Thread: Front Seals/Steering Lever Removal

yes its a good idea to replace the bearing. but if its not showing signs of excessive wear pitting or other damage you can let sleeping dogs lie providing you can achieve the correct preload on it.

to replace the bearing you usually wind up having to put it in a press which means hiring the hulk to hold up the front of the vehicle to the press so you can press the bearing out OR removing the ball housing from the axle in which case, yes you need to replace the gasket in question.

no, that particular gasket doesnt normally leak unless you mess with the bolts, (see above answer) and it can be omitted and replaced with a good quality formagasket.

Thanks mate! It seems like for the sake of a few bolts and a gasket that I should probably just take off the ball housing, have the bearing pressed out/in and just knowing I did things correctly. It seems like this shouldn't radically change the amount of work which I need to do overall.

There is a mechanic's shop who has a shop near here. Is it pretty reasonable to think that any mech around should have the gear to press out the bearings? I also need him to punch out/in the inner races for the wheel bearings.........

Any idea about this query I had? "-Is it possible to take off the steering arm lever without using the special tool 600590? I am hoping I can simply take off the four bolts that hold it to the housing and then line it back up when needing to put it back on. This would also allow me access to the swivel pin bearing and shims."

Thanks again!
JRW

Originally Posted by neophyteguy

Thanks mate! It seems like for the sake of a few bolts and a gasket that I should probably just take off the ball housing, have the bearing pressed out/in and just knowing I did things correctly. It seems like this shouldn't radically change the amount of work which I need to do overall.

There is a mechanic's shop who has a shop near here. Is it pretty reasonable to think that any mech around should have the gear to press out the bearings? I also need him to punch out/in the inner races for the wheel bearings.........

Any idea about this query I had? "-Is it possible to take off the steering arm lever without using the special tool 600590? I am hoping I can simply take off the four bolts that hold it to the housing and then line it back up when needing to put it back on. This would also allow me access to the swivel pin bearing and shims."

Thanks again!
JRW

This tool is used to disconnect the steering arm from the tie rod end. Suitable pullers can be bought from most auto supply places, or you can simply loosen the nut and give the side of the eye a good whack with a hammer, which will usually release it.

Note when removing the arm that one bolt is a special fitted bolt which should be kept in the same location.

John

Thanks John!

So are you saying that I will need to take off the steering arm from the tie rod end in order to perform the work or was your response more of an FYI?

I was hoping I could undo the four bolts that connect the steering rod arm to the housing and then turn the steering in order to clear the arm from the housing area?

EDIT: John I realised it is possible to get the work on the diff sorted without removing the ball joint.........Now it seems as though I will have to take it off any ways so I can adjust the shims!

Cheers,
JRW

So today I was able to get the swivel pin housing broken down and cleaned. Everything went pretty well overall. However, I once again have a few questions as I will be putting things back together on Thursday.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer!

- The manual states that the resistance to the rotation of the swivel pin should be 12-14 lbs "after having overcome inertia". What exactly does the overcoming inertia blurb mean?

- I am assuming that it is best to grease the half shaft bearing, swivel hub oil seal, swivel pin bearing, and the inner and out wheel bearings. Can someone confirm this is all that actually needs to have grease applied?

- The manual states 1.75L of oil to replenish the front diff. Would you recommend putting a bit more/less than this in as everything is new in the system?

- A couple of the studs on the bottom of the swivel hub pulled out when I removed the nuts. Is it best to put something like "aviation sealant" on these when I put them back in? I noticed the holes actually go all the way through the hub and could potentially leak.

Thanks again in advance for any responses!!

JRW

what the rotational effort means is after you have started the housing moving and while it is still moving the resistance should be between 12+14LB measured at the ball joint socket of the arm.

its always a good idea to pack all bearings with grease appropriate to the application based on the oil used

80/90 or 85/140 or heavier use normal wheel bearing, high temp/high pressure grease
10/30-20/50 use Vaseline
10/30 or lighter and I tend to pack the bearings by heating up a tub of engine rebuild lube and dropping the bearing in then fishing it out.

nope fill the sections up to the normal levels then check them after a few KM. dont forget that you will need to pack the wheel bearings with grease and provide a reserve of grease if you intend to utilise the one shot grease in the swivel hubs.

I wouldnt use hylomar #4 on the studs, I would be using loctite 262 to locate the studs and letting it setup for at least an hour prior to putting the oil in.

Thanks again Blknight!

Are you suggesting to use the one shot in the swivel hubs? I had planned on just using the same oil as the diffs, but happy to follow the advice of others......

Cheers,
JRW

this has been covered several times, like all things it depends on which evil you wish to deal with when it comes to maintaining your rover.

I favor oil filled hubs.