First person to accurately Name That Leak wins

First clue:



What should we check next?

 

Rear axle oil seal and bearing while you're there.

 

You got it one, sir!

The nose test made it pretty clear that this was not a brake fluid leak; however, the rear drum felt binding and did not turn or remove freely, even though I released the adjusters - - usally a symptom that brake fluid has soaked and swelled the shoe linings.

Further inspection showed a slight bit of wetess around the brake cylinder:


And the rear-facing (we're on the right side of the car) shoe had a wet look to most of the surface except for the bottom most part:


However, the front shoe was dry, and the bottom of the backplate showed no sign of any wetness inside:


All of which means that no brake fluid was leaking, as it would have been all down the backplate, and much of the paint should be missing too.

The wetness on the rear shoe was gear oil transferred up on the drum inner surface, as the wheels rotated.

I'd been meaning to swap that bearing someday anyway; they were last done in 2002, and the right rear has been moaning a bit for a year or so. I'll go ahead and do both at the same time.

The big question is, should I swap to my spare rear pumpkin at the same time? I'm not sure which has more miles on it any more, but with the axles out I'd be 3/4 of the way done changing it. Guess I need to check it out.

Thanks for playing Name That Leak!

 

sounds like you've already done this job before, but the trick is to put the seal on the axle, and use the axle as the seal installer.

or just keep putting oil in it, the rear shoes will last forever with all that lubrication

 

DD - not sure, based on what you have written, why you'd need to swap pumpkins...
??
Nice catch on the leak tho-

Diatribe on seal replacement would be welcome!

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

Stu;

Mainly considering re-swap as my diff seems (to me) to feel a bit sloppy these days. I've a second stock diff that I removed back in '02 when I installed the current one... I'm just trying to decide which is in better shape. Since I'll be pulling both axles to do bearings and seals (no sense in replacing just one side; they are the same age) the only additional work to swapping diffs is a few bolts and some silicone.

It's a matter of laziness against future work, essentially.

I'll do a write up on the bearing/seal work, but I remember from last time that it's pretty straight-ahead work for the most part. I'll take the axles to a shop to have the bearings and collars removed/replaced on a press. Worth the cost to not have to putz around with getting them right. One of those jobs that's trivial if you have the right tools, but difficult to get right without them. Needs a standing press and separating plates to do it right.

 

yeah you actually NEED the press for the axle bearings, the press fit is what holds them in, so its TIGHT. mazda has a minimum spec for the press actually

the trans is press fit too, but if you're creative you can get by without the press

 

Hey DD perhaps swap in a LSD pumpkin? You'll retain the drums and look "correct" but have the benefit of the LSD. I'd swear someone is selling a third member minus the disc brakes but not sure if is S2 or S3 I think the swap has to be with a S2 into our third members.

Did my over a year ago with zero issues

 

I would if I could find one in decent shape at a decent price. Seems like every time one hits the parts board, it's gone in minutes.

& yeah, it need to be the small-axle variety.

 

Well for a guy who can create plastic trim pieces out of thin air, I presume an axle re-seal will be a breeze, but for all-thumbs guys like me, any info will be appreciated and archived!

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska