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Front hub seal replacement

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:10 pm
by RodR
The front felt hub seals on my Sprint need replacing as the old ones have virtually fallen to bits. The wheel bearings themselves are fine. I have replacement seals from Chris Witor, that seem to be the right diameter.

My issue is removing the old seal ring from the hub without risking damaging the bearing. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to, as the manual says, 'withdraw' it, without levering it against the bearing. There seems to be a couple of options, firstly to use a chisel from the side so I can deform the ring and hoof it out from above or am I better off just removing the felt seal from the new ring and gluing it to the old one in place? If the latter, any suggestions to a suitable adhesive?

Clive

Re: Front hub seal replacement

Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:13 am
by SprintMWU773V
The old seal should ping out easily with a suitable screwdriver without damaging the bearing.

Personally I think the Chris Witor seals are too large and require trimming. I also found that the retaining ring was a very loose fit in the hub. I actually used some from Leacy's in the end, tapping them in with my bearing tool.

Re: Front hub seal replacement

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 12:16 pm
by RodR
Yup. You were right the seal came out fairly easily, just worked a screwdriver gradually around, and you were also right that the Witor retaining ring is a fraction too small, so is a loose fit in the hub.

I expanded the ring a bit until it was a reasonable interference fit, hopefully it'll stay fast.

Cheers