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Thread: Defenders with Maxidrives - grease or oil in front hubs?

  1. 25th March 2006, 06:38 PM #1
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    dhumphri
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    Defenders with Maxidrives - grease or oil in front hubs?

    Guys
    I am running Maxidrives front and rear - of those who have Maxidrives in the front do most guys remove the inner hub seal and run oil in the hub/drive member area or are most guys still running grease - what are the pros and cons??
    Daz
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  2. 26th March 2006, 12:07 PM #2
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    DeeJay
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    front hubs

    I run a county with ARB front lockers- in effect much the same as you.
    With the oil, you can at least monitor its level and the cost is minimal, if you bust a seal you will know soon enough.
    Having said that, I had a professional service approx 20,000 klm ago and they recommended the grease, of course there would have been some moula encuraging that recommendation.
    I understand that under operating temps the grease reverts to a semi liquid , I guess it would need to in order to circulate.
    I do worry that it may have its shortfalls, come to think about it I did crack a CV joint about 5,000klm ago- got a bit too aggressive- and due to time constraints took it to a workshop to get fixed. Not sure what they put in.
    The product is available as a Rover brand, but that could just be a case of them following a trend.
    Next time around, what I get will depend on my mood ( and finances) as I reckon either are more than equal to the task.
    8O 8O
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  3. 26th March 2006, 01:04 PM #3
    Defender200Tdi Guest
    I'm running Maxidrives front and rear with AEU2522 CVs. I have removed the stub axle oil seal as per Maxidrive's recommendation, so that the bearings and splines are now oil flooded. Of course, the bearings were greased first, just that they will now have a small supply of oil too.

    The only downside I can think of is the need to occasionally check the oil level in the CV housings, since this now becomes the oil supply for the hub as well as the swivels. You also need to fit the slightly more expensive RTC3511 hub seals, because the standard type wont keep oil in the hub. Other than that, it's all good news as far as I'm concerned.


    Paul
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  4. 26th March 2006, 01:13 PM #4
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    rick130
    rick130 is offline Moderator Gold Subscriber
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    your choice really.
    I've been running grease in the front wheel bearings for four years and flooded rear bearings for the last two years and I've had to nip up the fronts a few times while the rears have stayed in adjustment, and it's not that I'm running just any old crappy grease either, rather a synthetic 75+lb Timken OK load rated, 300*C drop point grease, so from that perspective, it seems that the gear lube would be better, however......
    late models don't have level or drain plugs in the swivel housings, so how do you (easily) monitor oil level/condition ??
    I'm running oil in my swivels anduse a bit of welding wire as a dip stick. It's actually a mix of grease/oil thanks to it being serviced prior to my ownership and the swivels being filled up with gear lube on top of the OE grease. Should have seen how high the oil level was in my front diff first time I checked it after it blew past the axle tube seals....:roll:

    If you have dodgy swivel hub seals, the 'One Shot' grease is good in the swivel hubs, although in viscosity it is closer to a very heavy gear oil rather than a grease, being a NGLI 00 grade.

    *edited to add, always run the early type RTC3511 hub seals seated 4mm below the hub face. These are a must with oil lube, and highly recommended with greased bearings, just to keep the lube in and the water out.
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