Main seal stop leak. Any luck?

[dingeryote]

I'm looking to buy some time before taking a Tractor off line, and was wondering if anyone had any luck with the various "Seal conditioners" on the market.

Just gotta get another 20 hours out of it before tearing the thing down. Leak isn't real bad, about a qt. an hour, but keeping it from getting worse is all I am after.

Thanks!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[David (saltas)]

If you can get the seal out without stripping the whole thing down then buy a new seal, buy a speedy sleeve and some liquid metal.

you need the liquid metal to fill the void under the speedy sleeve and the wear mark in the shaft.

Strip it
clean it
liquid metal it
push the speedy sleeve on
Fit the new seal

Speedi-Sleeve shaft repair kits

 

[Rookie1]

Ive never used the stuff but my parts salesman says it has worked for some of his other customers. I guess all it does is swell up the rubber so if the crank is worn Im not sure it will help.:msp_smile:

 

[VA-Sawyer]

I'm guessing that you are talking about the kind of tractor where you have to split the tractor in half to access the rear main. Been there done that. Some of them can be done in one day with the right equipment and a bit of good help. A quart/hr makes quite a mess in 20 hrs of running. If I could in any way afford the day of downtime, I would split the tractor and ready sleeve it till I had time to pull the crank and fix it right.

If you can't make the time, then I would say you don't have much to lose by trying the snake oil.

If it isn't the kind where you have to split the machine, and you can gain any access to rear main, then you may try using a needle to pump heavy grease behind the seal. It won't fix the leak but may slow it down enough to keep the mess under control.
Rick

 

[Biker Dude]

That stuff makes the seals more supple and swells them up. If you are only losing a quart an hour the seal conditioner will probably buy you the 20 hours you need. Just remember that once the leak stops you should still keep an eye on it because after awhile the seal will fail completely. Normally I won't use the stuff but your situation seems like the only one where it may be justified.