I went ahead and bought a seal puller down at the FLAPS for five bucks and
got them out, new ones in, and new caps.  I went ahead and drained the fluid
and filled it (not too full!) with Redline...

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Joe T.
Denver, CO
'85 Wolfsburg Westy (EJ22 in progress...)

>From: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
>Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: Axle Flange Seals
>Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2006 22:13:35 -0500
>
>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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