[ROCKWIND1]

2011 SPORTSMAN 550 TOURING.

i developed a leak in the seal that goes around the front axle part that stabs into the differential. had to order a 50$ dollar "kit" for the entire differential to get new seals but fine, did that, while i was doing this i decided to upgrade my front axles and i ordered the all balls extreme duty 8 front axles from rocky mountain atv.

switched out seals, put a little lube on them for easier slide in, and put back together. it was ok for a while,,, a few weeks, no it is leaking like a sieve.

once again ordered new seals for f$king 50 bucks but i am beginning to wonder if i should go back to the original front axles, nothing wrong with them and i a very conservative rider, maybe the new axles were just not in spec with the seals.

 

[bp405]

The axles don't do the sealing. The seal contacts the cups that the axles mate to. The bearing may be sloppy causing the leak.

 

[hatzie]

Usually people forget that the shaft or spindle the seal is riding on has to be clean, not grooved, and not have any pits or rust. It'll chew up the seals otherwise.
If the bearings are spent the output shaft will wobble and beat up the seals too.


Slapping a pair of seals in the unit usually will not work out well.
Why?

If it was leaking oil out it was also leaking dirt, mud, and water in. You have to disassemble a part like the Hilliard front diff, clean it up, and asses the condition of the guts. If you caught it soon enough the innards will not be terribly damaged by eating dirt and water or at least only have damage in easily replaceable parts like bearings.
If the output shaft surface that the seal runs on is damaged you may be able to use something called a Speedi-Sleeve. It's a thin stainless sleeve made to repair damaged or grooved shafts where seals ride so you don't have to replace the $$$$$ shaft. I've used them on front disc brake spindles and full floating rear axle housings on 4Wd trucks. They are usually around $30-$50 depending on the width and inner diameter. A sleeve has to be available in the right size to repair the the damaged shaft and if a replacement part is less than the speedi sleeve it doesn't make sense to use one... but it's something to look at and have in your arsenal.



An example of the above problem... I picked up three "Junk" Troy Bilt Horse I tillers to re-build this winter. The PO said he'd put in several sets of tine seals and couldn't get em to stop leaking. He was giving them away because they were "junk". They weren't Junk. They were leaking because he didn't replace a chewed up shaft and the taper roller bearings it rode on when he replaced the seals. Running them with bad bearings and a chewed up shaft ate up several sets of seals and the mildly expensive bronze worm gear that would've been just fine if he had known how to repair them properly.

 

[ROCKWIND1]

The axles don't do the sealing. The seal contacts the cups that the axles mate to. The bearing may be sloppy causing the leak.

you are right, i remember that now. makes sense to cause otherwise whenever you pull out the axles, the fluid would run out.

i wonder why they are leaking now. the right side wasn't leaking at all, i just replace the seal cause the kit came with 2 of them.

i wonder if i installed them incorrectly but i've put in seals before, not that difficult really.

 

[bp405]

Could be inferior seals.

 

[ROCKWIND1]

Could be inferior seals.

they were oem polaris parts, i had always thought the oem stuff was mostly good quality. i am not sure what happened.

 

[bp405]

Ok gotcha . And I'm with you OEM has been generally good but pricey. Aftermarket is hit and mis. Sounds like the seals aren't seated correctly or the cups may be grooved or the bearings may be bad and creating play. It is strange that the seals are leaking more now.

 

[ROCKWIND1]

Ok gotcha . And I'm with you OEM has been generally good but pricey. Aftermarket is hit and mis. Sounds like the seals aren't seated correctly or the cups may be grooved or the bearings may be bad and creating play. It is strange that the seals are leaking more now.

have you found aftermarket seals for that part? it would have to be way cheaper than 50+ bucks for a whole kit, which i now have 2 of. would be nice to just buy the seals.

 

[bp405]

Chk out boss bearing and allballs oh and epi. One of them will seal you just a seal kit.

 

[ROCKWIND1]

Chk out boss bearing and allballs oh and epi. One of them will seal you just a seal kit.

and there they are, seals all by them selves. thanks! geeez. i wish i had known that 2 seal orders ago. put on my new seals, differently this time. i called up epi bearings and the tech suggested using permatex aviation liquid sealant around the seals so fingers crossed. also had someone suggest kwiksteel, which is like a epoxy putty that adheres to aluminun. seemed a little to permanent to me so i used permatx. but now that i know where to get seals for a reasonable price, i can try again really easily, it is an easy job.

but up date on my check engine/eps lights. the speed sensor seems to have fixed it. weird how the tmap error code is now popping up. i ordered a new tmap and wiring harness and tps harness.

 

[bp405]

Oh man it ain't easy sometimes!!! But glad you are making head way on it!!!