Thread: Bent swivel housing

how do you figure that they are bent? your photo looks like every other D1,RRC and defender swivell ive ever seen.

cheers phil

its very rare to bend the actuall ball bit, fracture and destroy yes, bend no.

usually the axle tube will bend or the bearings will give out first.

Not wanting to deny anyone of a slab but my hub nut tool only cost $11.

Hmm, looks normal to me. That is what they look like, the swivel hsg part is NOT supposed to be parrallel to the axle housing flange. To be certain of camber issues, stand back and take a look at the way the wheels are sitting, should basically look at right angles to the ground when in the straight ahead position.

JC

Originally Posted by justinc

To be certain of camber issues, stand back and take a look at the way the wheels are sitting, should basically look at right angles to the ground when in the straight ahead position.

JC

that's exactly the reason for the thread, they are not 90deg... Sorry should have said so. I've tried photos of the front but it won't show it properly on the computer
I'll try again though

Where abouts was this $11 Hub tool?

Cheers guys

havent got a big lift kit in your deefer do you?

As Dave has said, it is not likely to be bent swivel housings. It could be one of several possibilities causing the wheels to lean, but the most likely (in rough order) are:

1. Worn swivel bush/bearings

2. Loose wheel bearings (but these usually show brake symptoms if bad enough to see leaning wheels)

3. Bent axle housing.

4. Loose bolts between the axle housing and swivel housing

6. Loose or bent stub axle.

Axle nut spanners are available from any Landrover parts supplier, and as indicated are pretty cheap.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

As Dave has said, it is not likely to be bent swivel housings. It could be one of several possibilities causing the wheels to lean, but the most likely (in rough order) are:

1. Worn swivel bush/bearings

2. Loose wheel bearings (but these usually show brake symptoms if bad enough to see leaning wheels)

3. Bent axle housing.

4. Loose bolts between the axle housing and swivel housing

6. Loose or bent stub axle.

Axle nut spanners are available from any Landrover parts supplier, and as indicated are pretty cheap.

John

if there are no other symptoms you can ignore some of those.

Generally speaking

a brake pedal that has a lot of travel increases the odds of it being wheel bearings

if theres no unusual noises when you corner through an S bend at a bit of pace that generally eliminates the swivel bearings, a loose stub axle or the main joint bolts.

no oil leaking out of the mounting flange eliminates the flange bolts.

Id start out by jacking up the font of the vehicle and doing the freeplay checks. If that showed nothing unusual Id then whip the drive flange off and inspect the spines inside the drive flange and the inside edge of the drive axle for signs it had been rubbing on the inside of the stub axle. Depending on how the splines have worn and if theres any rubbing on the axle thats usually a good sign for a bent stub axle.

checking the axle housing itself is a litte more complicated but its achievable with some good measuring stick. Its a lot easier to check if you jack up the front of the vehicle and drop the springs and shockies.

Assuming you find no freeplay ID take it to a decent tyre shop and have the alignment checked its supposed to have 0 camber but up to 2 degrees camber per side is within factory acceptable limits. I start asking questions when its at 1 degree.