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Wheel Bearing Maintenance and
Packing for Land Rovers
by Randy Black
Recently I was rolling my Defender out of the garage
without the engine running and noticed a noise that didn't sound so
good. It was coming from the front driver side wheel area, sort of a
growling, grinding, dry bearing kind of noise. Since we do a lot of
mud and water driving in the Disney (NE OK) area I had been planning
to look at my wheel bearings before going to Moab again this year.
Well, this meant it couldn't wait any longer.
This is the procedure I used and what I learned while
doing the job. One of the best items to have before starting the
work is a good workshop manual. The one I use is from Rovers North
and seems to be pretty thorough. I also found useful information on
the internet and got a great deal of help from Bill Burke
of Bill Burke's 4-Wheeling America. He offered the kind of help that
you don't
find in the workshop manual.
TOOLS
●bottle jack
or floor jack
●jackstands
●wheel
chocks
●lug wrench
●1/2"
ratchet
●17mm
socket
●13mm 12point
socket
●torque
wrench
●brass
or soft steel drift punch
●hub
nut tool or 52 mm or 2 1/16" socket
●snap
ring pliers
●open-end
wrenches for brake line fittings 12 thru 17mm
maybe
●small
hammer
●3" threaded
sewer plug PVC
PARTS FOR ONE WHEEL
●drive flange
gasket #571752
●lock washer
#FTC3179
●hub seal #FTC4785
●2 wheel
bearings w/race #RTC3429 or Timken # set 37 (1 cone, 1 cup)
SHOP MATERIALS
●cleaning
solvent - I used low odor mineral spirits. Brake cleaner (1 can per
axle) can be used.
●oil
drip pan
●grease
rags
●paper
towels
●rubber
gloves - to protect hands from solvent
●parts
cleaning brush; the round stiff
bristle kind
●wheel
bearing grease (high temp disc-type red is best)
●blue
Loctite or similar
●hand
cleaner
●flange
sealant
DISASSEMBLY - FRONT
WHEELS
Park in the most suitable level spot you can find. I did mine in
January so
heat and light were really nice to have and a workbench with a wood
surface
}that doesn't bounce when you use it helps, too. Chock the rear
wheels and
set the brake.
Break loose the lug nuts on both front wheels. Jack
up the vehicle and set
jackstands under each end of the axle housing. This makes it easier
to turn
the wheels to get at the brake calipers. Remove wheels. Disconnect
brake
line at bracket and steel line, cap or plug the line, or use brake
line clamps,
and tie it off out of the way. Be careful not to get brake fluid on
your paint or
it can damage it. Remove brake calipers by removing the two bolts
with the
13mm 12pt. heads.
*At the suggestion of Bill Burke, I notched the brake
line bracket from the
top down, just wide enough to slip the fitting in and out from
above. The next
time I need to remove the caliper all that is needed is to loosen
the nut and
lock washer that secures the line to the bracket, and tie the
caliper and line
out of the way. The repair can then be made without loosing any
fluid,
making it easier and safer to do the repair alone (no air in the
line). I cut
the bracket in place with a high speed grinder and a very thin
cutoff disc.
●Remove rubber dust cap
●Remove five drive flange bolts - 17mm heads (11/16”
also works)
●Remove snap ring and two shims at axle end - set
aside to clean and reuse
●Pull off drive flange, may need to tap on it with
hammer
●Bend lock washer off hub nut and remove nut and
washer
●Remove second hub nut and the thick washer under it
- set aside to clean
and reuse
●Pull straight out on the hub/rotor assembly
supporting the weight of the
unit so as not to damage the hub seal on the backside of the hub
●Remove outside bearing, place it aside to be cleaned
and checked for
reuse. Keep track of which bearing is inside and outside on each
hub.
Mark on rage or towel O or I.
●Check the hub seal, it should be recessed 4mm and
have a thin lip
sticking up when looking from the inboard side of the rotor. Any distortion
compromises the seal – repacking the bearing anyway, so just replace
the
seal.
●Clean up the inside of hub well enough to see the
bearing races and
nspect. If the bearings and races are ok just clean well and repack
them in
grease, making sure to get grease into every void in the bearings. I
used a
bearing packer that I found at Sears and it seemed to work very well
at
getting grease into the interior of the bearings.
●If bearings need to be replaced drive out the old
races by tapping first one
side then the other with the hammer and soft punch, preventing one
side
rom getting ahead of the other.
●Clean and inspect the hub, look for gauling, cracks,
and discoloration from
excessive heat.
●Clean and inspect stub axle looking for the same
problems as in the hub, corrosion and minor roughness can be cleaned
up with very fine emery
cloth or aluminum oxide sand paper; 400 grit worked well.
●Thoroughly clean after sanding to get rid of the
abrasive residue. Brake
Clean works well (easy spray can).
REINSTALL
Apply a thin layer of grease to stub axle where the seal will ride.
Install
new bearing races if needed; drive in evenly. Use the old race to
hammer
on to start the race but be careful to keep them lined up atop each
other,
use the old race with the thick edge down. Then use a brass drift to
continue driving the race down to its seat. Install the inside
bearing in its
race.
Once bearing is in race, smear grease around the outside of the
bearing
and then smear all surfaces of the seal before installing. Wipe lip
of seal for
stub axle. Install hub seal 4mm below the edge of the hub with the
lipped
side up. The new seals I bought had this info stamped onto the side
of it
but the problem is how to seat it without damaging the thin lip.
*Another tip Bill gave me was to use a 3" threaded
plastic sewer plug to
set the seal. It fits around the vertical lip, the bottom edge of
the plug fits
the diameter of the seal, and when you drive it in the plastic
fitting it stops
at almost exactly 4mm.
Place the outside bearing in its race and reinstall
the hub/rotor being
areful not damage the hub seal. When installing hub, give slight
turn to
help the lip seat on the stub axle. Put the thick hub nut washer in
place
and the first hub nut back on the stub axle and tighten down to get
everything back into alignment. Rotate hub while tightening first
nut.
ADJUSTING
BEARINGS
The shop manual gives tolerances for adjustment using a dial
indicator
but most people use the following method:
Tighten the hub nut while turning the rotor until the rotor will not
turn without
assistance, then back off the hub nut slightly. Do this two times,
rotate hub
several rotations, then to set final torque. Here’s a trick from
Bill--with greasy
hands on hub socket, turn hand tight using both hands almost as
tight as
you can get it. The slip of the grease on the socket will insure you
will not
over-tighten. It’s important to settle the bearing and grease.
Check for play by trying to wiggle the rotor assembly
by hand, there should
be no slop but the rotor should turn with just a little assistance.
Place
the
thin lock washer over the hub nut then place the last hub nut and
tighten.
The last nut will cause the first nut to tighten a little, so it
might take a few
tries to get everything just right. When you have everything as you
want it,
turn the rotor for a while; check it for play again using the rotor
to hold onto.
In talking to the guys at Rovers North and some of
the local Rover mechanics
the idea is to get it tight enough to just barely get rid of the
play you feel
when wiggling the rotor, unlike some of the older American cars I
had
worked on which need to feel a little loose.
Bend the lock washer over both hub nuts. The old lock
washer can be used
if hammered flat and cleaned of any debris.
Clean the gasket surface of the drive flange, apply
grease to both sides of
the flange gasket and install both. Clean and dry the five flange
bolts,
apply blue thread locker and tighten in a star pattern first one
side then the
other evenly. When they are all tightened torque them to the proper
values,
60 to 70 Nm (50 lb./ft). Use a long, large screwdriver against the
wheel
stud to keep the rotor and hub from turning when you are tightening
the
flange bolts. Let the handle rest on the ground and wedge the blade
between the stud and the hub. Install two shims and snap ring on
axle end.
To help seal the assembly, Bill Burke recommends
using a flange sealant,
made by 3M, found at tractor/ trailer parts suppliers. I was unable
to find
the 3M product so I used Anaerobic Gasket Maker by Dynatex Part
#49477.
Anaerobic means it doesn't need oxygen to set. He said just a little
where
the metal lip and inner end of the rubber cap meet.
Reinstall brake calipers using blue thread locker on
the bolts, torque caliper bolts to 70 lb/ft, connect lines, check
fluid level and bleed brakes. Replace wheels, snug lug nuts, lower
vehicle and tighten and torque lug nuts to 95
lb/ft. Move wheel chocks, jackstand, tools and everything else out
of the
way.
While doing this work it's good to check out brake
rotors and pads, axle
seals, leaking swivel ball seals, CV joints and related things, but
those are
enough for a couple more articles at least.
I did all four wheels while I was at it. The rear
wheels are very similar to the
front, even a little bit easier. I found my problems were mainly due
to the
fact that three out of four of the hub seals #FTC4785 were not
installed
orrectly. They were left flush with the inside of the hub instead of
recessed
4mm which left all three of them damaged. The bearings looked like
they
had been packed in dirt and mud rather than grease. The seal
correctly
installed had the best bearings but it was definitely time for an
overhaul
for them also.
I don't know how many automakers use Timken wheel
bearings, but was
pleased Land Rover does when I looked into what bearings are
available.
The people I talked to whose only business is bearings said that
Timken is
probably the best bearing made for this application. If you find
yourself on
the road and in need of wheel bearings, NAPA sells SKF #BR37, about
$12 ea. w/race.
The Timken can be found at bearing suppliers, a Land Rover
dealership,
Rovers North and other Rover parts suppliers on the internet. I paid
$16 ea.
w/race at Allied Bearing in Tulsa. Find the number stamped on the
bearing
#LM603049, and #LM603011 on the race if you want buy them from a
bearing supplier. They are also known as Timken Bearing set #37.
Some trivia from Bill: Timken Bearing set #37 is the 37th
set that Timken
ever made. Land Rover used this off the shelf.
This work was done on
a '95 D 90 but is suitable for most Defenders, Disco I’s and Range
Rover Classics.
Thank you to
Randy Black for contributing this important article.
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Bill
Burke's 4-Wheeling America LLC
