Case 580 SM II front axle leak

[GManBart]

I've had my 580 SM II for two about two weeks, and on two different occasions I parked it and found a small amount of fluid on the ground near the inside of the left front tire (small being a couple of teaspoons worth at most).

I wiped it up, and cleaned off the inside of the wheel, and it appears to be coming from the bottom of the axle swivel housing. I made sure it was clean/dry, and when I parked it I put a clean paper towel on the inside of the wheel....nothing on it the next day. I did the same thing that night, and the next day it had leaked a bit. It seems odd that it will leak one time, and not the next, but it obviously needs to be fixed either way.

I marked the wheel so I have an idea where it was oriented when it leaked, but that's more a curiosity than anything else.

I checked the fluid level in the planetary, and it's fine. I'm going to do the same for the center housing in the morning. Anybody have any ideas what seal might be bad to cause this sort of an intermittent leak? I'll probably just replace all of them from the inside out, but thought it was worth asking in case anybody here has seen anything similar in the past.

So far this is really the only thing I've found that needs to be fixed, so I can't really complain too much....well not yet anyway!

 

[sheepfoot]

You need to pin it down some, there is four seals, axle tube end, planetary cover, main seal for wheel rotation, inner seal for input axle shaft. Those can be pretty pricey, as well as the bearing so be ready. You may get lucky and only have a planetary cover leaking. Check also the breather in the axle .

 

[GManBart]

You need to pin it down some, there is four seals, axle tube end, planetary cover, main seal for wheel rotation, inner seal for input axle shaft. Those can be pretty pricey, as well as the bearing so be ready. You may get lucky and only have a planetary cover leaking. Check also the breather in the axle .

Yep, I've already got the four part numbers and prices figured out...not too bad really. I was just wondering if someone had seen this sort of pattern with a particular seal before.

I took a quick look at the breather, but plan to check it more carefully tomorrow. Thanks,

 

[nowing75]

. Would think its the axel seal if fd fluid is full

 

[nowing75]

Sorry looks like you have that info already I have changed them before best to change all the seals and make sure the seal surface is not wore.

 

[GManBart]

Sorry looks like you have that info already I have changed them before best to change all the seals and make sure the seal surface is not wore.

That's sort of what I was thinking. I checked the fluid level in the center bowl, and it was also full, so I'm guessing this is a new leak (it didn't do it for about a week) and it's only lost a few ounces, at most. I checked the breather, and it was pretty dirty...it had sort of a mound of dirt built up around it. As soon as I put a rag on it, the dirt broke away and the breather looked okay....I'll clean it property tomorrow.