Seal

Just replaced this seal less than a year ago. Why does this seal look so rough and the spring ring fell out of it. the black stuff you see is mostly grease but some of it is rubber off of the seal.

 

My guess is the axle has been rubbing on it unevenly

 

What would cause that ? I torqued them down to spec.

 

During install. When knocking the axle in, it may not have been straight. This is all just educated guessing. But generally if it isnt straight during install, torquing down the CV nut just keeps it at the bad angle.

 

I would clean the seal to see if you are looking at rubber/grease, and to have a good look at the seal condition. It's possible that the spring came out when the seal was installed.

 

Agreed, that spring seal is a bitch to get in properly without the right tool. And the spring likes to come out when you're putting it in.

 

Yeah I think I hit it slightly when pulling the CV out but oh well it's easy enough to fix. I just cleaned it up and put the new CV in.