Defender Source Forum banner

Swivel ball replacement or just seals?

Tags
ac seals
18K views 39 replies 21 participants last post by  Vedrover 
#1 · (Edited)
Ow do I know if I need swivel balls or just seals?

Obviously something needs to be done :)
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#3 ·
You might want to check the swivel pin pre-load as well.
 
#5 ·
Drain, clean the crap out of the seals, refill with the genuine grease, clean your breather. Drain the diff and see if it looks black. Black usually means the inner seal failed. Check to see if the wheel bearings are tight (any play with the wheel off the ground -- shake the tire to see). Same with the swivel pins. My guess is water got in there or the inner seal failed and allowed gear oil into the swivel housing. Often caused by a blocked breather. Any axle leak the first to do is the breather clean. In my experience that fixes half the issues or more. It it were me, the $40 or so for fluids and the hour for the service is a worthwhile first step before doing a hub rebuild. Sometimes the pitting is inside where you can't see it (especially if it has water in it). So you might get it apart and need to buy balls.

If it is a bad seal, you can cheat and cut the seal at the top, fit it, and glue it back together. I would never do that, but I have see it done successfully.
 
#10 ·
I did mine the the Teri-Ann method and is still holding 7 years later.

Another way I've heard of to replace the seal is to undo the bolts that hold the axle end to the main axle and pull the swivel & brake assembly and half shaft out from the diff. Replace the seal & re-install.
 
#11 ·
Another way I've heard of to replace the seal is to undo the bolts that hold the axle end to the main axle and pull the swivel & brake assembly and half shaft out from the diff. Replace the seal & re-install.
That is what I did.
Just disconnect the brake lines, steering, etc., disconnect the swivel at the axle housing and pull the whole thing off and replace the seals.
Be prepared, they are HEAVY....like 3rd member heavy and awkward.


.
 
#13 ·
Except, he should be doing a proper full overhaul of the hub, not just the swivel seal. Hub seal should be changed, bearing checked and adjusted, swivel bearings checked and adjusted. A couple of hours per side and you know everything is in good order for years to come. You also know what to do when you break something on the trail.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for all the input. Decided to go the full overhaul method, including replacing the balls. However, since I barely have time to do my laundry I have sent it to my local independent LR shop to have it done. $$$$$, but should be good for another 21 years...
 
#25 ·
I have to admit that this is a job that would intimidate me, and if I had a garage with appropriate tools I'd probably give it a shot vs paying 2-3k like I was quoted once. I'm definitely jealous of you guys that wouldn't bat an eye at tackling this repair and that have the facility to do such vs being at mercy of a shop. For me it's time too, I barely have enough time to sneeze between work and two kids <3yrs.
 
#39 ·
You don't need any special tools for this job, I measured preload with my fish scale, for example, and that's what a workshop manual pretty much alludes to.
Approximately US$180 for the most expensive swivel ball replacement kit and 2 hours per side. And that's it.
 
This post has been deleted
#38 ·
Gotcha. I already have 1995 D1 axles installed which I don't believe are the teflon. Prior owner replaced all wheel bearings and drivers side swivel which looks good. I already set the swivel preload with a fish scale. Looks like just the passenger side swivel needs a rebuild. Housings look OK from what I can see.

1. Full seal kit
2. Reset swivel preload with scale - Should I purchase extra shims? Or will replacing the seals not affect this and same shims will likely be reused?

I am thinking this will be a half day project as I have never taking a swivel apart before.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top