Update:
Well, in spite of never having found any contamination before, on this occasion there was quite a lot of mucky brown liquid inside. 🙁 I know it’s been a bad winter, but it was still quite a shock.
Thoroughly flushed through with GT85, dipped several times in the fancy Shimano oil, and reassembled with lots of fresh grease in the axle bearings… There was some staining of the rolling elements and raceways, but no visible pitting, and I’m hopeful that the damage is minimal and the bearings should lap in again with use. No mechanical debris inside, either. The life expectancy of the hub must have been effected, but it should manage the sort of miles it’s likely to see on the infrequently-used recumbent.
Fingers crossed, anyway. I haven’t actually test ridden it yet!
There’s a lesson there: Even if the seals have worked faultlessly to date, you can’t assume that they’ll continue to do so! 😕
Must get the other bike’s Alfine stripped, pronto. That’s the one that’s had the most use recently, too!