Maybe I asked the wrong question. Is it leaking out of the wormshaft (motor end), the thrust bearing end, the outboard pedestal side, the drive sheave side (between the gear and the drive sheave), or the pedestal side of the drive sheave? We recently rebuilt a circle bar W machine because the pedestal side could not be sealed and we discovered that even though the machine was running trouble and noise free, the sheave (with the ropes laid off) could be moved upward about .022". The seal only overlaps the shaft about .015", therefore, the sheave with worn bearings would drop enough that the seal wasn't really touching properly against the shaft on the top side and letting the oil out. No amount of new seals would work until the bearings were changed.
