i started to slap a new set of pads on my truck and noticed when i turned the rotor the bearing seemed a little noisier than i would like. so i started to tear everything apart. upon disassembly i found the locking hubs had water intrusion and a the start of surface rust. so i need to take the hubs apart and clean them. what kind of lubricant should i use for the locking portion of the hub, bearing grease? i pulled the bearings out, and found one to have just a little scoring on the rollers, so i'm gonna put new bearings in it along with a new rear seal. there was also a seal looking thing on the dust shield of the spindle, and some of it was torn off. does this seal do and sealing? to help keep water out, i thought i would lay a small bead of rtv on the cap of the locking hub as well. i know it has a seal there, i figure the rtv will do a better job. when i wheel the truck, mud and deep water are usually involved so any ideas on how to minimize damage is welcome.

 

what i used to do with some of the old vw stuff was degrease the gasket mating surfaces, rub the rtv right into the paper gasket, then quickly slap it together.

but grease on a new paper gasket would probably be enough, that's how i'm doing the solid front axle locking hubs.

the big seal right behind the inside wheel bearing... in my case, it was riding on a rusty pitted surface, and i couldn't find one of those bearing saver things in the right size... if i had access to a lathe, i might have tried turning it down slightly, but in the end i just went to trail gear and replaced both of the wheel hubs(not the locking hub) with the new stuff that they have.

so the inside wheel seal is now on fresh new metal... it'll probably be similar situation with ifs wheel hubs, check the surface that the seal is turning against.

not sure what the dust seal on ifs looks like.

 

I've often worried about the path through the dust seal where the CV axle enters the hollow hub spline shaft. I don't think the dust seal is watertight, and it seems to me like there is a path for moisture through the dust seal, along the CV shaft through the hollow spline, and from there into the hub and bearing.

I doubt it's a problem just driving around on wet roads, but it sure seems like submerging the axle could allow water to flow in that way. Does anyone have any more detailed experience with this?

 

I just bought a solid axle from a guy and RTV was used to seal the hubs. I am not sure if it is a good idea or not, as it makes them a pain to ever remove if you had to do so on the trail, but the hubs were the only thing clean on that axle.