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Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:10 pm

Hi all, this past weekend I replaced the rear torsion bar bushings on my 74 bug and had to unbolt the torsion bar arm from the rest of the rear suspension/axle assembly. When taking the right side apart I attempted to push that assembly underneath the torsion bar arm, so I could pull out the torsion bar out.

I heard a pop noise and then a hiss, which I thought was a broken brake line (thankfully its not). After finishing the job and putting it all back together I noticed that oil was leaking from the inner CV joint area, and when squeezing the boot, more would bubble out.
Tonight I took the whole axle off, and found there was no grease in the right inner joint at all anymore! I then turned over the engine while in gear with the right side jacked up (so that axle would spin), but no oil seems to be leaking from the plastic cap inside where the joint bolts on.

Anyone have any ideas where this leak could be coming from?

Thu Jun 18, 2020 10:04 pm

Just guessing, but the old CV grease has probably liquefied, and that is what was leaking out. Pull the axle, and slide the boot away from the CV. Check the area of the axle where the CV boot is sealed for flaking paint, grunge or other debris, and clean the area well. Repack both CVs with Moly fortified grease, reinstall and see what happens. I would repack the other side as well.

Fri Jun 19, 2020 6:15 am

If your boots and dry rotted, just change the whole drive axle. And is it possible that you had the leaking before? You have a seal around the drive flange that goes int the tranny and a seal on the center cap of that flange.

Fri Jun 19, 2020 9:37 am

There should be no oil in inner boots. If they have oil in them it is trans oil.

There is a little seal that is installed in the center of the axle flange. It is leaking!

Easy to remove and put a new one in there. There are rubber types and metal re-inforced types.

Here is a video. No need to remove the hub, just the old seal.

https://www.jbugs.com/product/020409289B.html?o=1&...sions.html

Sat Jun 20, 2020 6:40 am

Blue69Baja wrote: There should be no oil in inner boots. If they have oil in them it is trans oil.

There is a little seal that is installed in the center of the axle flange. It is leaking!

Easy to remove and put a new one in there. There are rubber types and metal re-inforced types.

Here is a video. No need to remove the hub, just the old seal.

https://www.jbugs.com/product/020409289B.html?o=1&...sions.html

Exactly what I was talking about. Last 2 cars in the shop hade leaking drive flanges. When you order the caps, make sure ou get the right size. There is a bigger one for buses. We just installes the Empi white plastic ones on a car and I was a a little concerned, but got them from Topline. I figured if they are good enough for Jon, they muct be decent. My tech like the way the installed...And since we are giving you extra work, when was the last time the tranny was drained and filled?

Sat Jun 20, 2020 9:20 am

I changed the gear oil for the first time since getting the car (~3 years ago) very recently, less than 500 miles ago.

I took the axle off, and the grease on the outer CV is still, well, greasy, so I know the grease hasn't liquified. I've never gone this far into the drivetrain, so I just kept taking stuff off to figure out how it went together.

I've since ordered a new final drive seal for behind the flange and a few drive shaft caps just for spares.

In trying to take apart a CV joint for the first time I kinda destroyed the boot (but they were old anyway), and noticed that the inner metal piece that clamps the joint to the boot had gotten bent into an egg shape when I was pulling the axle assembly downward to get out the torsion bar.

With it being old, and with new parts being (relatively) cheap, I decided to order a whole new axle.

Once I get the parts and install them hopefully I'll have no more leaks!

Mon Jun 22, 2020 4:41 am

Apple2dude wrote: I changed the gear oil for the first time since getting the car (~3 years ago) very recently, less than 500 miles ago.

I took the axle off, and the grease on the outer CV is still, well, greasy, so I know the grease hasn't liquified. I've never gone this far into the drivetrain, so I just kept taking stuff off to figure out how it went together.

I've since ordered a new final drive seal for behind the flange and a few drive shaft caps just for spares.

In trying to take apart a CV joint for the first time I kinda destroyed the boot (but they were old anyway), and noticed that the inner metal piece that clamps the joint to the boot had gotten bent into an egg shape when I was pulling the axle assembly downward to get out the torsion bar.

With it being old, and with new parts being (relatively) cheap, I decided to order a whole new axle.

Once I get the parts and install them hopefully I'll have no more leaks!

I don't mess with boots anymore. I just replace the entire assembly. I have not had good luck with replacement boots holding up.

Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:42 am

andk5591 wrote: I don't mess with boots anymore. I just replace the entire assembly.

This is also much easier, and what I'll do when I lose a CV or boot. But my 1970 and my 1971 are still on their originals, and have never been serviced.

Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:34 pm

Still waiting on parts, but I have one more question: do the final drive seals get pushed all the way down to the bearing when installing, or should they be flush with the outside of the transmission, or what?

Any tips for installation would be appreciated!

Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:09 am

I have heard different thoughts on that. I don't think it matter since it seals the shaft from the case.

Sun Aug 22, 2021 1:07 pm

I think I had the same issue as the original poster. I pulled everything apart and found that the grease cap seal that sits in the center of the flange had been worn down and there was a hole in the middle of it (see pictures). Maybe the P.O. had installed the wrong size cap... not sure.... definitely needs to be replaced.

Since I have it apart I’ll replace the shaft seal too. I also found a ton of dirt that had found its way behind the flange seal. I’ll use some motoseal there when I reassemble to hopefully fix that.