Are my wheel bearings oil or grease lubed?

**long stroke** · 21st June 2009, 02:26 PM

Hey all

I'm in the process of checking the rear wheel bearings on my 92 d1.
I pulled them apart and there seems to be more oil than grease in and around the bearings.
Does this mean they have been converted previously?
I think the seal might be one of those double lipped oil seals

Some pics..

The bearing.

The seal..

I did a bit of reading about oil lubed bearings, aparently you have to take the seal out of the stub/axle tube so the oil can run through

There seems to still be a seal there.

Thanks in advance TIM.

**Mudsloth** · 21st June 2009, 02:45 PM

ill think ull prob find either the seals were stuffed and let diff oild in or your grease has broken down through water. The grease in my disco did this. Check with a mechanic cause without seeing it i cant be 100% sure. u may wanna change ur diff oil while ur doin stuff.

YouTube - mudsloth's Channel

**long stroke** · 21st June 2009, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by Mudsloth

ill think ull prob find either the seals were stuffed and let diff oild in or your grease has broken down through water. The grease in my disco did this. Check with a mechanic cause without seeing it i cant be 100% sure. u may wanna change ur diff oil while ur doin stuff.

YouTube - mudsloth's Channel

Thanks Mudsloth

I drained the diff oil before hand, no water to be seen any where, the oil was still a good colour

Same thing in around the bearings, the oil is a good colour with only a limited amount of grease.
I think i might just pack them with grease as i would usually then check them later and see if more oil has entered

CHEERS TIM.

**Blknight.aus** · 21st June 2009, 06:01 PM

they were greased, thats the grease seal, and yep that seal in the stub axle plus the one in front of the bearing is what needs to be pulled for an oil conversion.

**justinc** · 21st June 2009, 06:04 PM

Tim,
That seal in the second pic is NOT the seal to use when doing an oil conversion, it doesen't even have a garter spring. RTC3511 is all you need, remove the inner stub seal and the outer brg seal.

JC

**long stroke** · 21st June 2009, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

they were greased, thats the grease seal, and yep that seal in the stub axle plus the one in front of the bearing is what needs to be pulled for an oil conversion.

Originally Posted by justinc

Tim,
That seal in the second pic is NOT the seal to use when doing an oil conversion, it doesen't even have a garter spring. RTC3511 is all you need, remove the inner stub seal and the outer brg seal.

JC

Thanks Dave and JC

I've been searching all day for a simple answer like that

One thing still not clear, we understand what the inner stub seal is, but unsure of the outer brg seal. the one in the pic is the inner hub seal (i think).

CHEERS TIM.

**justinc** · 21st June 2009, 06:33 PM

Originally Posted by long stroke

Thanks Dave and JC

I've been searching all day for a simple answer like that

One thing still not clear, we understand what the inner stub seal is, but unsure of the outer brg seal. the one in the pic is the inner hub seal (i think).

CHEERS TIM.

That outer seal, the one visible when you take out the axle, is no longer required and needs to be discarded when doing the oil conversion. It is there originally to prevent oil getting from the diff to the bearings(???What were they thinking

) as LR's attempt to eliminate oil leaks onto the brake pads. All early series and RRC/ county were oil lubed, THEIR axle splines and bearings last for ages, unlike the non oil lubed later county and defender. A stupid backward step IMHO. One bit of advice Tim, ensure the oil seal surface on the stub axle is pristine, or you may get oil leaking onto the brake pads even with the RTC3511 seal.

JC

**long stroke** · 21st June 2009, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by justinc

That outer seal, the one visible when you take out the axle, is no longer required and needs to be discarded when doing the oil conversion. It is there originally to prevent oil getting from the diff to the bearings(???What were they thinking

) as LR's attempt to eliminate oil leaks onto the brake pads. All early series and RRC/ county were oil lubed, THEIR axle splines and bearings last for ages, unlike the non oil lubed later county and defender. A stupid backward step IMHO. One bit of advice Tim, ensure the oil seal surface on the stub axle is pristine, or you may get oil leaking onto the brake pads even with the RTC3511 seal.

JC

Sweet!! gotcha

Thanks Justin
We couldn't seem to see a seal their when i took it out but i wasn't looking

CHEERS TIM.

**Mudsloth** · 22nd June 2009, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by long stroke

Thanks Mudsloth

I drained the diff oil before hand, no water to be seen any where, the oil was still a good colour

Same thing in around the bearings, the oil is a good colour with only a limited amount of grease.
I think i might just pack them with grease as i would usually then check them later and see if more oil has entered

CHEERS TIM.

Thats what id be doin, grease dont last forever

**350RRC** · 23rd June 2009, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by justinc

All early series and RRC/ county were oil lubed, THEIR axle splines and bearings last for ages, unlike the non oil lubed later county and defender.
JC

Hi,

I'm getting a bit confused here. (74 / 81 RRC). So the bearings in mine are oil lubed?

They always gave that appearance when I had to remove the stub axle for whatever reason, by leaking oil over the rim and tyre.

Is this diff oil? All seals are always good or new.

I have parts diagrams for oil and grease lubed hubs. The main differences between the two seem to be grease seals vs oil seals and tone rings for abs.

Can anyone please explain the differences further?

cheers, DL

Thread: Are my wheel bearings oil or grease lubed?

Thread Tools

Are my wheel bearings oil or grease lubed?

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions