Thread: Swivel housing grease... I'm confused!!!

Originally Posted by justinc

Landieman, yes these stickers come in the genuine one shot grease kits. I would still open the filler plug on each swivel and pump in about 100 to 200ml of 80w90 gear oil. This will ensure enough lube as it is impossible to measure the amount of grease left in there. The grease DOES migrate eventually into the front diff, so after a time there is insufficient lube left for CV and swivel brgs etc. To properly 'service' the housings, whether you use new grease or 80w90 you will need to slip off the hub and disc, the stub axle and slide the cv and shaft out. Wipe out the housing and then reassemble. Refill with chosen lubricant. I prefer oil, but the one shot grease works OK, AS LONG AS THERE IS SOME IN THERE!

JC

I realise this is an old thread, but I would strongly endorse JC's advice here.

It seems that since the "one-shot" grease packs came into use, dealers don't seem to check the swivel housings for adequate lubrication as part of the service schedule.

I bought my Defender TD5 Xtreme in 2004 as a demonstrator with 1500Kms on it & had it dealer serviced since new.

Recently I checked the swivel housings & discovered that the drivers side was more or less dry of lubricant, but the passenger side was OK.

To cut a long story short, I discovered that the swivel bearings on the driver's side were shot, & replaced them. The bottom bearing was rusted significantly, which made me wonder whether they had ever been lubricated properly. (!)

There had been no significant on road symptoms, apart from a slight lack of steering damping, due to the loose bearings on the drivers side.

While this is an easy job if there are problems, I would strongly urge everyone to check the swivel housings & make sure there is some lubricant in there.

A few squirts of LMM grease & a few mls of diff oil every so often could save a lot of problems!

Cheers,

Lionel

That's what I do too. Mix high pressure moly' grease with hypoid diff oil till its viscous enough
to pump in. I'm pretty sure that what it is anyway.
If I pull the CV's, I repack them with high pressure grease.
Your swivel, will wear quite quickly on corrugated roads.
It the up and down that kill's, not turning the wheel.
The pressure is high and repetitive, and nearly always in the same spot due to the straight ahead position of the wheel.
Looking at the race, leave a neat radial line of indents right there, that match the rollers.
You will find taking a shim or or two out every big trip may be necessary to maintain pre-load.
I always found the steering much nicer with a bit of TLC on these bits, gets nervous real quick with some slack.

Clive