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The shaft surface upon which a high performance radial lip seal operates is the second most important element of a sealing system, second only to the seal itself. For many years the standard specification for shaft surface finish or texture was “0.25 - 0.50 μm Ra plunge ground with no machine lead”. Since this has been a costly and difficult process to create and control for many applications, other shaft processing methods have been used. This paper outlines the initiation of a study to evaluate the performance of radial lip seals on a variety of shaft surface finishes. The converter hub or front pump seal application has been selected for this study due to the unique shaft finishing processes incorporated.

The performance of radial lip seals in either vehicular or industrial applications is a significant factor in the perceived quality of products. Lubricant leakage is high on the list of customer complaints or dissatisfaction. Radial lip seal suppliers have been working closely with vehicle manufacturers to improve the performance of their products. Much progress has been made. Advances from this point will depend not only on improvements in sealing technology but also on improvements in the control of the entire sealing system.