Wanted: Wisdom on 2N brakes

I have the left rear side of a 47 2N pulled apart to replace the brake shoes (will do the right side next). The 2N requires you pull the axel as well as the bearing and hub as an assembly in order to get to the breaks. The FO 4 manual says to get to the wheel bearings you should drill a 1/4 inch hole in the seal retainer (as best as I can see) and then split it with a chisel to get the part out. Reassembly requires replacing the bearing, seal, and any other parts destroyed by the process.

Two Questions: 1. Are the wheel bearings only lubed by packing them on re-assembly? Seems I read somewhere that they get lubed by tranny/hydraulic fluid down the axle trumpets from the differential. The way the seal is installed, I don't see that happening any time soon... Might be true for the 8Ns...

2. Is there some way you can get to the bearings and re-pack them without destroying the existing parts? Seal is nice and pliable and doesn't appear to need replacement at this time. Seems you should be able to pop the seal somehow with minimal damage and then clean and re-pack the bearings without destroying/replacing lots of parts.

Any help or suggestions from the extensive site knowledge base will be appreciated.

v/r
Richard

my 2cents Mack

my 2cents Mack

Reference the sure seals... The picture in the book is a tad different than what I saw on the axel...

As I mentioned, there is no way to get any lube from the differential to the wheel bearings, so maybe I'm better off than what I thought I was...

The seal I have is mounted in a thin metal cone/bell. The smaller end of the bell (which contains the actual seal) is towards the diffy.

If that is the case, is their an easy way to pull the sure seal (without damaging it) to gain access to the bearing so I can repack them? Is there a picture somewhere of one installed so I can take a look?

Thanks

I much prefer the sure seal approach. A McNugget says that is the way to go. Just make sure you grease the outer bearing as it will no longer be lubed from the axle as it would be before the sure seals are installed.

Good luck and let us know how you come out.

Paul K.

2. You can repack the existing bearing with grease, hope the original seal is good enough to hold grease, and install a Sure Seal. The Sure Seal is a seal in a carrier that fits into the hub with the seal rubbing on the axle to keep the tranny fluid away from the bearing and brakes. It is the favorite fix for this problem. An alternative is Zane"s idea of making a seal by wrapping the axle with teflon tape and pumping a bunch of silicone into the axle housing.

If you have to pull the bearing to replace the original seal you break the retainer as described and then pull the bearing. Mine didn"t pull easy and it is a pain as the axle is long and a typical puller won"t reach (won"t even come close!). I used a cutoff wheel to split the bearing cage and the inner bearing cone to get the bearing off. Of course that meant new bearings. The retainer has to be warmed up (read: dull red) to get it on. Don"t beat it on as the interference fit is needed to hold everything together.

Practicing some mind-reading guessing I wonder if you already have Sure Seals? Then again it sounds like you are looking at the manual and know what you see. There is a brake repair video sold by this site that has good reviews and it discusses Sure Seals too, and even how to make a Sure Seal mounting tool.

FWIW.

• Sure Seals sold here

More research done, and I now know I have sure seals installed (at least on the left side).

While I have my girl torn apart, I will get a new set of seals and get some fresh lube on the bearings. Pretty sure I can handle that.

My new Question:
Can I pull both left and right axels at the same time, or do I need to do them one at a time so nothing falls down in the diffy? My option is to partially replace the left while awaiting parts, no break linings, just bolt the axel and hub back in place to keep things aligned, then pull the other side. Which is safest? What is recommended? The book doesn't say one way or another.

Thanks all
Richard