Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

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Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

February 09, 2015, 11:03:11 pm

I finished replacing the wheel seals on my 99 U270 on Saturday. I thought I would give some details that may be helpful to someone thinking they may tackle this job themselves.
I had a wheel seal start leaking on a short trip a few weeks ago. I did a lot of research on my axle. It is a Rockwell (now Meritor) Fg-941 14,600 Lb axle. The seal that was removed was a Stemco Guardian seal. Not sure it was the original or not. It is the type that has a wear ring pressed onto the shoulder of the axle. The seal I replaced it with is a Stemco Voyager( 383-0136 ). It does not use a wear ring so I had to remove the old one. I used a chisel and slowly worked them off the spindle shoulder. After it was removed I had to polish the spindle with some 320 emory cloth strips. I also had to replace a few of the caliper slide pins (KIT 15016) because of pitting. I decided to put helper springs (KIT 15018) on the calipers also because of the suggestion from the manufacturer and many here on the forum. I also decided to put on the modern Stemco Pro-Torq axle nut (448-4836) in place of the double nut system. I did order the Stemco seal installation tool (551-5346 for my seal) which worked well. I made up some guidelines prior to the work and I will post them if they would help anyone. The Stemco video's were very informative and it wasn't very hard just heavy work. Definatly need two people to lift the hub on and off unless you have some sort of lift. If I can answer any questions or be of any help just ask.

Mark

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #1 – February 09, 2015, 11:08:11 pm

Here is another list I made for the caliper. Kind of basic but it kept me on track.

Mark

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #2 – February 09, 2015, 11:11:35 pm

Very informative, thanks for posting it, I am sure we will need it sooner or later.
Regards,Irwin

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #3 – February 09, 2015, 11:56:29 pm

Are you sure you got the right seal. When my seals were replaced they came with a new wear ring to replace the old one. Maybe Stemco has changed something, but why get rid of the wear ring? It's been six years since they were replaced.

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #4 – February 10, 2015, 12:18:06 am

Quote from: Jerry Whiteaker – February 09, 2015, 11:56:29 pm

Are you sure you got the right seal. When my seals were replaced they came with a new wear ring to replace the old one. Maybe Stemco has changed something, but why get rid of the wear ring? It's been six years since they were replaced.

Some seals have two parts pushed together with one staying stationary on the spindle and the other rotating with the hub. The seal rides on itself when rotating, thus no wear ring on the spindle

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #5 – February 10, 2015, 12:32:05 am

@Mark Nice work, write up and pics! You hit the trifecta.

see ya
ken

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #6 – February 10, 2015, 02:58:48 am

Excellent, Mark.
Thank you. +1
Neal

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #7 – February 10, 2015, 07:22:21 am

Howdy Mark, GREAT write-up!! Thank you for this.
Dave A

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #8 – February 10, 2015, 08:53:27 am

I "LIKE" it. Nice write up and pics.
Thanks,
Rick

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #9 – February 10, 2015, 09:13:02 am

Excellent description of project and great photos. Well done! I'm not sure it is a job I would want to tackle, but it is very educational to see and understand the steps involved.

I laughed when I read the last line in your instruction sheet: "Install wheel and torque 450-500 Ft lbs". Back in the day, I owned and modified BOTH big domestic hotrods and "Ricers" (hot little import cars). When the "Made in the USA" hotrod set wanted to give the ricers a hard time they wore a T-shirt - it said something like: "Your engine doesn't make enough torque to tighten my nuts"

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #10 – February 10, 2015, 09:31:29 am

Quote from: Jerry Whiteaker – February 09, 2015, 11:56:29 pm

Are you sure you got the right seal. When my seals were replaced they came with a new wear ring to replace the old one. Maybe Stemco has changed something, but why get rid of the wear ring? It's been six years since they were replaced.

Jerry, Krush was correct in his explanation. The voyager seal is two parts. It rotates within itself with the part on the spindle shoulder staying stationary. The Stemco Guardian seal that was replaced has the wear ring. You can still get that kind if you want to use them.
Thanks everyone for the kind comments. Next project is the dash blower. Hopefully I can get some good pictures to post of that project too.

Mark

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #11 – February 10, 2015, 09:47:46 am

Mark, Dash blower should not be a big deal. IIRC the blower is a standard 70ish Chevrolet PU blower, On the GV's you loosen the main breaker panel and reach behind it to get the blower out, three or four screws and one wire.You may have to remove more dash stuff to get to your blower. Mark the CLOCK position of the blower so that you don't struggle putting the blower back in.
AND...... After removal you can oil the bushings like the Furnace blower bushings and extends the blowers life.
Gary B

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #12 – February 10, 2015, 10:30:43 am

Thanks for the explanation, things change. Nice post and pictures.

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #13 – February 10, 2015, 12:28:19 pm

I don't know what type of dash fan setup you will end up with on a 99 but the blower on my 98 seems basically impossible to replace without removing the entire dash system.

My fan is also fairly erratic, sometimes it works great and other times not so much or at all. The plastic shroud around the fan is right up against the front of the RV and was cracked in a few places. I think some of the broken plastic had managed to lodge in the fan assembly and I was able to vacuum out the smaller pieces without removing everything. Some self tapping screw, sheetmetal and foil tape was able to seal the cracked shroud mostly back up.

If your unit is completely non functional at this point, have you tried replacing all the relays before you delve deep into the dash. I had a fried relay in the cubby behind the accelerator/brake pedal. You can get a cheap 5 pack which is always nice to have extras.

Amazon.com: AGT (5 Pack) 30/40 AMP Relay Harness Spdt 12V Bosch Style...

Good luck but I would try everything before I'd try to get to that motor if its anything like mine.

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #14 – February 10, 2015, 12:43:35 pm

Did you use the free play guide for the bearing adjustment?

If you did is there any "dead" spot in the steering?

My expert Foretravel mechanic preloads the bearings or he says you get a wander.

Let us know

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #15 – February 10, 2015, 12:51:31 pm

Very nice write up, Mark.
Thanks for taking the time to detail the steps.
Should be very helpful for future job.
Jim

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #16 – February 10, 2015, 02:55:27 pm

Quote from: Caflashbob – February 10, 2015, 12:43:35 pm

Did you use the free play guide for the bearing adjustment?

If you did is there any "dead" spot in the steering?

My expert Foretravel mechanic preloads the bearings or he says you get a wander.

Let us know

Bob,
I set up the drivers side with .003 and the passengers side with .002. No noticeable difference in steering play at all. I forgot about letting you know about that.

Mark

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #17 – February 10, 2015, 02:58:29 pm

Quote from: rsihnhold – February 10, 2015, 12:28:19 pm

If your unit is completely non functional at this point, have you tried replacing all the relays before you delve deep into the dash. I had a fried relay in the cubby behind the accelerator/brake pedal. You can get a cheap 5 pack which is always nice to have extras.

Amazon.com: AGT (5 Pack) 30/40 AMP Relay Harness Spdt 12V Bosch Style...

Good luck but I would try everything before I'd try to get to that motor if its anything like mine.

Thanks for the input Robert, Mine stopped working at all a few months ago. I have not even begun to troubleshoot yet. I appreciate the suggestions.
Mark

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #18 – February 10, 2015, 07:33:26 pm

Quote from: MAZ – February 10, 2015, 02:58:29 pm

Thanks for the input Robert, Mine stopped working at all a few months ago. I have not even begun to troubleshoot yet. I appreciate the suggestions.
Mark

Before tearing things apart, make sure you apply 12v directly to the motor to see if it works. There is the dash control switch, a resistor, and a relay all in the control circuit.

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #19 – February 10, 2015, 08:33:35 pm

Maz. Is there any play at those settings?

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #20 – February 10, 2015, 09:07:33 pm

Quote from: Caflashbob – February 10, 2015, 08:33:35 pm

Is there any play at those settings?

Bob,

Are you still having problems with wandering and play in the front end of your coach? Maybe something isn't set up correctly?

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #21 – February 10, 2015, 09:20:45 pm

Quote from: Michelle – February 10, 2015, 09:07:33 pm

Bob,

Are you still having problems with wandering and play in the front end of your coach? Maybe something isn't set up correctly?

No mine drives like its on rails.

Just trying to figure out whether the legal adjustments versus preloading alter the steering wander or affect the "dead" spot some report and mine used to have before my seal replacement and bearing tightening

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #22 – February 10, 2015, 09:29:52 pm

Quote from: Caflashbob – February 10, 2015, 09:20:45 pm

No mine drives like its on rails.

Just trying to figure out whether the legal adjustments versus preloading alter the steering wander or affect the "dead" spot some report and mine used to have before my seal replacement and bearing tightening

I have a bit of wander, and I'm going to check wheel bearing slop some point in the near future. I believe in preload.

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #23 – February 11, 2015, 10:52:18 am

Bob,
Tell us about the "Legal" adjustment as referred to wheel bearings per your "expert Foretravel mechanic"
Always learning new Legal requirements.
Tnx

Re: Front wheel seal replacement on my 99 U270

Reply #24 – February 11, 2015, 11:24:05 am

Quote from: Caflashbob – February 10, 2015, 08:33:35 pm

Maz. Is there any play at those settings?

Bob, It is the same as it was so I would say no.

Mark

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