Hertfordshire Lanes?????

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Ryder said:
Honest jai... I have never seen a bearing in such a mess. The bearing itself had completely collapsed... bits of it were clipping out from behind the nuts as soon as we removed the drive flange.

The nuts were siezed solid... no way the hub nut spanner would shift them, even with an extension bar welded into place! The chisel didn't make a dent (well it did make a dent actually but thats all it did!).

Only grinding it down to within a mil of the thread and then using the chisel to split the nut open worked. and that was after we heated it to bloody burning hot and had another go!

The bigger spacer with the flattened edge... has rotated so that the flattened edge is now sitting where no flattened edge has any right to be!

The hub came free and left the inner bearing in place... seriously seized again.

We're having fun and will finish it on the morrow!
This is a game I am telling you!
Click to expand...

Ive done a fair few now with a small grinding wheel on a dremel. Cut a fine slot in the old inner race (but be carefull not to damage the stub axle) and chisel to break it. Use wet and dry to smooth the surface of the stub axle out again to get the bearing to fit. Generally people don't use enuf greese when fitting wheel bearings. You can fill them right up with grease. They have a seal at the back and have a gasket on the driving member flange so the grease ain't going anywhere! I personally fill mine right up and have not had a problem ever. My problems come with others motors or other peoples work. Also as a footnote if you do end up replacing the front stub axle just remember there is a bearing in the CV end that needs to be pressed in.
 
Also the nuts can be drilled with a 6mm bit and cracked quite easily with a sharp chisel without causing any damage to the threads of the stub axle. Just takes a little time and patients.
 
Disco basher is correct when he says to use a grinding wheel.

You need to weaken the inner race enough so that a good and decent cold chisel can be used to crack the inner race. If you need to pound on it you need to grind more.

DO NOT GO ANIMAL when doing this. Think of this as a dentistry job.

Just to set the record straight.

You do not need to fill the hub with grease. Early brgs feed on oil from the swivel housing and the later hubs have an outer seal as well, insulating them from the swivel housing oil. With the later hubs relying on just the grease it is essential you "pack the bearing race" properly. Early bearings should also be packed correctly but you get away with it because extra oil is available. Each bearing race will require 5 or 10 minutes to pack properly. If you dont know how, you should not be changing wheel bearings. (For all those of you screwing your face and thinking Bullsh.t You are so very wrong and should not be fitting wheel bearings!) A decent dollop of extra grease inside the hub between the bearings is all that is required. Over fill the hub and with the extra outer seal making this area a "sealed" unit will mean that when it gets warm it will create small but significant pressure. This can lead to hub seals leaking grease onto the brake discs. Overfill an early hub and when the grease melts and oil dilutes it, it simply runs into the swivel housing area, no problem.

Packing bearings and adjusting wheel bearings are a whole subject matter and practical test for new mechanics. Simply smearing grease around them is not the way to do it!
All wheel bearings must have end float (Loose) If my memory serves they should have between 2 and 4 thou end float. Wheel bearings set correctly will and have lasted 20+ years before any problems. Incorrectly set wheel bearings can fail in a matter of a few miles. No matter what grease you have used or how much.

And if anyone can hear a rumbling noise when driving, stop and find out what it is. I know of a man whos lada niva wheel bearing siezed because he "didnt know what the noise was" and it rammed him into the central reservation of a motorway in a stream of smoke from the locked tyre. It can and has happened to land rover products just as easily. Wheel bearings can kill. Make sure you know what you are doing.

There is my 2 pence worth.
 
Last edited:
Many thanks for the advice from you both. I believe the bearings we have refitted have been greased properly, I took notice from Jai when he and Kev did mine the first time. I like the hint about the 6mm drill... wish I had known the day before yesterday though ;)

Andy will call you tomorrow - owe you a phone call and still on target I hope!
 
The slurry that came out is the reason I've stayed away from the fords latley. Can't justify draining and changing the oils so frequently.

Your rear bearings still going ok? They were packed fully but that was a while ago now and with all the fording especially standon/fernaux where your axle could be fully submerged for quite a long period of time. It may be worth checking they have not been contaminated by water. I know my rear bearings had not been checked for a while and when I stripped one side down and out came lovley watery sludge, that was just after the last fording trip but thay were changed a couple of days later the other side was stripped and rebuilt. Reason for contamination was a knackarded oil seal and stub axle cos the stub axle had a few nice deep grooves in it where the oil seal should run so it stood no chance of keeping out the cruddy water.

Shame really cos they are all freshly sorted and I gotta do it all again on my replacement axles. This time i'll use the genuine bearings opposed to the cheapies cos I once had one with a deformed and pitted roller from new which Spitfire noticed when I was replacing a hub seal a couple of years ago.

Ive had 2 wheel bearings fail both due to not enough maintainance after abusing the mota hence the get it sorted keep it sorted attitude of late. One was spectacular-ish and the other got me home from salisbury just taking it easy and not pushing it with a check every so often. Both gave signs of giving up way before I they failed mainly a rumbling metallic noise.

On another note where is the best place to get an early 3.5 pre EFI lecky fuel pump? Paddocks do em for circa 40 quid plus postage, Ebay is slightlt cheaper for the same unit delivered. Any alternatives considered thet would suit cheaper or better with reasons why?
 
spitfiremk1uk said:
You do not need to fill the hub with grease. Early brgs feed on oil from the swivel housing and the later hubs have an outer seal as well, insulating them from the swivel housing oil. With the later hubs relying on just the grease it is essential you "pack the bearing race" properly. Early bearings should also be packed correctly but you get away with it because extra oil is available. Each bearing race will require 5 or 10 minutes to pack properly. If you dont know how, you should not be changing wheel bearings. (For all those of you screwing your face and thinking Bullsh.t You are so very wrong and should not be fitting wheel bearings!) A decent dollop of extra grease inside the hub between the bearings is all that is required. Over fill the hub and with the extra outer seal making this area a "sealed" unit will mean that when it gets warm it will create small but significant pressure. This can lead to hub seals leaking grease onto the brake discs. Overfill an early hub and when the grease melts and oil dilutes it, it simply runs into the swivel housing area, no problem.

quote]

When I said I pack mine with grease I meant I do the job properly.I have done this professionally in a garage as well as for quite a few of the members on here. It is virtually imposible to overfill the whole hub with grease just by the nature of the fittings. The inner and outer nut and tab washer will provide a suitable gap to prevent over greasing. That said most people in my experience think a quick smear over the bearings is suitable. Not so. Also the endfloat like you say is imperitive to the life of the bearings. I personally re-adjust mine after a few hundred miles once they have bedded in. A new tab washer is fitted each and every time too. (just a few pence each) I have seen bearings fitted (by DIY and garages) collapse after less than 100 miles due to poor lubrication and over/under tightening. The official LR publications give a good instruction to the fitting of wheel bearings but they are for the competent mechanic and they cannot teach you common sense. I have worked in an engineering/mechanical capacity most of my life and have dealt with hundreds of moving parts. Lubrication/cooling is paramount to all of these and the stress they come under is phenomenal. Also for what its worth there is too much cheap **** being sold in the mags and on the net, You get what you pay for and I personally won't fit the cheap and nasties to my Disco to save a few quid, it only costs more in the long run. It is my family car as well as my daily driver and play thing. I will not cut corners when it comes to safety.


Near enough ain't good enough!
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