| Author | Message | ||
     Nathan Cooper (Cooper) Member Username: Cooper Post Number: 42 Registered: 10-2002 |
I changed the grease in the swivel ball housing to oil and noticed the oil leakig out of the seal. I checked the housing and I'm able to feel some light pitting on it, and I'm assuming the the seal has degraded from the motion of turning. I guess i'm looking for advice. Should I buy a new housing and seal kit? Or, do I just replace the seal and put of the inevitable? Maybe I should just drain the oil and replace w/ grease?? When I opened up the drain plug, there was water present. oh yeah, 96 D1 passenger front. | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1286 Registered: 02-2002 |
Nathan: The water is not a good thing. How badly is it leaking? If you can stand the territory marking and are committed enough to keep an eye on the level, don't do anything. Almost all of them have some pitting on the swivel ball, and they all leak. The housings cost around $250 and the seal is $8-10-you can do the math. I commonly replace seals and have only once replaced a swivel, but it had been torn up from an exploding CV joint, otherwise, it wouldn't have been replaced. The decision you must make is can you stand the leaking, or will it drive you nuts. Peace, Paul | ||
| Nathan Cooper (Cooper) Member Username: Cooper Post Number: 43 Registered: 10-2002 |
Thank you for the feedback, Paul. I'm thinking maybe I'll redo the seal as I'll be redoing wheel bearings and brake hoses this weekend. I'm a little freaked out about the water, i'm hoping the ingress is due to the bad seal?? I'll probably also swap the oil out for the Rover swivel grease. | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1289 Registered: 02-2002 |
Nathan: While the water is not a good thing, it is not necessarily cause for serious concern. The swivels are far from water-tight, even in the best of circumstances. The drive flange is essentially a direct conduit to the swivel, protected by only the little rubber caps. If a vehicle is wheeled, I do not suggest grease as I like to drain my swivels often and inspect the condition of the oil. With regard to wheel bearings, I am very confused over the propensity of many to replace wheel bearings that are very likely still serviceable. The wheel bearings in these trucks are the same as used on John Deere tractors. I have heard stories of folks using the same bearings on vehicles with 350K miles on them. Mine, I repack them when I tear the axles apart. 166K and going strong. | ||
| Nathan Cooper (Cooper) Member Username: Cooper Post Number: 44 Registered: 10-2002 |
Ahh, I see the truth of it. I'm guessing that I screwed up the PS bearings after replacing hub seals and the like whilst doing rotors last fall. My method for preload is slack to say the least... trial by fire. Although, I think most would agree that this isn't something that one should learn the hard way. |
