Thread: Check your wheel bearings!

Originally Posted by cookiesa

Wish I had of.......

Had to fix a leak on the front left hub just before Christmas.... Bearing s were fine but obviously needed repacking... Very busy leading up to christmas so figured that side looked fine and didn't check the drivers side......

Here's the result after a very slow trip home Monday...

Glad I checked mine a few weeks ago and converted them all to oil,hopefully they will last a long time.

Wayne

Yuck!

While you're at it, check your swivels!

I dropped and renewed every fluid out of the Defender when I bought it - except the swivels.

Turns out the RHS was running dry and the CV went "BANG!" pulling out of Red Rooster at Lithgow one day.

Originally Posted by LowRanger

Glad I checked mine a few weeks ago and converted them all to oil,hopefully they will last a long time.

Wayne

Mine already are oil!

If they're oil fed already, why would they need greasing?
That's the whole idea of converting to oil fed - so they don't need grease.

Originally Posted by cookiesa

Mine already are oil!

Did you remove the seal from inside the spindle (stub axle) when you converted to oil lubrication? Or did you just replace the grease seal on the hub for an oil seal? If you did the job correctly and managed to fry the wheel bearings that badly, what condition is the CV joint in?
Wagoo.

It was already oil fed. For some reason the drivers side lubrication failed. The oil was not brilliant but level seemed OK. The bearings were dry. The passenger side was repacked.

CV shouldn't be an issue as it was covered in oil.

The diff oil was changed about 2 weeks ago. I would have thought that if the seal between diff and hub were leaking the level in the diff would have also run in to the hub. Not that I can see how the oil could drain out but not back in?

I didn't give the oil/grease thing a second thought when I did the passenger side as it was already grease (which I suspect an unknowing person did without realising). As it was grease I did the same, incorrectly assuming it was grease filled not oil filled

Originally Posted by cookiesa

It was already oil fed. For some reason the drivers side lubrication failed. The oil was not brilliant but level seemed OK. The bearings were dry. The passenger side was repacked.

Originally Posted by wagoo

Did you remove the seal from inside the spindle (stub axle) when you converted to oil lubrication?

I'm betting the seal in the stub axle is still doing it's job. It's a bit of a pig to get out & is rather hidden away behind the bearing so it could well have been missed.

Is that seal the black one under the "inner" bearing as shown in the picture on my original post?

It is a March 94 Build if that helps identify if it should have originally been grease or oil based

I can't see how the bearings would be lubricated by oil? Shouldn't the swivel hubs be full of oil and the bearings packed with grease?