Axle grease question

OK so I am sure this is obvious for many however I have been searching for the answer and can't find anything definitive.

I am rebuilding the suspension on my 68 Series 2 and when I pulled the front axle out the housing there is a fair amount of what appears to be grease that has mixed with oil and perhaps some water. Also when I drained the front differential it had a similar fluid however more like a runny oil . I believe the seals failed at some point allowing the cross contamination? I understand how to rebuild and grease the hubs and to refill the differential with gear oil my questions is - does the axle also need to be filled with grease or will the oil from the diff find its way in? I plan to remove what is currently in the axle housing as it appears contaminated.

The only grease is in the hub bearings. The swivel Housings use gear oil and are filled separately using the same spec oil as the differential , a little will eventually migrate into the hubs but this normally not an issue unless the seals are damaged. . Some owners do prefer the thixotropic grease (https://www.roversnorth.com/parts/pl...nicrotec_375cc) in the swivel housings as used on the Defender models , but I personally prefer the original oil.

Thanks for your answer. The grease is actually surrounding the axle itself. It could have come from the hubs although there was a lot of it. The vents were not working properly and the pressure could have caused the seal to leak. Should I apply any grease to the axle for rust prevention?

It may be a difference of terminology across the pond , but could you define "axle"? Do you mean the drive shafts inside the axle case ? If the axle breather is blocked it will mean oil/grease will be pushed pass the seals & end up over the hubs and brakes.

I mean the actual axle that is enclosed by what I would the rear end however that doesn’t sound like the correct term (axle tube?). I cleaned up the breather so it is now working. I was surprised to see grease/oil in the axle tube as I don’t understand what the purpose would be other than protecting the axle from rust.

I'd clean out all of the grease. There is no reason to have that much grease in the axle housing as the differential gears will thrash the oil when spinning and the vapor should coat everything in a thin film. Some people use a thin grease in the swivel housings such as the Swivel Ball Grease used for lubrication of the CV joints on Range Rover, Discovery and Defender vehicles. This grease tends to not leak past worn swivel seals as 90 weight oil does. I do use it in the steering box on my 109 due to minor leakage, but I still use 90 weight in the swivel housings. It it not unusual for some 90 weight to migrate into the hubs.

Bob

I used John Deere "corn head" grease in my swivel housings,seemed to work just fine.YMMV