rear axel oil seals

[johnbirmingham]

A sad postscript to my "rear axel rumblings" .The new bearings are fine - 500 miles of silent Rovering and the pinion tweeking seems OK too . But it's MOT time and my routine pre test inspections found oil weeping from the 3 little holes in the ends of the half shafts .Ever keen to grovel underneath on a sweltering hot day, I whipped a shaft out to discover that I'd put the seals in backwards .I'm a bit surprised that they don't work either way , but here we are with 90 EP in the "sealed for life" bearings .I've no intention of ever getting the bearings out myself again; so do I (a) correct the seals and forget it - there's sure to be a little oily grease left ! ; (b) try to repack the bearings in situ - force as much grease as poss. into the cavity where the felt lives ; or even heat the upended shaft and pour melted grease in . (Could risk loosing what remains without replacing it , I remember the bearings having quite effective looking seals of thir own .)
I surely can't be the first chump to have got into this mess (can I ?) Oh ,ye Gods (for ever I shall think of thee ) hast thou any words of wisdom to offer. "Told you so " not considered very helpful John.

[Deleted]

They only work one way the pressure of the oil on the correct side helps press the lips tighter to the shaft.

The bearings are sealed wich is why just replacing a leaking oil seal on old bearings will not last long as the oil has washed out the grease.

In view of the newness of yours and the short distance I would risk just leaving them

Alternatively try "boiling" the bearing in grease and letting cool down and set

[johnbirmingham]

Thanks for that T.B. I had checked the breather so would not have expected pressure as such , but goodness knows how the oil behaves when it's thrashing around out of sight . On reflection , it is just oil weeping out - no gooey grease as yet , and there's not much space between the bearing and the outside world for displaced grease to hide , so lets hope I've caught it in time . Any more comments , chaps ? Don't just sit there laughing !