Finally got the chance to inspect my front hub bearings Sunday. I'd been wanting to check it out since feeling a little shudder on braking at highway speeds.
The first obstacle was the dad burned (I hope that's clean enough!) lug nuts - greased up a 27mm and they all came off nicely - one more tool for the tool bag. Left side was fine but right was a tad loose so tightened it up and my freeway drive yesterday proved an improvement. I had bearings on hand, but not a seal ( I had hoped to find a replacement I could source through NAPA - but not yet! - anyone found an aftermarket number for the Corteco RTC3511?), so I just regreased but it looks like seals are leaking and they are now 90W lubed. By the way, NAPA SER 2430 hub nut socket, 2 3/32", worked perfectly for the kind of torque on these nuts - we sell at $27.92.
But the worst thing was the left front rotor being @10mm thick and seeing two caliper pistons with the outer seals floating and broken. A downhill, 50 mph left turn stop yesterday proved where my shudder was! It went into a "death-wobble" type shake that woke me right up!! So, I got new caliper, rotors and pads through NAPA (At employee pricing, I have to at least prove their worth!) It always stops well during everyday stops, but with a 12mm minimum thickness spec on the rotors, those will be changed this weekend. Wasn't able to get seals quick enough, so I'll get back into that later. Still happy and proud!! Russ

 

" so I just regreased but it looks like seals are leaking and they are now 90W lubed. "


If you are getting Diff fluid in the hub/bearings you will need to get new stub axle seals. Part number is FTC5268. This link has a good pic of the seal location>> LAND ROVER INNER STUB AXLE SEAL SET x2 DISCOVERY DEFENDER RANGE CLASSIC FTC5268 ALLMAKES4x4 | Miami British Corp.

 

Disconnect the axle vent blow it out, it may help, also use OO grease not 90w

 

I noticed some discussion on allowing diff oil (90W) to lube the hub bearings as being an OK option (while recognizing the associated tendency for leaking on knuckle seal) - what are your thoughts on this? I like the idea of grease to maintain the lube on the outer ends and not worrying about side angle driving leaving one side low, so definitely will get that deep soon - I want to check swivel pins, etc, but should I move up my service schedule on that inner seal??
And I agree, Tom R, on the breather maintenance - I sprayed some Deep Creep on the fitting to get into that this weekend. I had noticed on the rear end that opening the level plug allowed a bit of a hiss, so I suspect it is already plugged and in need of more work.

 

If you are going to do all that, have you considered going with the Defender rotors? Probably do the same job at similar expense but have a better final product.

The 'best' thing to do in a perfect world given what you are experiencing, would be to take extra time and do everything on each hub that needs to be done, and do it one time. That would mean to completely disassemble each front hub (probably one at a time), pull out the axle and backing plate, check swivel pin tension, and re-shim as necessary (sounds like yours are a candidate for re-shimming). You probably know it by now, excess play at the swivel pin bearings are main cause of the 'death wobble'. If you don't address it now and allow it to worsen, you'll be looking at replacing the swivel bearings and races which is a bigger and more expensive job rather than a simple shim adjustment. So, if you are removing the rotors you're right in the area to do the rest of the job and install new swivel ball wipe seals and all new internal seals, inspect and repack the bearings. This is one of those areas where it pays to spend the time and money and do it 'right' and do it 'once' and should't have to mess with them again, or at least for a LONG time.

Now I hate to say this, but in my experience, aftermarket seals are almost always inferior to OEM seals. They usually are short a labrynth and frequently lack certain grooves or ribs which the OEM seals contain. These are important. I personally quit using aftermarket seals years ago because I became so frustrated with leaks after doing a hard job, especially one like the front hubs which can take a whole day! OTOH, in many cases, aftermarket seals, especially those for lower production number vehicles, are sometimes the SAME seals sourced from the OEM seal provider and can offer OEM quality at a good value. So, my thought is, if you buy NAPA seals, inspect what you get and avoid the temptation to save a few bucks by installing lower quality products in this area. Personally I would just buy a whole kit from Atlantic British (but that's me). Good luck, keep us posted and let us know how it goes.

 

Oh, on the topic of weather to install 90W or the 00 wt lube (that L/R used) in the a hubs, it's a hotly debated topic among Land Rover owners with no clear winner from the all the sights and research I've done. It's kind of like the Ginger or Mary Ann debate. On the one hand, 90W has the propensity to leak out of smaller openings more easily than the thicker goop Land Rover used and, at the extreme, it makes a mess and can starve your bearings of lube. But it 'is' all the same consistency as the diff lube and, theoretically at least, should be present in sufficient quantities if the diff level is where it should be at. HOWEVER, the thicker 00 lube that Land Rover used tends to be stickier, coats the parts better, doesn't leak out as easily, and provides extremely good lubrication so long as it's not dilluted with 90W to the point of not being sufficiently present. There are good arguments on both sides. If you replaced all your seals properly, you 'shouldn't' have gear lube migration to the swivel ***** and bearings. SHOULD'T is the key word. I use 00 green goop in a bag stuff, which I was able to buy for a little less at a lawn mower shop. I think the key is to do regular maintenance and know what's going on at the diff. If ya pull the oil fill plug from time to time and it is over-filled and looks greenish, then you know there is too much leakage going on.

Increased amount of gear lube migration to the hubs can be attributed to parking on an angle all the tie too, like for storage, etc. Vehicles like to be parked on the level. Unfortunately where I park my L/R is somewhat sloped which isn't good. Any minute leak can, over time, allow greater amounts of gear lube to pass, than if you always park on the level.

 

Mark, thanks for your input - you've just reinforced those nagging thoughts in the back of my mind! I think I'll just get the kits ordered and be done. I totally agree on the seal quality but, if you know how to read a catalog the possibilities for OE quality are out there, except for the RTC3511 - although I see SKF has a MUDSEAL design that looks like the overkill option - I'll bow to Rover quality on this one! Russ

 

Another note to mention is the swivel ball condition. I found both of mine severely corroded and causing the seals to leak, plus the swivel pins were damaged. reshimming maybe could have worked, but I figured they were most likely damaged and would get worse (they did) and the lack of lubrication ended up damaging the CV joint by the time I figured all this out. I ended up getting a front axle from a donor vehicle, went through it and put the parts on my truck. Works 200% better! and no death wobble!!

I also learned that the newer D! had a teflon coated swivel ball compared to the older chrome swivel ball. (mine were chrome)

 

Russ,

There are some good youtube videos on doing this job. I think it's helpful to watch them because the videos I've seen anyway, the experienced mechanics point out subtle details that the Rave manual might not necessarily point out, or that you might not pick up on just by reading the text. Plus, it gives you an idea what to expect before getting into it so you can make sure you are organized with the right tools, supplies and expectations, and know where NOT to skimp on the details. For example, when the mechanic points out NOT to forget to put the backing plate on with the new swivel seals installed, I can tell you that somehow people DO forget it, and I admit I've done it TWICE!! Doing the hubs on a L/R is almost the same as older Toyota and Ford solid axle front ends that used the swivel-ball style design for those who have done those. Here are a couple good links:

 

If you plan on wheeling your rig hard and have larger tires, consider more robust aftermarket axles, or save up for some in the future.