Every Scotseal is pre-lubed at the factory. On inspecting the seal packing, you should find grease (arrow) between the primary lip and the dirt lip.

If you don't, it's very likely that oil has washed it away. The major suspects would be:

• Excessive end-play (improper bearing adjustment)
• A cocked installation
• Improper ventilation of the wheel end (dirt, corrosion or paint clogging the vent)

After cleaning the entire seal, use your fingers to curl the primary sealing lip back. Run your finger completely around the circumference. The lip should feel smooth and pliable. If it doesn't, inspect the lip closely for cracks and nicks caused by a dry and brittle surface.

The cause is most likely overheating. And the leading suspect should be a lack of lubrication.

Using the same technique used to check the primary lip (above), check the dirt lip. This lip should also feel smooth and pliable. If it's dry and brittle, most likely it's been subjected to extreme heat.

Lack of lubrication is most likely the cause. It would be very wise to carefully inspect the bearings when you find this type of damage.

Cocked installation Holding the outer cup just below eye level and flat, like a bowl, rotate your wrist through 360°. If the seal has run cocked, the two lip tracks will be parallel to each other, but they'll appear to move closer and then farther from fhe outer cup edge. This is confirmation that the seal was installed crooked.

If there are no marks on the inner surface, it means that the seal was never used. Once the seal is installed and turned in the application, tracks will appear within the first few revolutions . This ends the Scotseal analysis section. The next section examines the Scotseal Plus.