Rear axle hub seal leaking(?)

Greetings all,

So I've discovered recently my Jimny developed a bit of an oil sweat at the rear axle on the left-hand side, where the hub assembly bolts to the axle. Not very clued up to the inside of the Jimny axles yet, so I can't say if it would be the hub seal or the flange gasket. The Jimny is used every day so I can't strip it to see what's wrong. Anyone that might know what's leaking inside? Thanks. 

If thats gear oil, most likely to be the bearing is shot. Main weak point on these axles, (in my view) I regularly make river crossings and I end up replacing both sides pretty much annually. 
The bearings are a large clearance to begin with (C4 I think?) and when they wear, the axle seal inboard of the bearing won't take up the radial clearance enough to stop oil from leaking out. The seal on the bearing itself seems to do little more than keep the grease in the rough vicinity of the rolling elements. 

Or could be (but less likely) a slave cylinder. 

Only a few minutes to remove that wheel and brake drum to have a peek (you may need to wind the shoes in manually if the drums are worn), you'll soon see where the offending liquid is coming from. 
​​​​I've done heaps of rear wheel bearings, sing out if you have any questions about it 
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Thank you Hughes for the reply.
I did a smell test and it definitely smells like the gear oil. But it wouldn't hurt to check inside the drum while I'm at it since it's a 2012 model and I don't think any maintenance has been done in that area in a long time. I did replace the pinion seal on the rear axle a while ago too. Thank you, I'll be sure to contact you should I need more info.

Hi Hughes,

Okay so, can you give me some info on this. What thpe of bearing is is? Standard taper or ball bearing? What size is the bearing? I requested a quote from the stealership, quite a high price (labour excluded). They also added extra parts that they say normally break during pressing of the bearing. Any insight would be most appreciated.

www.jimnybits.com/jimny-rear-wheel-bearing-kit-abs-version.html

This is what you will need 
You will need to cut the abs ring off with a grinder with care 
Also make sure you remove the sensor from axle casing before pulling out the shaft 

Being the BigJimny Website, this is the part you need.

www.bigjimny.com/store/rear-wheel-bearing-kit-abs.html



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The Kit Martin linked above will work. Also available is the "splash protector" which can be damaged when removing the seal in the axle tube ( If you forget its there and haul the seal out with a prybar ) I have run without this when I did damage one once, and had no problems, but it does make putting the axle in without tearing up the seal a lot easier with it in. 
My experience is only with a Non ABS Gen3, but follow the steps in the write up in the wiki and you should be golden. 

www.bigjimny.com/mediawiki/index.php/Rea..._bearing_replacement

​​​​​- Take a photo (many actually) of the drum brake assembly and the locations of the various springs, pins and mechanisms in behind the axle before you take it apart. Saves a lot of headscratching and cursing if you're not familiar with how it all goes together. 
- You will have some brake lines to undo (slave cylinder). I have had success in using a tight fitting rubber bung to the master cylinder to prevent brake fluid from flowing out onto the floor while disconnected (there are other techniques to prevent this). It will still leak a bit so you'll need something to catch that. 
- A long enough piece of heavy pipe is needed for driving the retainer back onto the axle. Use a block of wood or similar on the flange end so you don't knock the studs out. 
- The brake shoes may need replacing if they're soaked with gear oil. I have successfully reused some that were nearly brand new and didnt want to throw away by gently heating the inside with a small propane torch and "melting" the oil/grease out of them. If in doubt, replace them, if you just use brake cleaner on the outside, the oil will cook out when the drums / shoes heat up under braking anyway and they'll be next to useless. 
- As mentioned above it may be a good idea to remove the ABS sensor before removing the axle.

Sorry its a bit long winded. It's not exactly a difficult job to do (with the right tools) but can be a real PITA sometimes.