Thread: Leaking freewheeling hubs

Free wheel hubs are little advantage in Series Landrovers, but what I would suspect is a blocked axle breather.

John

An interesting thought JD, the axle has a wading line attached that ends in an upside down 'U' on the firewall under the top of the bonnet. If I blow in it I should be able to see if there is a block I guess, especially if it causes more oil to come out.

I've seen mud wasps doing their thing in breather lines...could well be the problem.

Free wheeling hubs give better fuel economy (about 3-4% ish) as you are not spinning the half shafts, diff centre and drive shaft when you are in 2 wheel drive

I checked the breather, no blockages.

When I rebuilt the front axle I'm sure there was a seal fitted into the axle housing that separated the bearing / swivel assembly from the axle housing.

Originally Posted by TJWA

I checked the breather, no blockages.

When I rebuilt the front axle I'm sure there was a seal fitted into the axle housing that separated the bearing / swivel assembly from the axle housing.

There is a seal there TJ - might be time to ditch the FW hubs and go back to drive flanges The oil must be coming from the swivel reservoir,

Cheers Charlie

I've got "Selectro" hubs on mine and the same thing happens on one side.
I replaced the o-ring and it helped a little, but did not fix.

Eventually I found the the swivel was very slightly overfilled.
When run with the oil a couple of mm below the filler hole the hubs do not leak.

Originally Posted by pdd1098

I've seen mud wasps doing their thing in breather lines...could well be the problem.

Free wheeling hubs give better fuel economy (about 3-4% ish) as you are not spinning the half shafts, diff centre and drive shaft when you are in 2 wheel drive

A couple of years ago I did a test on a long trip in my 2a (fitted with free wheeling hubs). I was unable to detect any difference in fuel consumption or performance with or without the hubs engaged. My conclusion is that the advantages are overrated (originally by the people selling them!).

If you use them, you have to ensure that the front drive components are run regularly, as failure to do so will result in early wear on the upper swivel bush and pin. It is worth noting that the rare two wheel drive Series Landrovers had a stub axle with an oil slinger to keep the top swivel bearing lubricated.

John

I'm currently changing the drum brakes over for discs and this is the perfect opportunity to ditch the axle case seal 217400.
I've been told that this allows the swivel housing and diff oils to mix and the swivel housing to breathe through the diff breather, stopping the freewheeling hubs from leaking.

Anyone heard of this before?