will_warne Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 I've got one swivel that's just started to go and I'll put money on the other one following pretty soon. As I'm going to strip everything while the vehicle's off the road it seems silly not to do both. My question is, do I go for a pair of brand new teflon coated swivels or a second hand pair or chrome ones? The general opinion I've heard is that the chrome ones are better but, AFAIK, you can't get them new. So, what's everyone's opinions. TIA, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Chrome ones are being phased out Stephen. You can'r get them from Bearmach anymore, though I suppose there are still plenty about somewhere. Seems to me that People prefer the teflon ones, though I don't know the reasons for this. A chip in the coating will still cause rust to travel under it and thus still corrode/pit/leak. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Stephen....? Put the Gin down Les!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Ooh-err, sorry Will Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 It is Stephen I would be apologising to.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 I should hope so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 whatever you do get two of the same, looks daft with one shiney & one black one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 I have a feeling that chrome plated swivels are being phased out cos chrome plating itself is. IIRC either the prep for the plating or the plating itself uses some fairly toxic chemicals so its being phased out on environmental and H&S reasons. I read somewhere a while back that aircraft undercarriage manufacturers will soon no longer be able to chrome plate the undercarriage parts - the shock absorber bit in an undercarriage leg is built into the main leg and the "sliding bit" is chrome plated. I guess it will affect hydraulic ram manufacturers as well?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minivin Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 cadmium is the main issue at present, it's our lifes hell in the aircraft industry as nearly all fasteneres upto recently (excluding titanium and stainless) were cadmium plated, now we're a bit boogared Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Horsevad Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 I've got one swivel that's just started to go and I'll put money on the other one following pretty soon. As I'm going to strip everything while the vehicle's off the road it seems silly not to do both. My question is, do I go for a pair of brand new teflon coated swivels or a second hand pair or chrome ones? The general opinion I've heard is that the chrome ones are better but, AFAIK, you can't get them new. So, what's everyone's opinions.TIA, BTW it is quite possible to repair the surface of the old swirvels with fibreglass padding. It will need to be ground to a perfect round shape, but then it will last just as well as the other alternatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 BTW it is quite possible to repair the surface of the old swirvels with fibreglass padding. It will need to be ground to a perfect round shape, but then it will last just as well as the other alternatives. I got told about this by an engineer who worked in the Chatham Islands off NZs east coast. A very salt laden sea air environment was hell with Land Rover chassis etc. He said they would rebuild Land Rovers on second hand chassis from the mainland that has been hot dip galved. The only way to ensure longevity. When it came to pitted swivels which were very common, there being no tarmac roads on the islands, he would grind the pits back to bare steel, then fill with plastic steel & carefully file back, finishing with fine lapping tape to give a smooth finish without damaging the remaining chrome. Reckoned it lasted for ages. Off course, getting parts to the islands was expensive as hell too. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 I fitted one teflon ball, and it was pretty disastrous; the teflon is not hard enough to stand up rough areas (were it is subjected to all the time when off road). It looks like it is 10 years old now, after about 1 year of use. So If you can get some chrome ones, I would prefer them every time. Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honitonhobbit Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 I've got one swivel that's just started to go and I'll put money on the other one following pretty soon. As I'm going to strip everything while the vehicle's off the road it seems silly not to do both. My question is, do I go for a pair of brand new teflon coated swivels or a second hand pair or chrome ones? The general opinion I've heard is that the chrome ones are better but, AFAIK, you can't get them new. So, what's everyone's opinions.TIA, Will, If you supply the old one, I can get one hydroformed from Titanium. This can then be diamond polished to mirror perfection. Obviously this will cost the earth but as we all know the more money spent, the better the product... Oh and teflon coated swivels are about as useful as a chocolate T pot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 Grease and boot the c/v joint, d+t the swivel bearings for greasenipples and forget about the swivels condition. After the running in perod ashcrofts are recomending you boot there h/d ones anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 If you supply the old one, I can get one hydroformed from Titanium. This can then be diamond polished to mirror perfection. Obviously this will cost the earth but as we all know the more money spent, the better the product...Oh and teflon coated swivels are about as useful as a chocolate T pot Can you supply them in orange? Chocolate will be fine though, don't need titanium... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honitonhobbit Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 Can you supply them in orange? Chocolate will be fine though, don't need titanium... I was thinking bone china... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 Over here in OZ we can get pitted chrome swivels re hard chromed. Is that now impossible in the UK? Are the teflon swivel assemblies capable of holding ep90 instead of grease? About the only components on earlier Defenders that didn't wear out were the front wheel bearings and drive flanges, because just enough oil would get out of the swivels, past the stub axle seal and keep them wet and lubricated. I am servicing and preparing a 130 for a customer to go around OZ, and so far LandRovers design for built in obsolecense is really eating in to his budget.This truck is privately owned and has not lead a particularly hard life, by working vehicle standards. Grease in the swivel balls doesn't lubricate the cv joints, wheel bearings or drive flanges very well and all these needed replacement, in addition to the usual rear axles,flanges, wheel bearings and one stub axle, universal joints on propshafts and steering, clutch assembly and release fork,timing belt and tensioner, I could go on and on and probably will when I recommence working on it next week. There really is a reason why Nissan and Toyota rule over here, and many other parts of the world. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B reg 90 Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 We use a company called 'Dowding and Mills' at work for repairing shafts on pumps by varoius coating methods including croming. They have facilities across the country I think. Should be able to do a swivel. Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B reg 90 Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 Bill, Teflon swivels hold EP90 leak free. However in my experience Daan is right, thet are suseptable to impact damage and then start to rust...... I would go crome if I had the choice. Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 cheesy fix for pitting is aradalite and wet and dry - ask any despatch rider about pitted fork legs and MOT's Hard chrome and a rubber boot would be the longest lasting though, plenty of platers about that would do it in the yellow papers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 I am servicing and preparing a 130 for a customer to go around OZ, and so far LandRovers design for built in obsolecense....... There really is a reason why Nissan and Toyota rule over here, and many other parts of the world.Bill. Bill, be fair to land rover.... The defender looks virtually identical to a 1958 model. It shares much of the same technology as well. The majority of the enhancements are range rover from 10 years later. Of course there is built in obselesence. If you bought a morris minor/citroen 2cv/austin cambridge with coil springs and disc brakes it would be rubbish compared with modern designs. I think it is remarkable that such a prehistoric design could even be compared to today's 4x4's. If the public wish to buy a "classic" design then they should expect to get what it says on the tin. Not excusing land rover, although all credit to those who did that engineering before many of us were born. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isuzurover Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Over here in OZ we can get pitted chrome swivels re hard chromed. Is that now impossible in the UK? Are the teflon swivel assemblies capable of holding ep90 instead of grease? About the only components on earlier Defenders that didn't wear out were the front wheel bearings and drive flanges, because just enough oil would get out of the swivels, past the stub axle seal and keep them wet and lubricated. I am servicing and preparing a 130 for a customer to go around OZ, and so far LandRovers design for built in obsolecense is really eating in to his budget.This truck is privately owned and has not lead a particularly hard life, by working vehicle standards. Grease in the swivel balls doesn't lubricate the cv joints, wheel bearings or drive flanges very well and all these needed replacement, in addition to the usual rear axles,flanges, wheel bearings and one stub axle, universal joints on propshafts and steering, clutch assembly and release fork,timing belt and tensioner, I could go on and on and probably will when I recommence working on it next week. There really is a reason why Nissan and Toyota rule over here, and many other parts of the world. Bill. Bill - you were born in Britain weren't you? Sometimes I really think you need to give it a rest - LRs have their fair share of problems, but so do your beloved toyotas and nissans. Both of which run grease-filled CVs and wheel bearings - which as a result wear out faster than oil filled rover items, and it is not possible to convert easily, like it is with LR. Many toyota boxes had gearbox mainshaft lubrication problems like the LR boxes did. And do we need to mention the Nissan 3.0TD??? Also, I have seen plenty of hiluxes and 7x cruisers just about falling apart from stress fractures induced by hard use. I am no "Land-Rover apologist" - they have had a lot of problems - build quality, weak axles, etc, and I definitely wouldn't buy a new one. But they are also not as bad as you paint them. I wonder what you would say about toyotas if you owned one and also worked on them all day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Bill - you were born in Britain weren't you?Sometimes I really think you need to give it a rest - LRs have their fair share of problems, but so do your beloved toyotas and nissans. Both of which run grease-filled CVs and wheel bearings - which as a result wear out faster than oil filled rover items, and it is not possible to convert easily, like it is with LR. Many toyota boxes had gearbox mainshaft lubrication problems like the LR boxes did. And do we need to mention the Nissan 3.0TD??? Also, I have seen plenty of hiluxes and 7x cruisers just about falling apart from stress fractures induced by hard use. I am no "Land-Rover apologist" - they have had a lot of problems - build quality, weak axles, etc, and I definitely wouldn't buy a new one. But they are also not as bad as you paint them. Hi Ben, Yes I was born in Britain. Moved to OZ in 1957, but still consider myself a Pom.Haven't been Neutralised.Even travel on British passport.Commenced my apprenticeship at Regent Motors LandRover in Melbourne in 1966 at age 16.Bought first LandRover in 1968 because it was British and at that time, the best that was readily available in OZ. Have lived and breathed LandRovers ever since. Recognised the faults and weaknesses from day 1 but had high hopes that the marque would evolve into a world beating product that Brits and Anglophiles alike could be truly proud of. The series 3 period from 1972 to early eighties was abysmal. the product was pure carp and would have killed the LandRover company had it not been for the RangeRover.The introduction of the 110 series was cause for optimism. A reasonably well built truck with good offroad ability off the shelf, most of the mechanical components were strong and reliable and came quite close to matching the Japs in the kind of mileages that could be clocked up before major rebuilds were required. But anyone who claims that the Defender series since its introduction is not as bad as I make them out to be is still wearing their LandRover or British Blinkers. For most of the past 40 years I have made my living from loving,maintaining, repairing, dissecting, wrecking and modifying LandRovers and when I reach the conclusion, as I have done in recent years that the quality of the product has rapidly declined to the point where I cannot think of any other brand of working type four wheel drive in the world , including Chinese and Russian that is worse, I do so with a heavy heart. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Easy Bill - dont go slurring UAZ, they make really good trucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Easy Bill - dont go slurring UAZ, they make really good trucks I wouldn't do that Jez. On my several trips to Vietnam to visit my wife and daughters I have admired the old Gaz 69's and UAZ469's especially some that were fitted with portal axles. In fact , if my wife decides that she is not happy in OZ and we move back to Hanoi, if I can't take my LandRover over their I will buy a portalled GAZ and build another special with which to tour China and South East Asia. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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