Wheel Bearing replacement

[white90]

The vehicle used is a 300TDi CSW, owned by Dr Goon - member of this website.

While a certain degree of care is needed to replace the wheel bearing - it's not beyond the capabilities of the average DIY mechanic - the only special tool required is the hub nut box spanner, which is only £6 or so.

Although the title specifies the Defender and Disco, method of replacing the wheel bearings are identical for series as well - the main difference being brakes. Signs of the wheel bearing failing is a droning noise from the hub, if you jack the wheel clear of the ground and spin it - you'll hear and feel the roughness that tells you the bearing is worn. There are two bearings and one oil seal that make up the internals of the hub - even if one bearing is worn, replace both - parts only come to around £20, and it's reasonable to expect that the supposed good bearing is likely fail sooner, rather than later.

This is the drivers side wheel.

Apply handbrake, and slacken the wheel nuts, the 6 x 17mm drive flange bolts.

Pointless picture, but this is a wheel!

Raise the wheel off the ground, place an axle stand under the axle, remove the wheel and drive flange bolts. Lever the hub cap off, and using a pair of cir clip pliers - remove the circlip and shims from the end of the drive shaft.

Then lever the flange off the hub.

Brake caliper next. The pipe union is on a bracket that is secured by the two bolts that also hold the top swivel pin. If you remove these bolts, the weight of the hub assembly will press down - causing the oil/grease in the swivel housing to leak out, and possibly damage the swivel seal. Better to remove the caliper instead.

Turn the steering on full lock so you can get at the rear of the caliper, clamp the pipe with either a brake pipe clamp, or a cushioned pair of mole grips. Take care not to damage the pipe - it doesn't take much to close the pipe. If you have Goodridge hoses, then disconnect the pipe and plug it with a cocktail stick or similar item.

Pipe clamped:-

Brake hose union is 17mm lock nut and 13mm pipe fitting (this will be different if you have a series.)

There are two bolts that hold the caliper to the hub, they should be very tight, and are 12-point 13mm head. You can undo them with a normal hex socket, but make sure it's a good fit on the bolt head. Both bolts are recessed, and would be difficult to undo with anything else.

The two caliper bolts, note the profile of the heads.

The caliper is now staying on the disc by residual pressure. Carefully lever one of the brake pads away from the disc - it'll have a raised rust lip around it's circumference, preventing the caliper from just sliding off.

The caliper is now loose, and you can remove if from the hub - taking care not to catch the steel brake pipe on anything. Stand the caliper upright to prevent all the brake fluid from draining out.

All that's now holding the disc/hub assembly on the vehicle is the bearing nuts. Using a screwdriver, chisel, Mr Cordells sharp tongue , bend away the tab washer.

The outer nut can own be removed, preferably with the correct box spanner.

Once the first nut is off, the tab washer can be removed. If you are a tight f***, you can re-use it, but this one is beyond help, so 7p on a new one.

The second nut can now be removed, and the outer bearing normally falls off, along with the spacer thingy.

Bin the bearing, but retain the spacer (or whatever the hell it's called).

If you now aren't looking at this, you haven't been following these instructions, and more importantly - the guarantee is void!

Off down the 2nd home/fully equipped workshop (shed actually).

It's very important that the new bearings are fitted in as clean an environment as possible. A few bits of grit will ruin the new bearings. You can do this job at the side of the road, but it's just easier and better if you can do the next bit on a bench or/coffee/kitchen/bedside, table.

Mmmmmmmm - messy gloop!

The rear bearing is still in place - prevented from falling out by the oil seal.

If you are replacing the discs, then the 5-bolts you see in this next picture, have to be removed - then it's all hammers!

Claw hammer is perfect for removing the oil seal.

Looks like the inner bearing is the one that was making all the noise.

Clean most of the old grease out of the hub.

You can now see there's a small lip where the bearing race is a smaller diameter than the body of the hub. You need to exploit this lip to remove the bearing track.

I use an old Series 3 reverse gear shaft for this. Make sure the corner is clean - there's only about 2mm of lip to work on.

You must not damage the inside of the hub, so make sure that the bar sits on the lip at a high angle.

Hit the bar progressively on opposite sides, you don't need to beat the carp out of it - patience is all that's needed. If you put the flange bolts back in - then there's enough room for the bearing track to fall clear of the hub. Balancing it on your knees to knock it 'that last little bit' is not a good idea.

The outer track is a bit discoloured, but ok otherwise.

Flip the hub/disc, and use the exact same method to remove the inner bearing track.

This is the cause of the noise. There are bits missing out of the track, and it has become corrugated.

You now must clean the hub assembly inside and out. Rinse through with petrol/paraffin/ Tony's Gin.

Clean the inside cleaner than a clean thing.

Two new bearings and the seal. Timken are a good make, and I would recommend them.

Each bearing is a 'kit' of two components - keep each pair separate.

Little 'trick of the trade' here - the old bearing tracks can be used to fit the new ones, but you need to remove them easily. As the tracks are an interference fit, and therefore tight in the housing - you need to cut the side of the old track with an angle grinder like this:-

Place the new bearing track in place:-

Then put the cut track on top, use either a softer metal bar, or a mallet, and drift the new track into the hub assembly. (read the note at the end of this thread) You will also need to use the second (unsplit) bearing track to fully locate the new track.

Same for the inner bearing

Both bearing tracks are now in the hub, once again clean the inside.

Starting from the inside - liberally coat the inner bearing track with grease.

Also coat the bearing with grease - work it into the rollers, and slop it all over the place. I use JCB grease, not because I get it for nowt you understand, but because it's a good quality grease. (note to self - must do my nails! )

Is that sexy? very nearly blingy (from a grease monkey point of view)

Now press the oil seal in. make sure it's in far enough that it doesn't abrade on the hub - the highest part must be at the same level or lower than the hub assembly.

Now to the outer bearing - coat the track with grease., but go no further- you need to but the hub assembly on the vehicle, so clean the stub axle, the seal land, and the surrounding area.

Put a thin layer of grease on the stub axle and land.

Slide the hub/disc onto the stub axle, replace the spacer, and one nut. Tighten the nut progressively until the disc feels as though it's starting to bind - slowly undo the nut until the hub rotates with some small resistance. Now put a new tab washer on and then the second nut. Tighten the second nut to lock the bearing in position.

Should look like this now.:-

On one side, bend the lock washer inwards to secure the inner nut, and then opposite - bend the tab washer outwards to do the same thing.

The new bearing is now fitted and locked. Replace the drive flange, use one of the bolts to pull the end of the drive shaft out in order to re-fit the shims and cir clip.

Replace the caliper and bleed the brakes.

If you don't have a press, and have to use a hammer to fit the new bearing tracks - either use a mallet to soften the blows, or alloy bar to cushion the shocks from a steel head hammer.

Les.

[white90]

By John T:

Nice one Les.

I would add the following for TD5s:-

:TD5s do not have two hub nuts and the lock washer in between. Instead they have a single nut with a "peen over" section as per this piccy....

When removing the hub nut ensure you bend back the peened over section of the nut properly and clear of the stub axle threads otherwise (as I found to my cost) the deformed bit of the nut can pick up on the stub axle and trash it. This is what was left of the nut thread...

..and the stub axle thread...

There is a spacer between the two hub bearings which in effect sets the adjustment to you simply do the nut up to about 15 ft lb to settle the bearings, spin the nub to check it is OK, torque the nut up to 150 ft lb, check the hub still spins freely and then peen over the nut on the flat side of the stub axle.

[white90]

By Mark90:

I find this a handy way to plug braided brake hoses when disconnected...

Although now I don't need to disconnect mine as I have slotted the top of the flexi/fixed pipe bracket...

[JimAttrill]

In our workshop we throw that TD5 junk away and fit two nuts and a lock washer as before. Why have taper roller bearings fitted if they are not adjustable?

I notice scrap iron racing sell a 'conversion kit' to do the same thing.

ps. and I thought I had invented the trick of cutting through the old bearing race with an angle grinder

Oh, and I also have slotted the brackets for the brake pipes