Why Seals Fail in Winter and How to Prevent It

In the world of wheel-end maintenance, few topics generate more confusion than the difference between seal seepage and seal leakage. Both involve the presence of lubricant outside its normal containment, but the implications for wheel-end health are very different. Understanding what you’re seeing—and why it’s happening—can help prevent unnecessary part replacements, ensure fleet uptime, and protect the long-term performance of the entire wheel-end system.

Winter is one of the most demanding seasons for vehicles and for the sealing solutions that protect critical components. Cold temperatures, moisture and road salt combine to accelerate seal wear and can lead to premature failure if not properly managed. Understanding why seals fail in winter helps technicians prevent costly breakdowns, comebacks and customer dissatisfaction.

When replacing a crankshaft seal, mechanics often find that the shaft surface is too worn for a proper seal, leading to persistent oil leaks. In the past, the only solutions were either replacing the crankshaft—an expensive and time-consuming process—or re-machining the surface, which required specialized tools and additional labor. Fortunately, there is now a simpler and more cost-effective solution: SKF Speedi Sleeve.

The braking system is one of the most critical components of a vehicle and has a direct impact on safety. Among the various elements within this system, brake pads are crucial. They ensure that the vehicle stops safely and effectively, making the choice of high-quality pads essential. With more than a century of experience, SKF excels in the development of OE and Aftermarket solutions, including brake rotors with integrated bearings, and offers nearly 900 different brake pad sets for different applications.

We are used to driving our cars with the only concern being when we we need to schedule regular maintenance, but there are some dangerous issues we can avert from happening just by being aware of some not-so-subtle symptoms.

For a steer axle with a 12,000-lb. rating, commonly-accepted pressure is 110 psi, and most drivers assume 85 psi is okay. But for every 10% of underinflation, you’re looking at a 1% reduction in fuel economy. Multiply that by the miles you travel in a year and you can expect:

The wheel bearings on your car can last a lifetime or may not last very long.  It all depends on several aspects that we will discuss below. Before talking about replacing wheel bearing, let’s take a quick look at what can cause it to fail.

The main function of rear suspension (and the front one) is to keep the cars main body from touching the ground and maintaining the wheels on the road. Another function is to enhance the stability on turns and to make the ride more comfortable.

First, we need to know what these two different mechanisms do for our car. It’s simple, they both perform the same function which is to synchronize the rotation of the crankshaft and the camshaft(s) so that the engine's valves open and close at the proper time. They both operate in the same way and the only difference is their shape and the materials they are made of. The question is, which is better?

In the engine, what allows the correct synchronization between the crankshaft and the camshaft is the timing system. This movement is produced by one of two elements: a timing belt or a timing chain. In this article, we tell you which components are included in the SKF timing belt kit.