I am replacing the rear brake shoes on a 97 Honda Recon and there is gear oil that was in where the brake shoes are. Is there supposed to be oil in with the brake shoes? Thanks

 

No, There is a seal on the crownwheel that stops oil getting out of the diff, and another that stops oil from getting into the drum, at the RH side. Overfilling the diff can cause this, there is a level plug, remove it and only fill until oil runs out of the level plug hole. The diff seal will take a major strip to replace, the RH one can be seen now you have the drum off. You can remove the LH hub and drift the axle shaft out rightwards to get at this seal. Check the LH wheel bearings while you have it out, they nearly always need replacing. To do this, pry the seal out, remove the spring ring and drift them out.