Grease seals for Cleveland Wheels

[chaskuss]

Originally Posted by algrajek

I know there are options out there but I have always used, and been happy with, the Cleveland felt seals. I just clean them with Spirits and blow them off and re pack. Easy! Oh, AND cheap!:-)
Nordo

Al,
In other words, if it ain't broke don't fix it! I've always wondered if the use of the felt seals was part of the reason why the Cleveland wheels don't seem to had the stiction problems that the Matco Wheels do?

[Waiex-guy]

I have Matco wheels on order....what?s a STICTION problem????

Uh-oh. Always behind the curve...

Thanks

[chaskuss]

Originally Posted by Waiex-guy

I have Matco wheels on order....what?s a STICTION problem????

Uh-oh. Always behind the curve...
Thanks

I probably should have used past tense, had instead of have. When Vans first switched over from Cleveland to Matco Wheels owners started noticing that the A models using the Matco Wheels had more of a tendency to flip over or bend thea nose gear leg under when landing on unimproved runways. I believe that was the genesis of the Anti Splat company . His first products were dedicated to fixing that issue. My understanding is that Matco has since redesigned the wheel and corrected the issue. Stiction is friction caused by drag from the oil seals and bearings. There are numerous threads about this issue on this website. You can do a search for them.

Charlie

[pa38112]

The seal I referenced is on my RV6A mains with the original Cleveland wheels. The ID of the seal rides on the spacer. I fly off of grass. With the old felt seals my red grease was black at each annual, and if I got into any mud I had a good chance of loosing the bearings (3 times).
With the rubber seals in place, I usually go 2 years between re-packing and when I do the grease is still coming out red.
Oh, and the repacking of my bearings went from being one of the longest tasks of my annual to being a 15 minute job.
My conclusion: if you don't fix it till it's broke; it will be broke soon...

Also, there was a suggestion on this thread about replacing the coned bearings with a set of sealed bearings. That is fine on the nose wheel, but the sealed bearings are not intended for side loading, and should not be used on the mains.

[chaskuss]

Thank you everyone for your input. I checked with my local auto parts store. The 473237 is a good number, however none of his local warehouses stock it and he didn't have it in stock. FYI, that part number is also used by National and Federal Mogul. Checking around, I found some for $8.99 plus shipping. I made an offer to buy 4, if he absorbed the shipping. He said yes and they are now on their way to me. These are double lip seals. The outer lip keeps the dirt out, the inner lip keeps the grease in. They are also available in Viton [$$] by adding the letter V to the end of the part number.

Charlie

PS I'm going to hang on to the felt seals, as well. It appears that #473237 was used as a front crankshaft seal on older auto engines.

[koupster]

Just ordered four from RockAuto at $5.12 each and $2.99 for shipping via USPS.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/national,473237,,0

Cheers, David
RV-6A KBTF

[N804RV]

I was under the impression that with the newer 40-78B 5.00X5 wheel kits (Van's RV-3 through RV-9) the felts were replaced with molded seals.

Digging through Cleveland's catalog, it shows a molded grease seal (PN#154-13000), instead of the felt grease seal sandwiched between two "grease seal rings".

ACS has both the felts and the molded grease seals.

I've been using the felts on my Sonerai because they're cheaper and they work just fine.

[koupster]

A Cleveland PRODUCT REFERENCE MEMO http://www.parker.com/parkerimages/P...-266%20Kit.pdf addresses replacement of the felt seals with the molded grease seal (PN#154-13000).

It states that the reason is "A product improvement in the bearing grease retention system as a replacement to the current felt seal configuration.', and "molded bearing seal configuration is available that will significantly improve the prevention of water infiltration into the bearing hub area providing more protection against possible bearing corrosion."

Instructions for our Cleveland 5.00-5 wheels PN: 40-78B are found on page 15 of the document.

Cheers, David
RV-6A A&P

[rocketbob]

Looking at the SB the seal is retained with the original snap ring. I'm not sure why it would be necessary since these seals should be press fit but I am curious about it.

[rocketbob]

I'm giving the 473237 seals a try on a RV-6 I'm working on. They press in perfectly and the dimensions are correct. However. The spacers are too short for the outer lip of the seal to properly contact the spacer. They will work as-is but slightly thicker spacers are recommended. Not a problem if you have a lathe to make new spacers. Longer spacers would require modifying the axle nut so the cotter key would fit in a different hole by slotting the appropriate hole.

Note the 473237 seals are much thicker than whats listed in the Cleveland SB, and do not require the snap ring. I believe the 473237 seals are superior since they are constructed with a spring on the inner lip.