Thread: Oil seal groove

Not sure I understand your asking? You did say the seal was available, is it a different size or shape.

Dave

Hi Dave,
The old seal has cut/worn the groove. It shouldn't be there.

We use "speedi-sleeves" in industrial situations as a temporary (or semi-permanent ) repair for seal wear on shafts all the time.

If you want a speedi sleave to be permanent I'd use Loctite to keep it in place.

There are plenty of old Holden and Ford engines running them on the front crank seal to good effect.

I would consider welding the groove up and machining it back to the original dimensions.
No matter how hard you try you will never get a good seal the way it is now.
Matt

If it was me, I’d send it too Brenco or United Surface Technologies, and have them prep it, and have it HVOF metal sprayed with ceramic. It will last forever, and run cooler. That seal will be half the problem with heat. A seal running on ceramic runs cooler, as its so hard and slippery.

That wouldn’t be cheap. $600 would be my guess. Wagma Engineering could do it also, they might be cheaper. All of those companies can grind it. It needs finishing with Diamond wheels.

The other thing you could do is try a different seal, A thinner or thicker one, 88 x 110 come in 10mm and 13mm thick versions also. You might find the lip will run on a fresh section of the journal.

Phil.

HI,
I would suggest either Welding and Machining back to size. Using a Speedi Sleeve, because it is only a narrow Groove You may have to machine a small area for the Sleeve to go onto. What Machtool was saying about using a Thicker or Thinner Seal, there is also different Styles of Seals that might work better depending on the style of Your existing Seal.

I would not put any welding type heat near it, will distort the spindle....

Just a far out there thought.... What about making up a labyrinth type seal... It will not seal it totally, but will slow down the grease from running out..

The likes of the bridgeport has no seal for it's spindle bearings...

If it was my spindle, firstly I'd measure a new seal and check if the lip runs in EXACTLY the same relative position to the faces. If it doesn't just install it, since it isn't going to run int the greeve.
If the new lip IS in the same position, I'd try another brand and check that.
If they are all in the same position, I'd make a thin washer/spacer to go into the bottom of the seal rebate and fit the seal - again, so that the new lip runs next to the old groove.
ALternatively, you may be able to get the inner seal with the same ID and OD, so once spaced it doesn't sit out at all.
A few options there.
I wouldn't sleeve, spray or weld anything untill all the other options are exhausted.
Cheers,
Joe

I'm agreeing with Joe at the moment. Looking at the pictures you've attached I can't see anything that is going to be an absolute disaster for a seal. I'd mount the spindle in a lathe if you can and polish the sealing surface with some fine emery or wet & dry to ensure that there are no rough spots or burrs but other than that think a new seal should do the job.

Michael

Thanks for your help guys. I think I'll try another couple of seals first and see how it goes. Be interesting to compare the stiffness of the new against the old.

Joe, are you the Joe I had a long discussion with at the Model Engineering Exhibition in Bendigo last year about optical interferometry?

Cheers Phil.

Hi Phil, yes, that's me! I haven't fogotten our conversation, just your name
I must apologise for not reading all the replies you had before I posted: Phile (Machtool) had already said the same thing about letting a new seal run in a different spot - or using a different width!
The mention of $600 ceramic coating and diamond grinding probably made me skip the rest of the reply.... Sorry Phil F!

I suggest you go to Bendigo Bearings with your old seal and get them to bring out all the different brands and widths they have in stock - or order what they don;t have. They are always very helpful. Ih, and they stock the SpeediSleeves as well.... should you want to go that way.

Cheers,
Joe

Speedie Sleeve from any good bearing service---cheap easy to install and works a treat
nuf said

If you do use a Speedi-sleeve, I have in the past been told, and have followed the advice, to clean the grooved area thoroughly and fill the depression with epoxy. Then sand it back to size with emery, and fit the sleeve. From what I was told the sleeves are so thin that the sleeve can conform to the underlying groove, if you don't fill the void before fitting the sleeve. I have never tried it without following this procedure so can't say for sure that you have to do it, but that is what I would do if other seals, or adjusting seal position can't get you some clean shaft for a seal surface. Good luck,
Rob