Swivel Pin Lubrication.

[geodon]

The manual decrees the same oil as the GB & diffs.

Don't Disco's etc use special gear supplied in plastic bladders?


Any advantage in using them?

[Blknight.aus]

they're oiled by the splash in the UJ in the swivel hub.

The semi liquid grease still gets splashed about BUT doesnt get to your wheel bearings.

[JDNSW]

The manual decrees the same oil as the GB & diffs.

Don't Disco's etc use special gear supplied in plastic bladders?


Any advantage in using them?

Only advantage i know of is if your swivel seals leak - and I suggest it would be best to fix the problem. Oil is always a better lubricant than grease where it can be used.

John

[THE BOOGER]

Yep think about overfilling the swivel so that oil can get to the wheel bearings too:)

[Blknight.aus]

Yep think about overfilling the swivel so that oil can get to the wheel bearings too:)

no requirement to...

fill to the correct level drive 50km and top up.

[Seriestwo]

Mine had large score marks in them, so I just packed them with wheel bearing grease. I would not recommend it, but i knew I would have to replace them at some stage so I know the grease will do until then. But if your seals are good then just use the same oil as your diff.

[geodon]

Well, I was wondering what the state of play was!

My pins had grooves which I sanded back & filled with epxoy then took down to glass smooth with wet'n'dry paper.

I'll go with oil but if they leak, I'll switch to the grease & rely on packing the bearings with good wheel bearing grease.

With pins @ ~$2-300 EACH, I can afford to replace a few wheel bearings!

[JDNSW]

Well, I was wondering what the state of play was!

My pins had grooves which I sanded back & filled with epxoy then took down to glass smooth with wet'n'dry paper.

I'll go with oil but if they leak, I'll switch to the grease & rely on packing the bearings with good wheel bearing grease.

With pins @ ~$2-300 EACH, I can afford to replace a few wheel bearings!

I assume that by "pins" you mean the swivel balls. Using grease will result in lack of lubrication for the upper swivel pin and possibly the U-joint before there will be wheel bearing problems, assuming the bearings were packed with grease on assembly as directed. May also result in wear on the drive flange/stub axle splines, with only grease in the bearings.

John

[isuzutoo-eh]

I have LR's semi-fluid/One-Shot grease in the hubs of my Series, but only because I have just ordered 2 sets of these:
LAND ROVER SERIES 2A/3 COMPLETE SWIVEL HOUSING REPAIR KIT | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/370546341784)
They aren't $200-$300 each! (We don't pay VAT...)
With badly pitted swivel balls, the semi fluid grease gave a few weeks of driving before it worked past the swivel seal and made too much of a mess to ignore. Bearings and universals will be replaced too most likely.
One-Shot might get you through rego but I wouldn't expect it to be a worthwhile option otherwise.

[Judo]

I use the same oil as my diff's and transfer box in my Disco.

And I'm a little confused with talk of wheel bearings..... Are you guys saying that the oil in my swivel pin housings does and is suppose to lubricate the wheel bearings? Or only if the swivel pin housing leaks? :confused:

[Timj]

Hi Judo,

On Series Landrovers (leaf sprung is what we are talking about, not series of Discos) the oil in the swivel housing makes it's way through into the bearings and lubricates them. I believe on Discos and Defenders that there is a seal that stops this from happening but I may be wrong about that. On a Series you grease the bearings so they have lubrication when first fitted until the oil works it's way through.

Cheers,

TimJ.

[Judo]

Hi Judo,

On Series Landrovers (leaf sprung is what we are talking about, not series of Discos) the oil in the swivel housing makes it's way through into the bearings and lubricates them. I believe on Discos and Defenders that there is a seal that stops this from happening but I may be wrong about that. On a Series you grease the bearings so they have lubrication when first fitted until the oil works it's way through.

Cheers,

TimJ.
Oh that makes more sense, thanks. Forgot I was in the Series Landy area.... of which I know very little about! :angel:

Slack day at work, so I'm reading everything there is to read. :D *clicks new posts*

[landrover dave]

I lube all Disco, RRC, Defender, County, Series swivel housings with straight Moreys oil. Its thick like honey and is capable of handling extreme pressure as well as not leaking as easy. It also doesnt emulisfy with water as reeadily as gearoil.

[geodon]

Well, after patching the surface my swivel pins with Araldite & sanding it smooth, I filled them with oil & waited for the Dirty Brown Smell.

I now know what prompted Bernard Law Montgomery to say after he got his arse kicked at Arnhem in 1944: "Well the operation was a partial success."

One swivel worked beautifully, one leaked like a sieve so I bit the bullet & bought 2 new kits. Not TOO bad when all the bits, bearings, gaskets & seals were included.

Two points:
1. The kit came with a bladder full of grease to use as lubrication implying that technology has overtaken what happened 50 years ago!

2. I found a thrust washer & o-ring for the top bearing that were missing when I dismantled. How do I know whether to use them?

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/07/1129.jpg

[geodon]

Yes ! know! The o-ring is on the wrong pin!

Due to gravity, it's only needed on the lower pin where there is a groove for it.
But the thrust washer? Why include it if a new housing is included? Surely it would be up-graded to the later specs?

[landrover dave]

Further to previous thread, using oil lubes everything in the front end. The grease gets flung off once and then sticks to the outer surface basically doing nothing. Ever thought about how long your oil fed wheel bearings last? Thats because oil is a liquid and is constantly thrown around, have you ever seen an automotive gearbox lubed with grease? Landies and Rangies that have greased wheel bearings wear them out much quicker than the older oiled ones. Toyotas and Nissans have to have front ends rebuilt about three times more often than Rover fronts. Use that tube of grease in a grease gun and stick to oil in your swivels and wheel bearings.
I even remove the axle seals and replace the grease seals in later hubs so that they get oil in the bearings!