Simple answer yes, they can be difficult even when you have done it many times. Most lip seals are formed around a metal ring. When the seal face is fitted against a full diameter shoulder you need to get something between the faces like a screwdriver. Of course you can do as much damage as you like to the old seal so brute force is the order of the day, just be careful when replacing it with the new one, one nick into the lip and it is toast.

I believe that the picture is showing the inside face of the end cap, so the seal is the right way round. The rubber surface type can usually be fitted with just thumb pressure working round bit by bit.

When I modified the Tom Senior spindle from MT2 to R8, I factored in an oil seal at the bottom and had no end of trouble. The lower end got rapidly hot and I removed the quill several times to re adjust the bearing preloads until I twigged that the heat was caused by the seal. It was a double lip with garter spring and removing the spring only helped slightly. Cutting away the entire lip and relying only on the outer lip, which works fairly well on its own as it is not to retain the grease but to keep swarf out. Even now with moly grease on the lip, the bottom of the spindle gets to about 50C after ten minutes at 3000rpm.

^^^^^ This is a common way of removing seals in industry and works well. Once you have a screw or two in place in the metal ring that forms the seal outer body, it will usually pop out easily with a pry bar, claw hammer, or slide hammer pulling on the screw.

Or you can use a proper seal puller tool available from most car parts stores, designed to pop out similar sized seals on engine mainshafts and camshafts etc. It is a kind of hooked end on the end of a long lever at right angles. Works well too. LINK

That makes it difficult. Try heating the housing to make it expand. Then get in there with a seal puller as linked to above, or carefully with a small screwdriver to pry the seal out. Or a seal pick, which is a tool like a small thin screwdriver but with a sharp point on the end. You buy them in a set and they have various angles bent over on the end to get in behind seals and pick them out. LINK

Or some heavy duty ones with a T handle you can really yank on LINK

Edited By Hopper on 29/08/2022 04:42:37

Getting the new seal needs care with larger diameter, thin sectio seals – they can buckle at the vital moment. Don't ask……

Cut a disk of at least 3mm plate, or a hog end of bar if you have one slightly smaller thaan seal OD. Preferably press in, or pull in with scre and stongback.

Martin