IIA crunchy cornering... bearings?

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Originally Posted by Shonky

Thanks John - how did I know you would be first to reply! :lol2:



I take it that you are not a fan of grease filled hubs then? If not, may I ask why?
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Not so much a fan of grease filled hubs as not a fan of grease filled swivels. The problem with grease on roller bearings as opposed to oil is that the grease gets pushed aside and stays there, where oil runs back to continually renew the lubrication. Also, with oil, you can tell when the seal has failed - it leaks oil. What happens with the grease is that if the seal fails (and they do) the grease stays in (fine you say!) but the water (and dust and moist air) comes in through the faulty seal - and the first thing you know about anything wrong is when the bearing fails.

But as noted by Xtreme, you can't keep the oil out - unless the swivel is filled with grease not oil. This is definitely not recommended (except for semi-liquid grease, also known as "one-shot", which behaves more like oil, and even then it is a bit doubtful), as it will not properly lubricate the universal, nor will it lubricate the upper swivel bush at all. Both will usually have a short life if grease is used.

John

think I'll be overhauling my front end now. previous owner filled the swivel housings with grease.
Thanks to all in this thread for more useful info again.

The better style of Hub Spanner are available from British Off Road for $14-95, I have seen the el cheapo ones on e-bay with a start price of $30

You tell me that now Rob, after I just bought one off eBay for $35... :(

...but thankyou anyway. :)

I've been using one of the 'el-cheapo' tube type hub nut spanners for years now. However, I have welded an old 1/2" drive socket to it - this not only strengthens it but I don't have to search for a suitable bar or screwdriver everytime I use it now.

Roger

All I use is a plumbers tube spanner, the one used for tightening the waste pipe to hand basins and sinks. It fits pretty well and is readily available from plumbers merchants fairly cheaply. At least they are over here.

Well thinking that I had a replacement on hand (see Ambrose' thread) I pulled the UJ.

It looked okay to me after all that, but I wouldn't really know... :angel:

What should I look for to determine if the UJ is actually buggered?

The old is on the left, and the blatantly incorrect is onn the right (hence, ignore the UJ on the right)
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...9/DSCF0700.jpg

As far as you can tell from the photo, there is nothing wrong with that U-joint. For it to make a noise, I would expect to see broken or missing needles in at least one of the cups, or signs of severe wear on at least one of the journals, or possibly a missing circlip and a cup moved out of place.

John

I was worried you would say that John. :(

All of the rollers seem in good order, and all of the circlips were firmly in situ.

If it isn't the UJ, it has to be something else. There was minor scoring on the flanges of the stub shaft - could it have been grinding against the swivel pin housing?

:(