Thread: Leaking swivel hubs

its a normal leak however you will not be topping up the diff.......the swivel oil is seperate to the diff and the swivels have there own filler and drain

you could alway convert to one shot grease (semi fluid) i think this is now standard replacement at the dealers

My Rangie has a weep at one swivel and it is on my to do list. In the mean time I regularly check the oil level and top up as required. The swivels only hold 300 ml of oil, so a major leak will drain them pretty quick.

Geez, all oil leaks are common on a Landie!

You mean from the great big seal that wipes the chromed surface of the swivel ball? Yes, they leak eventually. Don't point the pressure washer at it or you'll get water inside. That goes for all oil seals, actually.

It wouldn't hurt to drain the oil and replace it as you may have gotten some water in there anyway. You can get this stuff called "one-shot grease", for use in later Landies like yours. I thought by the time the Disco came along all the swivel housings had the one-shot grease specified, but that may have happened later on. At any rate, it's easy enough to get and is apparently less likely to leak.

Thanks fellas. I was under the impression that it was Diff oil leaking out, but i guess not.

One comment I would make on this (not uncommon) leak. A likely cause of it that does require action is free play on the swivel bearings. Any play on these removes the loading on the seal and is almost certain to result in a leak. I would be inclined to check for free play, but note that it will be impossible to detect when carrying weight.

Of course, the leak could also be just due to a worn seal, a scored surface, or an incorrectly fitted seal.

John

Oh yeah, good point. You can jack up the wheel and then hold it at the top and bottom and try and rock it in and out. There might be a little bit of play in the wheel bearings, which is okay, but there may also be a bit of clonking at the top swivel pin. To check what's moving, you can put one hand on the swivel ball, where the seal is, at the top, and if there is too much play you'll feel it as the swivel seal moves in relation to the swivel.

(I hope that makes sense.)