That bearing has rollers, not balls. The cage that aligns the rollers
and keeps them straight is relatively fragile. If you bend the cage
slightly the rollers may no longer roll and they will slide or act like
a sprag clutch and they will try to lock. They will then slide until the
flat spot is enough to let the bearing turn or tear up the outer race,
(cone). Anyway, at this point the bearing is trash and complete
transaxle disassembly will be required. A lever type seal puller is
cheap and will usually do the job.

Most leaky output seals are not the fault of the seal unless it is a
cheapie. Grooved flanges and overfilled or overheated or clogged vents
are the usual causes for leakage here. A small amount of leakage is
acceptable and can even help keep the outsides of the CV from rusting.
Unless you are leaving puddles or regularly adding oil, leave them. If
the seals are really worn, it is a sign that the trans is getting tired
anyway. If, with the van level, (front-rear and left-right), oil comes
out of the filler plug when it is removed, the box is definably
overfilled. The level should really be ~14mm below the filler plug.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Jim Felder
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 9:18 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Axle Flange Seals

I made quick work of these seals with a cheap inertia (slide hammer)
puller set. Use the rod with the pointed threaded tip (the one you use
to screw into body panel holes) and put a wrench on the rod. Turn into
the bearing... you won't hurt it, the tool is softer than the
bearing... and the seal will ease right out. If you're really afraid of
(can I say it?) scratching your balls, then position the sharp tip of
the screw out on the race where you can't possibly hurt anything.

Me, I went straight for the balls.

Jim

On Feb 13, 2006, at 8:03 PM, joe trussell wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I've separated my transmission from the 1.9 and am replacing the axle
> flange
> seals.
>
> Those seals are in there TIGHT.  Besides buying a seal puller, is
> there any
> other trick that might get them out?
>
> I've seen a few examples where screws are drilled into the seal on
> opposite
> sides, then a couple of pairs of pliers are used to pull it out.  I'm
> a bit
> leery of this because obviously I don't want to scratch those outside
> walls.
>
> I appreciate the help!
>
> Joe T.
> Denver, CO
> '85 Wolfsburg Westfalia
>
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