fishsponge said:

OK, so i've decided to adjust them for the time being, at least.

Plus, I popped into the garage on the way home last night and asked "are these bearings safe to drive on?". He said "yes, but don't let it get any worse", of course. He then said "you can adjust these too, and yours aren't beyond adjustment".

So that's good.

I've therefore decided to buy either a 52mm socket or a hub nut spanner, a pair or circlip pliers, a 600mm 1/2" drive breaker bar, some loctite and some LM2 grease (just in case the bearings are empty).

I already have a jack, axle stands, and a few sockets (14mm should be fine). I also have some stilsons.



So... to adjust the bearings... IS THAT ALL I NEED? I'm going shopping at lunch time hopefully

I won't need a "stake" washer, or a drive flange gasket, or any oil seals of any kind...

Click to expand...

If you can get a new washer and a gasket then do it as they are anly cheap but not essential.
If you are careful with the old stake washer/tab washer and tap it clear with the socket and a hammer after teasing away from the nut with a screwdriver, it will be ok to use again.
If stuck you can use a smear of silicon sealant for a gasket or leave the old one on as they are not under any pressure .

Dont think you need a breaker bar but you never know, although they are always handy when working on a Landy and will be useful in the future. How big is 600mm btw?

No oil seals required, you will be amazed at how easy it is to do....go for it

How big is 600mm btw?
24"

I can vouch for the ease of this job, i got a 94 300tdi and after a day sat in water my front bearings went belly up and seized, even with the inner bearing body welded to the stub axle it was a simple job and i have never done these before on a landy.

if yours only need adjusting at the moment its really easy as you dont have to remove the brake calliper and tie it up out of the way you just need to:

Jack it up
remove wheel
remove rubber dust cap from the drive shaft
pop off the cir-clip
undo the 14mm bolts
tap off the hub cover
tap down the stake washer
remove outer nut
tighten inner nut till no play evident but wheel still turns freely(basically just over hand tight)
i then packed the bearing with grease
put stake washer back on
replace outer nut and tighten to RFT (Really ****in Tight) i believe 210nm is the approved
ensure the wheel still spins freely
tap over stake washer
again i packed with grease
replace hub cover (if the haft pops back in it can be pulled out using one of the flange bolts in the inner thread)
put shaft shims back on
replace cir-clip
pop dust cover back on
wheel back on
lower to floor and nip up wheel bolts
jobs a good un
tea and medals

first time it took my about an hour and a half as i had never done it before, since then i have replaced the bearings and now i know i can strip down the hub and replace even welded on bearings within an hour, tops.
i reckon i could nip one up inside 15 mins start to finish now if needed, after i replaced the bearings i had the paranoia that i hadnt tightened them enough so had the bleedin things stripped down about 3 times inside 10 days, they seemed to need some time to settle when i replaced them as the stub axle was a bit shagged where i had to cut the old bearings off, if you do yours before they get that bad it is a simple one time job that is scary the first time but honestly after you have done it you will wonder what all the fear was about, IT IS REALLY EASY!

tools needed:
cir-clip pliers
14mm socket
breaker bar
52mm socket or hub spanner
tub of grease
screw driver
hammer
wheel brace
jack
axle stands
set of bollox

go for Fishy it is easy

well this is fantastic... lol, neither screwfix nor toolstation sell breaker bars or loctite!

well... they must do, but i sure as hell can't find them on their web sites!

time to try somewhere else... any suggestions?

fishsponge said:

well this is fantastic... lol, neither screwfix nor toolstation sell breaker bars or loctite!

well... they must do, but i sure as hell can't find them on their web sites!

time to try somewhere else... any suggestions?

Click to expand...

motor factors ?

i`ve used a scaffold pole or similar metal tube in the past. in fact, i still do.

neither toolstation nor screwfix sell LM2 grease either.

toolstation is my preferred one because they'll do free of charge next day delivery (so i'll have the parts on Friday instead of having to drive to get them on Saturday morning).

i'll try motor factors now though, just in case...

when you say "Motor Factors", do you mean these people - Motorcare Motor Factors, Car Parts, same day delivery, Bosch, Delphi, NGK, TRW

There appear to be lots of companies calling themselves "Motor Factors".

the people i've linked to, though, don't appear to have anything on their web site, so i'll have to explain it all over the phone to them, presumably... that can't be the right place...

fishsponge said:

when you say "Motor Factors", do you mean these people - Motorcare Motor Factors, Car Parts, same day delivery, Bosch, Delphi, NGK, TRW

There appear to be lots of companies calling themselves "Motor Factors"...

Click to expand...

I meant anyone that sells car stuff like halfrauds etc but I always favour local independent ones.

same here... no idea where my local ones are though, and can't spend my lunch hour driving around aimlessly! lol

i think i'll phone toolstation... not long left on lunch now though!!

fishsponge said:

same here... no idea where my local ones are though, and can't spend my lunch hour driving around aimlessly! lol

i think i'll phone toolstation... not long left on lunch now though!!

Click to expand...

does noone use the yellow pages anymore

right... just to summarise, i need the following:

- 52mm socket OR a hub nut spanner
- a pair or circlip pliers
- a 600mm 1/2" drive breaker bar
- some loctite
- some LM2 grease

Toolstation and screw fix both sell circlip pliers (under different names), but neither of them sell any of the other bits, believe it or not!

No idea where my local "motor factors" place is, and have been advised that phoning toolstation is not advisable, because they typically take lists of part numbers for ordering over the phone - not offer advice on what they do sell and what they don't.

So... i'm going to eat my lunch as quickly as I can now before I run out of lunch break again for the day!

barmatt said:

does noone use the yellow pages anymore

Click to expand...

good point. i don't have one, but i'm sure their web site works just as well!

i've run out of time to go anywhere today now though, so i'll try to find one tonight, ready to phone them tomorrow lunchtime, hopefully giving myself enough time to get there and back in the same lunch hour!

unless I can somehow make time this afternoon, of course.

Christ man even B&Q should have most of that stuff you want.
the 52mm socket may be an issue there but the circlip pliers and breaker bar (mines only 450mm and was fine) should be easy enough, the loctite i thought was only for the brake calliper bolts which if your only tightening up the bearings you wont need to undo, my hub bolts certainly havent got any on and haven't come undone. web search for engineers merchant or tool merchant they will have the 52mm socket for sure.

as Barmatt said even halfords should have all that in, you're not looking for a swastictrombola with a left hand thread here for gods sake.

right... Halfords do sell breaker bars, but Screwfix have a cheaper one (I found one at last! They're called "Power bars" at screwfix, apparently!)

Halfords also sell circlip pliers, but i'd rather pay £2 extra for the better looking screwfix ones.

I've also stuck a 20-150lb/ft / 28-210Nm torque wrench on there for £17. Pretty cheap, but it'll only get used rarely in life.

So all that's left to find is some LM2 grease (just in case) and a 52mm socket or hub nut spanner (given that I don't need loctite anymore). I should be able to buy both of those from my local indy LR dealer on Saturday morning!

So... my hsopping list now stands at the following:

1x Laser 24" 1/2d Power Bar - Screwfix.com
1x Reversible ½" Torque Wrench - Screwfix.com
1x Forge Steel Internal / External Circlip Pliers Set - Screwfix.com
1x LM2 grease (from the indy LR dealer hopefully)
1x 52mm socket or hub nut spanner (from the indy LR dealer hopefully)

Feels like I'm starting to get somewhere now!

fishsponge said:

right... Halfords do sell breaker bars, but Screwfix have a cheaper one (I found one at last! They're called "Power bars" at screwfix, apparently!)

Halfords also sell circlip pliers, but i'd rather pay £2 extra for the better looking screwfix ones.

I've also stuck a 20-150lb/ft / 28-210Nm torque wrench on there for £17. Pretty cheap, but it'll only get used rarely in life.

So all that's left to find is some LM2 grease (just in case) and a 52mm socket or hub nut spanner (given that I don't need loctite anymore). I should be able to buy both of those from my local indy LR dealer on Saturday morning!

So... my hsopping list now stands at the following:

1x Laser 24" 1/2d Power Bar - Screwfix.com
1x Reversible ½" Torque Wrench - Screwfix.com
1x Forge Steel Internal / External Circlip Pliers Set - Screwfix.com
1x LM2 grease (from the indy LR dealer hopefully)
1x 52mm socket or hub nut spanner (from the indy LR dealer hopefully)

Feels like I'm starting to get somewhere now!

Click to expand...

Try and get the hub nut tube spanner as the socket may slip off because the nut is very thin
4x4 Store

You cant torque it up with a tube spanner so delete the torque wrench.

The power bar will all ways be useful though.

Halfords sell lithium grease. It may also be called multipurpose grease in other shops btw.

IMHO you don't need loctite for this job, but it's very handy for other things and very necessary for certain jobs.

Otherwise yeah you seem to be doing well.

Halfords also sell flange sealant, or gasket sealant, in a tube or pressurised cartridge. Very handy when you haven't got a gasket and need to seal something, like the drive member. Also handy for the rest of the car.

Also beware buying a proper 52mm socket in a decent brand from a tool shop (most cheap brands won't go that big) will be the best part of 20 quid, maybe 25 if it's Beta or Snap On etc.

Plus, I rate the box spanner style over the proper socket, and they're about a fiver off britpart, bearmach etc.

Also bear in mind, regards grease, if you're not taking the Caliper off then you can't get the hub off, so you won't be able to grease the bearings anyway. Packing the drive member is pretty pointless I'm afraid cos it wont work it's way into the bearings (centrifugal force sends it the other way)

Hth, sam

Thanks for the extra advice

I think i'm gonna leave the torque wrench on there anyway, as I've already used mine for a few things, and now I know it's very inaccurate, i'd quite like to redo what i've already used it for on both the landy and the motorbike!

As for the tube spanner, I'm not sure I have anything to poke through the holes to turn it to be honest... i could put a pair of stilsons on it, but that's far from ideal. I'll be buying the hub nut spanner from the local indy LR dealer, so i'll just buy whatever he has. I guess either will work... the tube spanner can't be torqued, but is easier to use and the socket is harder to use, but can be torqued! I think i'll see what he has and take his advice while i'm there too.

As for the grease, on the basis that I'm adjusting the bearings, not replacing them, are you saying that once I have the hub nuts loosened off enough, I won't be able to push some grease into the bearings? If so, presumably there's no point in buying the grease, right?

Anyway, I have a tub of EP2 grease already (whatever that is). Is that suitable for bearings?

And is "LM2" and "lithium grease" the same thing?

Finally, regarding flange sealant/gasket sealant, will I need any for this procedure? Nobody's mentioned it so far on my extensive shopping list in all it's different versions!!

fishsponge said:

Thanks for the extra advice


Finally, regarding flange sealant/gasket sealant, will I need any for this procedure? Nobody's mentioned it so far on my extensive shopping list in all it's different versions!!

Click to expand...

Put the old one back or use a smear of sealant if you are worried about it

Holy crap batman I've just read the whole of this thread, ouch!

I'm glad the final outcome was to just tighten up rather than strip and rebuild. Prepping and doing the rebuild with no experience or tools in a hurry was a request for trouble in my view.

I can't see what the breaker bar was for though?? I've done my rear bearings and only used the box spanner, screwdriver, socket for drive flange, and some grease.

My only input is to make sure the bearing is not overtightened when done, seating bearings is sort of a knack rather than just do it up, tighten the first nut firmly while turning the hub, then back off and retighten hand tight, the hub should turn fairly easy now but not spin. Fit lock washer and locknut and lock the nut, check the hub still turns ok as it can tighten up. When happy, bend over the lock washer to front and back nuts (this is vital) or they can come loose.

A couple or three mm of wobble at the wheel rim is likely ok, it should sound ok and definately not gritty or notchy when the wheel is turned. Always check the hub for overheating after a test drive, slightly warm is ok, hot is not, let it cool then readjust bearing as it's probably too tight. Once you have done one, youll wonder what the fuss was about.

Now, having done that emergency repair, you can plan the main job and get the tools over a period of time, then the parts and start on a Friday evening when the days are longer so you have no rush and can take the time to examine, replace and learn what you are doing as you rebuild, it's the best way to learn new things, but not when you're under pressure.

BTW the worst part I found was getting the damn caliper off, those bolts were tight! I had a 12" socket wrench and a 24" bit of pipe on the handle of that!!

I hope it all goes well.