I have oil leaking out of the driver side drum. Iam sure that i will have to replace the seal but i have never done this on a bus. Is it the same as a car or truck were i have to drop the pumpkin and pull the axle or are they designed so that you can do this with out pulling the axle? The axle is a rockwell if i have to pull the axle out how many boxes of wheatties do i have to eat to do this?
this is the first message for me so i hope i get it right. i bought an old pallet jack for $15.00; rebuild kit $50.00? it can lift 5500lbs.put under tires lift a little, slides them in & out real easy. mine has has about a 3' tall rack that stands up at the handle to tie toif you could find something like that it might help alot. and i did replace both seals. ray with the littlehouse on wheels
What an excellent idea about using a Pallet Jack for taking off the wheels.Someone got up early.
Rather than pulling the tires, drum and hub as a unit, I'd highly suggest you pull everything apart. Start by pulling the wheels off, then back off the brakes so you can remove the brake drum, then when you are at this point, can pull the axle shaft out, bend the nut keepers, remove the big nuts and the outer bearing, then remove the hub. One, it'll make for changing the seal easier, rather than wrestling with about 400lb of bulk, since you'd want to lay the tire assembly down to install the new seal. Also, unless you're very skilled at this and have done it many times, reinstalling that complete assembly has a high likelihood of damaging the new seal (doesn't that sound like fun to do it all over again!). And most importantly, you'll be taking everything apart to inspect the complete assembly. What condition is it in? Are some of the wheel studs stripped, is the hub cracked, is the inside of the wheels cracked around the stud holes, are the wheels rusted together, is there rust on the brake drum so the wheels are not seating squarely, is the outside of the brake drums cracked or warped-all these things are hidden if you remove everything as a unit. You decide. Good Luck, TomC