One shot swivel grease

[sotal]

I had a problem with an inner bearing a few months ago, basically the inner bearing on the front near side had fallen apart. So off came the swivel etc and I found that the land was pressed into place etc so I ended up swapping some parts with a spare axle I'd got lying around.

The spare axle was a little older and had 10 splines on both ends of the drive shaft - had luckily as it was off a failed project vehicle had brand new bearings fitted. Mine was one of the last series 3 axles made and had 24 spline outers. I ended up splitting the drive shaft at the UJ and using my 24 spline short piece and the older 10 spline longer section. (sorry don't know proper names if they have them?) This gave me the brand new land on the long section.

For some reason which I can't remember now I ended up using the old swivel off the spare axle - can't think of any technical reason so was perhaps just down to the fact that the swivel looked in better condition?

Anyway to get to the point, I've parked it up in the garage for the last couple of months and I now have a puddle of diff fluid under the nearside tyre It seems to be coming out of the back on the swivel. Is there an easy seal to replace or would I be better just sticking the one shot stuff in.

I've read the various opinions about the one shot stuff - but I do really low miles. My biggest worry was reading someone's post which said if there is a hole big enough for diff fluid to come out then it's big enough for water to go in. So if you're going to put 1 shot in then you should fix the hole first anyway.

If I do put 1 shot in do I need to get all the old EP90 out? Do you flush it with anything?

And a final extra question for extra points! When swapping the swivels my 1984 swivel had a flat spot in the straight ahead position, the 1970 swivel didn't and was nice and smooth throughout the movement. Was the flat spot an intentional 'upgrade' by LR to help it keep going straight or was it evidence of wear? I've not checked the drivers side but was just wondering if it was an improvement and if so if it would matter having one of each fitted?

Hope that all makes sense - which it might not do on a fri afternoon

[Les Henson]

No flat spot - the travel should be smooth.

Don't use swivel grease in a series axle - they are specifically designed to run in EP80/90.

Les.

[Snagger]

If the leak is from the back side of the swivel, a new seal should sort it - it's the front of the swivels that get pitted and rusty from all the stone chips on faster roads.

The easiers way to fix it is to disconnect the brake hose from the swivel, and disconnect any steering rods. With the vehicle jacked up and the wheel removed remove the whole swivel assembly, complete with half shaft, from the end of the axle tube (jack the worked end of the axle high enough that oil in the axle will run to the diff and other end, not dribble out on the floor).

You can stand the swivel assembly in the removed wheel for working on. Clean the seal area and chrom ball up as best you can. Whip the seal retaining ring off, followed by the old seal. Stuff some cloth into the new opening before removing any rust from the swivel casing, then fit the new seal and the retaining ring.

Fitting gaiters will protect good swivel balls from stone damage, so thet'll last a while before needing replacement. I found that leather (genuine) gaiters were fiddly to lace up, eventually rotted and had a tendency to foul the lockstops, reducing steering range. I subsequently used Bailcast concertina rubber gaiters with very good results.

As Les said, there should eb no binding at any stage of the swivel's movement. It's probably worth taking the job a bit further and removing the top pin and bottom arm to separate the swivel, checking the condition of the top and bottom pins, the bottom cone bearing and top Railko bush. Of course, if the binding was noticed while the steering mechanism was connected to the swivel, the fault could lie in a worn rod end, damaged steering damper or faulty steering box.

As for using 1-shot grease, I did so for about a decade before eventually doing the job properly and rebuilding my swivels. One had a worn halfshaft UJ, but that may have occurred a very long time ago with a dry swivel prior to the 1-shot use. the other side was mint, and there was no other damage. The UJ bearing cups aren't sealed, so the 1-shot get in pretty well. It'll stick to the UJ better when not in use than EP90. The swivel pins, bearings and bushes were in perfect order, despite having covered over 70,000 miles with 1-shot. Just make sure you apply plenty of LM grease to the Railko bush and pin before insertion - don't rely on splash lubrication as it doesn't seem to work, whether you use 1-shot or EP90.

[sotal]

hmmm, wonder what the flat spot was from, it was only in the dead straight position that was why I wondered if it was purposeful on late models.

I think that was the reason I didn't use that one in the end and ended up using the completley smooth one from the 1970 axle (which now leaks!)

I'll whip it all off again when I get a spare weekend - Think I have a spare Saturday in 2 weeks time, so will attempt it then