front axle oil leak

[JonA]

Hi there,

I've got a problem with my 96 Samurai front axle. It leaks oil from both sides. I've had the axle oil seals replaced but this didn't improve the situation (admittedly I don't think the oil seals were best quality). My question is this: would it help to do a front steering knuckle rebuild? I've seen kits to do this but they are quite expensive.

My mechanic says no - he suspects that the axle shaft is worn. I can't see though how it could get worn in such a way as to cause this leak so I'm not sure about this advice.

Has anyone had this problem and solved it?

Thanks

[Billjohn]

New seals from Suzuki.
Fresh knuckle rebuild with new felts and wiper rubbers, and clean grease.

[JonA]

Ok. Thank you. I will go with that.

[Skyhiranger]

If you had someone else replace the axle seals, take it back to them and have them fix it right (assuming this was recently done). I have never seen samurai front axleshafts that were worn so much that the axle seals won't seal (new axle seals).
There is supposed to be grease in the knuckle area. The grease is thick enough that it won't leak out of the knuckle seal, unless the axleshaft seal is not sealing and letting gear oil leak into the knuckle and out the knuckle seal.

[Billjohn]

Don't trust all of the junk out on Epay...
Just because it's cheaper doesn't mean the quality is still there.