Help figuring out correct front inner wheel seal

[Bullet Bob]

When I changed the brake pads and repacked the bearings on my truck I chipped a piece of the inner rubber and decided to get a replacement. (Only repacked the driver side as Im waiting to find the correct seals) Truck is a 1980 C20 with the HD brake system. Supposedly 8974s was supposed to be the seal I needed according to Oriley’s. OD and ID were the same but didn’t realize the width was different. The 8974s is almost 1/2 wide and the one that came out of the truck measures 3/8. With the 8974s it does not go flush with the hub area of the rotor. It sticks out about 1/8 of an inch, pretty much the difference in the two. Went to bumper to bumper by my office since those guys have been known to pull some rabbits out of hats for us when it comes to odd ball stuff. They showed the same seal. Went through almost 20 different seals they had with no luck. Went to Bearing supply and they found one going by the dimensions as the number they found didn’t cross reference anything for them being automotive. Had to pass since the seal was $80 and had to come from a different store. Number they found on it which was hard to see, was 46453. Unfortunately bumper to bumper had closed by the time I left from there. Called O’Reillys and they said they had 2 in stock when they crossed referenced that number. Well what ever seal number it was had the same OD and ID but was easily half the width. I’ve found a few seals through google with the number, but without the dimensions. All seem to be old stock on eBay. Anyone ever ran into this problem or heard of some hubs that use this size. The inner and outer bearings are made in USA Timken if it helps.

The rotors have a lot of life left in them. So I wasn’t planning on changing them until the summer when I got some other things replaced and done. But I’m wondering if I should bite the bullet in order to have a more common seal and starting to wonder if I have the correct bearings. Guess I’ll have to pull everything apart to get some numbers and dimensions when life and weather cooperates.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Got the right seal from bumper to bumper by the office. Don’t know what the deal was at Oriley’s using the 46453 number. Guy looked up the number on the shelf went and grabbed it. Haven’t put a caliper on it to see how much wider it is but I don’t think it’s more than a 1/16. Morale of the story is you may have to go to different stores to find the right part, sometimes more than once.

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[fast 99]

Measure depth to inner bearing race or first lip in hub. If enough depth install it. Bearing seal design will vairy between manufacturers. Not a super critical part.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Measure depth to inner bearing race or first lip in hub. If enough depth install it. Bearing seal design will vairy between manufacturers. Not a super critical part.

Just to make sure I’m understanding correctly for anything the future. A seal with a smaller width can be used as long as it has the correct OD and ID. As I’m now assuming it doesn’t affect the position of the bearing in the hub.

 

[fast 99]

Sometime seals will be higher/wider than area they are being installed in Yes a little is fine provided they still seal on the inner surface and don't rub once installed. Some manufacturers are cutting costs by eliminating material any way they can and made worldwide. Basically, what I am saying is there might be appearance differences but still function fine. Those 2 seals in the picture are close enough that I would install 1 and check it.

 

[evren]

I'm confused by this same issue. Have a 73 C30 (originally cab and chassis but now a franken truck). Redoing the whole front suspension and steering. When I took the rotor/hub off the i noticed that the wheel seals were sticking out about a 1/4". The inner bearing also has no play in and out, which seems weird, i thought they always moved a little and the taper of the spindle locked them in place when installing.

The backing plate had a cup in it that sticks out to receive the seal. Between the seal and the backing plate there was also a cork gasket which I've never seen before. I don't know how to find this from a parts store so i'm just gonna have to leave it out.

The wheel seals that were installed had the same part number as above: National 8974-S.

I went to Oreilly's and they had the 8974-S as the right ones and they were 1/2" thick. But they also had something cross listed on that part what was a replacement for the original and it was 1/4" thick which should install almost flush with the hub.

It did not look like anything had been leaking out of there so I will probably just install it with the same part number seal as the one that came out. Just wondering if this is how it was designed, I have never seen a set up like this before.

 

[fast 99]

Normal, seen hundreds like that. Actually sometimes seals may rub slightly on the shield if dirty on that area.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

I'm confused by this same issue. Have a 73 C30 (originally cab and chassis but now a franken truck). Redoing the whole front suspension and steering. When I took the rotor/hub off the i noticed that the wheel seals were sticking out about a 1/4". The inner bearing also has no play in and out, which seems weird, i thought they always moved a little and the taper of the spindle locked them in place when installing.

The backing plate had a cup in it that sticks out to receive the seal. Between the seal and the backing plate there was also a cork gasket which I've never seen before. I don't know how to find this from a parts store so i'm just gonna have to leave it out.

The wheel seals that were installed had the same part number as above: National 8974-S.

I went to Oreilly's and they had the 8974-S as the right ones and they were 1/2" thick. But they also had something cross listed on that part what was a replacement for the original and it was 1/4" thick which should install almost flush with the hub.

It did not look like anything had been leaking out of there so I will probably just install it with the same part number seal as the one that came out. Just wondering if this is how it was designed, I have never seen a set up like this before.

Some companies make that seal like National does, with no lip. Other companies make it with a lip on the back side. I've used both on squares with good results, and we sold them both ways at our parts store.