Part Number Needed

[John E. Smith]

I am out in the boonies, and the seal on the passenger side of the drive axle has just gone out.  I can't seem to find out what seal it takes short of pulling the wheel & hub -- which is just not an option right now -- I need to have a new seal ready to put back in when I pull the old one.

The drive axle is an Eaton Model 22123 single reduction in a 1982 Thomas TransitLiner (now made by Freightliner).

Can anyone look up the seal part number by axle number and get back to me?  I am stuck in Washington, MO at the Mr. Fuel fuel stop until I can change out the old one -- I don't want to chew up the bearings, too.

Oh, also, I no longer work for Tejas Coach Works.  My dad had a stroke, and I had to go back to California to take care of his estate.  When that was done, I just didn't feel like going back to work for Charles.  He is a really good guy, but I would rather be travelling right now after burying my Dad and having to fight my gold-digging sisters.

If anyone can get me a part number, I would greatly appreciate it!  I can be reached at (940) 859-3046.

Thanks!
==================================================

Update:

I finally reached Eaton, who told me that it is a Dana/ Spicer 854 seal.  I also decided that as long as I kept the rear full, the leak wouldn't hurt the bearings.  So now, all I have to do is find the seal and find someplace where I can jack up the axle and pull the wheels/ hub to do the replacement.

I posted this originally in the hope that there was a parts man watching... I didn't really expect an answer, though.  I think I have the only Thomas bus on the board.  But I notice by the number of views that the community was ready to help if they could -- and for that I thank everyone!

John

[plyonsMC9]

Thanks for the update John.  Yes indeed - this is a group that does like to jump in and help.      

Kind Regards, Phil

[Dallas]

John,

Try taking the part number you have to a nearby truck/auto parts store or a wheel and bearing shop.

They will be able to cross it over to a National seal or SOB.

It's probably a pretty standard part, BUT, if you keep running it while it's leaking you will end up with an oil soaked set of brake shoes on that side. This is Very dangerous as it can catch fire in a hard braking situation, besides causing no end of problems trying to get stopped!
Also, if the brake shoes become oil soaked, you will have to replace them because it's pretty much impossible to remove the oil that's soaked into the linings.

Good Luck, and IHTH,
Dallas

GO BUSING!

[Lee]

Interchange #43860 CR. I remember stocking that NO. when I worked selling Truck Parts Twenty five years ago. Good luck, Lee

[plyonsMC9]

thanks for contributing Lee - welcome to the board.    

Best Regards, Phil

[NJT 5573]

John E. Hope your doing OK. I never throw away my brake shoes if they have grease on them. I just clean them up with gas as best I can and run them. I have never seen evidence that a brake shoe soaks up enough gear oil to damage it. DOT may say different, I don't know.

[John E. Smith]

John E. Hope your doing OK. I never throw away my brake shoes if they have grease on them. I just clean them up with gas as best I can and run them. I have never seen evidence that a brake shoe soaks up enough gear oil to damage it. DOT may say different, I don't know.

Actually, brake blocks (the actual name for the material) cannot "soak up" axle lube oil.  DOT-approved brake material is a semi-porous material that is made even more non-porous on the wearing surface by glazing action of the material on the brake drum.  You will typically see something that looks like penetration along the sides of the block, but the face of it is pretty much impervious to penetration because of the glazing that occurs naturally from friction.

The risk of fire is also pretty low, unless you have a dragging brake or drop off of a long hill going way too fast -- and if you heat up a set of brakes enough to catch fire, you did something wrong to start with!  My bus has a top speed of 57 miles per hour, and shows a natural retarding when descending a long hill with my foot off of the accelerator -- I usually drop off of Birdsong grade (in eastern-central Tennessee on I-40) at around 50 mph, which the engine/ transmission holds during the entire descent.

I typically use naptha to clean brakes that have become contaminated with lube oil from a leaking seal.  Naptha evaporates almost completely, and leaves the truest "clean" I have found.  A good blasting with a high-pressure air blow gun helps to "knock off" the more severe deposits, also.  I have been able to salvage even the worst oil-coated brake blocks with this process.

Thank you for the cross reference -- that may help to locate the seal from a different vendor.  Right now, the leak seems to have stopped for the time being; it was never severe, and my guess is that there is one bad spot on the seal that is allowing hot lube oil to slip past -- and of course, wheel rotation can make a drop of lube spread a LONG way!

John

[DrivingMissLazy]

I have always used lacquer thinner for cleaning brake shoes or any other device where you do no want to leave an oily residue. Easier for me to find than naphtha and is not oil based like gasoline.
Richard

[H3Jim]

For brakes, lacquer thinner would not leave enough of a residue to worry about.  It does leave a residue though, as I found out when I "cleaned" an area prior to using sikaflex.  It made the sikaflex not stick and caused me a whole lot of work. 

[DrivingMissLazy]

Thanks Jim. Learn something every day. How about the product Grease and Wax Remover. Wonder if it leaves a residue?
Richard

For brakes, lacquer thinner would not leave enough of a residue to worry about.  It does leave a residue though, as I found out when I "cleaned" an area prior to using sikaflex.  It made the sikaflex not stick and caused me a whole lot of work. 

[H3Jim]

Richard, I wish I knew.  Acetone or alchohol (or the very pricey sikaflex pre cleaner) was what IBP recommended after the first mistake. If you are trying somethig different, its wroth asking the sikaflex rep.

sorry for the hijack.

[buswarrior]

Hello.

The practice of cleaning up an oil contaminated brake lining belongs in the history books.

Never mind the DOT, will they be making the stopping power we need?

How much oil soaked into it?  We have no way of knowing.

How does the lining perform on a brake dyno after cleaning attempts?

How will the "cleaned" lining perform on the dyno after it has worn through the outer layer?

Experience is a poor teacher. Just because they looked good, and they went back into service and nothing happened that we know about, doesn't mean that set of brake linings was doing its proper share of the stopping.

And, sarcastically speaking, I particularly like the shops that charge for fresh linings and re-use the old ones.

Cleaning oil contaminated brake linings is a blind crap shoot.

Buy fresh linings, replace wheels seals on a preventive maintenance schedule, not on failure.

happy coaching!
buswarrior