Why do final drive seals seem to fail when it gets really cold? I’m in north east pa and had a few weeks where it was below zero at night and highs in the teens during the day. I had the double face seal on two machines leak during the cold snap. One has 8000 hours on it so it has some wear on it, but the other only has 1000. Neither leaked much oil, just enough to catch my eye. I’ve already had one replaced, am I over thinking it? Would they be ok once it warms up or am I doing the right thing by replacing them? Thanks in advance
Failure to remove the wet mud behind the sprocket, in subfreezing weather, is the culprit. Certain soil conditions are worse than others. Imagine pushing the sprocket outward, as it freezes, allowing the duocone seals to lightly spread, allowing a tiny bit of dirt on the perimeter face of the seal. And then repeating the process day after day. In extreme cases, the seal metal will actually crack.
I've had hyd. cylinder seals weep right around freezing temperature but not do if it was either warmer or colder. Have also seen the same thing on motorcycle fork seals.