mercedes ran into this problem on their diesel Unimogs. The 136MM Hub Reduction seal was finally superceeded by a 140MM seal and new wear ring. This modification solved a lot of the problems.
As an FYI the Swiss Wear Ring is different in design than the stock wear ring in regards to the o-ring seal surface under the ring. I am a fan of adding a bit of Silicone with the o-ring on the Swiss rings....
I don't know if I have the small or large seals yet, but since the move to a larger seal was not made by SDP and the larger seal seems to be better and upgraded to address an issue, can I just use that seal, or are there others modifications required to the hub before it can be installed? I was going to order both sizes and ship the set I don't need back, but I am just curious if I can upgrade.pinztrek wrote:FYI: There are two seal sizes in use on the fronts, so it's best to either get both, and send one set back, or crack it open before ordering your seal. The newer, larger ones seem to hold up better. It was not an official SDP "Gen 2" design, is definitely something the Swiss did to address an issue.
Thanks!
