406 diff question

[amazon69]

Thanks Roger.

I did indeed obtain a diff pinion oil seal from my local Land Rover specialist, for the grand sum of £6. It is a modern design with a one way rubber seal rather than the leather version which I took off.

[Geoff Dowdle]

The Early Rover diffs are spiral bevel but could be made by Salisbury.
The 406 Bristol and later are Hypoid made by Salisbury.
I suggest the Jaguar will be a better source than Rover/Land Rover.
Seals are readily available from any bearing supplier.
Geoff

[PEU186F]

Originally Posted by amazon69

Thanks Roger.

I did indeed obtain a diff pinion oil seal from my local Land Rover specialist, for the grand sum of £6. It is a modern design with a one way rubber seal rather than the leather version which I took off.

Hmmm... I still suffer from a problem in that the original leather seal had, over many years, succeeded in grinding the shaft undersize. The Landrover seal was pretty ineffective as a result and was later replaced with an undersized seal by Martin Barnes of ACCS. Martin told me that he and Brian Marelli of Bristol Cars Services had liaised to source this as a special. This was rather more effective but not totally so. But it may be worth talking to BCS if you find you have a problem. ACCS no longer exist

I have noted that the Morris Minor fraternity/ suppliers have had the same issue with the half shaft seals, originally leather, grinding the half shafts down. They have solved the issue by commissioning a hardened thin wall sleeve which, fitted over and lock-tighted onto the half shaft, provides a new pristine bearing surface which is essential for a rubber seal. I'd be most interested to hear of any similar off the shelf solution for the Salisbury pinion shafts.

[Julian Caples]

The hardened thin wall sleeve is called a "speedie sleeve" and is a standard off the shelf part (no special commissioning required). They are available to suit every standard oil seal (usually in a variety of lengths to suit varying installations).
All these seals and sleeves are generic components freely available from any competent bearing supplier.

The wear on the shaft is normal (ie it will happen to every shaft with a lip seal over time). Don't be too hard on the "old leather" seals - my experience is that they are slightly better on old shafts (more conformable, absorb a bit of oil and take up slight wear better) The modern plastic/synthetic rubber ones are harder, less conformable and need a better shaft surface to seal properly.

Using an undersized seal is not good practice (it will make the problem worse as it will deepen the wear groove formed by the seal - which at this stage is usually below the hardened surface originally provided) - it is a "bodge" to get you put of trouble - it is easier to fit an undersized seal than to do the job properly (seal can be done with the diff in the car, the speedie sleeve usually requires diff removal) which is frequently why it is done.

The 406 Diff is a Salisbury 2HA type which are quite (very) common - SKF actually do off the shelf kits for them. Sorry I don't have the modern part numbers to hand (the original Salisbury part number for the seal is 2HA-019), but any diff specialist that does work on Jags (or MGBs) is likely to have the parts on the shelf.

Regards
Julian

[PEU186F]

Julian

Very many thanks indeed, armed with this info I will hopefully finally get the problem resolved.

My regards

Roger