Speedi sleeves - anyone used them? D44

[ace]

So my axle seal is leaking again. Had a look and there is about 1-2mm of play between the axle and the seal.

Will a speedi sleeve fix this or am I just wasting money?

I have a new set of seals and bearings but just wondering whether it's worth just getting a couple of new axle shafts instead.

It's an XJ/ MJ D44 in the back with the LSD. Will the shafts from a TJ fit this or are they different lengths/ number of splines etc?

My drums are pretty worn too and it's the 10" ones, so they work well when setup right.

I normally run 33s too.

[senatorjohn]

Seems an unusually large amount of clearance between seal and shaft. How much wear is on the shaft? Speedi sleeves are usually used with the standard seal from what I remember from my past experience a long time ago. More info needed on shaft condition. Is the correct seal fitted or is the seal chopped out badly by a rough seal surface?
Regards
John. Auto Trades Teacher.

[Tallpieman]

I had a leaking axle seal... when I pulled it apart, there was a lot of slop in the bearing, I think due to the retainer having a slight bend out., If I was to do the wheel bearings again I would swap the retainer plates from one side to the other.. I put a shim between the retainer plate and the seal and all is now good... I think the shim was actually a . d44 pinion bearing shim.

[ace]

The shafts have maybe done 200k and I've been towing a trailer round most days that weighs around a tonne. I've done the bearings and seals twice in 3 years, usually for leaking.

The retainer plates aren't the flattest so could use new ones if I do the job again.

Seems odd that it's worn around the seal though eh. Bearings are usually solid as when they come out. I used to think it was the retainers that were causing the problem but it just seems to be the seal that doesn't get a good right fit and that usually wears too. I'll have a good look at the shaft on the weekend again. Seems like a new shaft will be $250-$500 per side and that's a lot of spends for me.

From what I can gather the speedi sleeves will give much less than 1mm which won't help things much I reckon.

The retainers don't seem to contact the seal much apart from round the outside and that seems to be a good enough seal, it's leaking right around the shaft.

[Hunno]

Your axle shaft may be bent & therefore flogging out the seal. As for the retaining plates, Wooders does a HD retainer because it is a known problem.

[turbomart]

Speedi sleeves are designed to give a new seal surface when the shaft has a groove in it where the seal runs, they are not designed to take up a gap. In fact they are very thin so the standard seal can still be used.
Id say something else is wrong such as bent shaft which has already been mentioned.

[ace]

Got my axle seals redone and speedi sleeves put on each side. Was a little groove on the axle but mostly looked like the axle seals just were worn. My mechanic seemed to think it was normal wear for age of vehicle and had fitted speedi sleeves before with good results. 30k over 2 years so I guess they just wear out. New seals seem a much better fit over the sleeves.