MRWOO Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I read recently in a LR magazine that the Land Rover drivers greased their wheel bearings during an overland trip. I can see why you would do this on a long distance expeditions when you might not have spare bearings, is this something you should do though as part of regular servicing or should you just wait until they need replacing?? Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I wouldn't say that greasing or re-greasing is part of a standard or even major service. Inspection of the wheel assembly is though, so any play would require further investigation, so in circumstances like that it might be worth re-greasing the bearings when you adjust them, though I doubt many people would go to such lengths. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I reckon on getting mine done about every 2 years or so on the 90 because it is used off road and through water etc, and experience so far has shown that there is usually one with a teeny bit of water ingress past the seal. Bit of grease all round and four new hub seals is a modest and IMHO wise investment for peace of mind if you regularly venture off into the middle of nowhere with no recovery service available, and a damn site easier to have it done in the workshop than trying to change a bearing shell friction welded to the stub axle in the middle of nowhere We do all new Defenders at work either on the PDI or on the 1000 mile service and never ever see any bearing problems during the warranty period, which wasn't the case when we didn't do that! It was not uncommon to find red rust under the drive member cap on a 3/4 year old vehicle. Any subsequent failures now are only ever due to water ingress which is why I have mine done every so often - if the vehicle is only used on road or not in deep water, then it is probably a "do once and forget about it" job. Its a bit like the decision about whether you replace suspension bushes as they wear, or whether you bite the bullet and do the whole lot at once so you can forget about them for a couple of years. I do the latter because I like preventative maintenance. Wheel bearings inevitably break when you need to use the vehicle, a bit like the gas always runs out when you are using the oven (funny thing that). If I bought a vehicle more than about 4 years old it would be on the "to do" list along with the timing belt and checking the mainshaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRWOO Posted February 23, 2007 Author Share Posted February 23, 2007 I reckon on getting mine done about every 2 years or so on the 90 because it is used off road and through water etc, and experience so far has shown that there is usually one with a teeny bit of water ingress past the seal. Bit of grease all round and four new hub seals is a modest and IMHO wise investment for peace of mind if you regularly venture off into the middle of nowhere with no recovery service available, and a damn site easier to have it done in the workshop than trying to change a bearing shell friction welded to the stub axle in the middle of nowhere We do all new Defenders at work either on the PDI or on the 1000 mile service and never ever see any bearing problems during the warranty period, which wasn't the case when we didn't do that! It was not uncommon to find red rust under the drive member cap on a 3/4 year old vehicle. Any subsequent failures now are only ever due to water ingress which is why I have mine done every so often - if the vehicle is only used on road or not in deep water, then it is probably a "do once and forget about it" job. Its a bit like the decision about whether you replace suspension bushes as they wear, or whether you bite the bullet and do the whole lot at once so you can forget about them for a couple of years. I do the latter because I like preventative maintenance. Wheel bearings inevitably break when you need to use the vehicle, a bit like the gas always runs out when you are using the oven (funny thing that). If I bought a vehicle more than about 4 years old it would be on the "to do" list along with the timing belt and checking the mainshaft. Thanks for the info, I know it's reosonable to have a small amount play in the wheel when checking for a worn bearing but how noticiable is it on one's that need replacing? The amount of play in all my wheels is identical, so they either all need replacing or there ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 In the days of old when most cars had drum brakes you pulled the whole hub off to service the brakes. That way the bearings got some new grease into them. Now with disc brakes nobody bothers, then wonmders why wheel bearings fail. I remove my hubs, clean and repack the wheel bearings with grease every service. 6,000miles or six months. Now should I go playing and it's wet and muddy I would take my hubs off the next day to clean and repack the bearings. Oh yes I carry two sets of wheel bearings on a trip. My ten bobs worth. mike FOAK Knickers I can cause trouble in an empty house !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 Thanks for the info, I know it's reosonable to have a small amount play in the wheel when checking for a worn bearing but how noticiable is it on one's that need replacing?The amount of play in all my wheels is identical, so they either all need replacing or there ok? If you dont go wading you should be ok, you can always pop off the drive flange and check that you can see grease and they are not "dry" - you won't be able to check the inner one without dismantling though. If they are on the way out they usually tell you be whinning/rumbling 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 i strip & regrease mine when i remember. normally once or twice a year when im bored & its sunny. as i do a bit of wading/deep mud i normally find they do need fresh grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I did all mine soon after i bought the truck (last april) as part of the pre-morocco plan... I do go off roading when i get the chance, so will probably do mine again this summer.. as the others said for the cost of 4 seals, and a pot of grease its good peace of mind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 And while it has never happened to me, I can vouch from speaking to those less fortunate that you really do NOT want a wheel bearing to seize up at high speed, life gets Very Interesting Very Quickly and the first word immediately following the onset of the incident usually begins with F or S mmgemini's technique is probably regarded as overkill but I bet he's never had a bearing seize up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 GBMUD had this at 50-60mph on the M4 crossed a lane or two and was lucky not to collect anything IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I had the inner NSR bearing collapse at about 40mph, welding the inner part onto the stub axle. It took a hydraulic puller to get the hub off and the stub axle was ruined. For the ten minutes it takes to whip the drive flange off to check if there's at least some grease around, It's well worth it IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 Oil fed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 mmgemini's technique is probably regarded as overkill but I bet he's never had a bearing seize up Yes it could be BUT I was used to doing that on a 6,000 mile service at work I had my Range Rover six years. I stripped the rear axle for the bearings. They were all in good nick. Not yet but time will tell. Remember it's only my time as I do all my own work. One thing I don't like about the later Salisbury is the oil seals in the axle tube that stop the gear oil joining the grease in the hubs. At the second service after I'd got my Defender back from Namibia I stripped the hubs down. The right rear grease was all rusty. The inside of the hub rusty. Luckily the bearings were alright. Some oil leaking down the axle would have stopped that. We worked out later the reason for the rust. We think that the Defender must have been on the outside of the ship in the container with the sun belting down during the day and freezing at night. mike FOAK Knickers I can cause trouble in an empty house !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 One thing I don't like about the later Salisbury is the oil seals in the axle tube that stop the gear oil joining the grease in the hubs. Then take it out, along with the outboard hub seal. Nice oily bearings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Then take it out, along with the outboard hub seal. Nice oily bearings It's on of those "gun" jobs Mark You know "I'm gunna do that" mike FOAK Knickers I can cause trouble in an empty house !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Yeh I got a BIG list of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Easy at the rear. Just take the half-shafts in and out a couple of times and the oil seal will be stuffed. Then you will have nice oil in the bearings (like in my 110) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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