Hope Pro 4 Hub & Microspline Question

I’ve used Hope Hubs for years Pro 2’s & now Pro 4’s stripped them apart & rebuilt them no problem.

A couple of years ago I got a new bike, 12 speed with a Microspline Hub. I have taken this apart a couple of times to service & every time I put it back together, I cannot get a brand new green Layrinth Seal fitted & have to resort to the original one that it came with (which overtime is not sustainable), which goes in on the first attempt.

I am using the correct seals, I am using the Pro 4 Seal tool & tried all manner of methods both gentle & not so gentle but no luck. It just seems to bulge out on one side. My usual trick of a piece of wood on the seal tool & one hit with the hammer, which usually works to get even pressure doesn’t seem to work.

I have never had this issue with 11 speed Pro 2 or Pro 4 freehubs. They can be a a bit fiddly sometimes but always go in, after a couple of attempts.

Anyone else have this problem?

Anyone have any hints & tips to getting the seal in?

Is it definitely pro4 seal and not the pro5, Hope once sent me the wrong brake master cylinder piston, put in the right packet.

literally fought with one of these a week ago

i thought it was impossible without the tool, always had a few mm of overlap hanging out

here’s how i succeeded, look at the seal, it has a groove on the outside, start by feeding the seal into the hub, but don’t push it all the way home, just engage the first lip of the seal, work slowly around the edge using your thumbs until that whole first lip is engaged, before you try to push the whole thing home. obviously need to ensure the freehub is in place and the internal part of the seal is on the freehub correctly.

I’ve had a several of these hubs and normally push them home with my fingers. Occasionally  tap a blunt punch on a stubborn bit if required.

I have one that does the same, across 3 sets of pro 4 hubs, and 4 freehubs, one of them is just ever so slightly oversized, you can eventually force it in, but can be seen bulging and drags in the freehub body. I just chucked it in a spares draw and used another one.

I’ve had a several of these hubs and normally push them home with my fingers. Occasionally  tap a blunt punch on a stubborn bit if required.

I can do this on my one, but I noticed my girlfriends one is a newer version of it and the seal is more of a hard plastic than a flexible rubber which you can push with fingers/screwdriver. When I did hers I had to resort to borrowing the specific tool to tap it in, super annoying.

Thanks for the reponses, glad its not just me then.

I might try a couple of the suggestions.

Maybe give the edge a bit of a rub on emery paper.