Jump to content

F*&%$"*ING Wheel Bearing


Recommended Posts

Hi All

i Have a 1997 300tdi 90

On my mot the other day i had an advisory for front wheel bearing so had a look and the play was fenominal so started stripping and found the hub nuts to be not even finger tight :o

so bought new bearing and seals fitted all and tightened up. A day or so later am getting high vibes and what seemed like a lack of power, it turned out i had tightened them a bit to much :( so replaced again but now the same kind of problem and its really annoying me am almost at spanner throwing time :angry:

The vibrations are mega like ive got a square wheel and come around 50MPH

am going to do it for the third time hopefully succesfully bt was wondering if anyone know what torque the bearings should be set at or is the problem possibly somewhere else maybe the uj in swivel housing? i just dont know :(

Any help/advice would be amazing

thanks in advance

tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my experience, just do it up until there is no lateral movement and the wheel will rotate freely. It's more about feel that anything else. The locking nut and the washer will prevent it from all coming undone.

A mate thought it was a good idea to tighten up the bearings on his MGB until they were very tight. Went about 3 miles and the bearing melted to the stub axel and it was all a bit knackered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the Torque settings are 40lbft,i'd set a torque wrench to that,then just keep tightening and rotating the hub till it either cranks the wrench at set torque or it gets too stiff to turn the hub.then back it off a tad,rotate the hub again then just nip up the nut.put on the tab washer,tighten up the outer nut and bend over tab washer on each nut.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

errm i think so but how would i check this?

i know the two outer races are well and properly seated but dont know how id be sure about the inner races.

tom

The only way I know of is, literally by inspection, and prep before installing the races, old greese removed and cleaned properly. are you sure you vibration problem is wheel related?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The official way is to tighten them to seat them and then back off. You then use a dial guage and measure the end float(the exact measurement I cant remember as I am at work)but end float means that there is a slight gap so no torque so to speak.

I believe that some later defenders do have a torque setting when fitter with a locking nut and a spacer betwoon the bearings. These are torqued up but of course are not adjustable when part worn like the old sort with the two nuts and lock washer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I assume you mean the large hub nut (about 41mm nut I think). They have to be tightend to 210Nm.

Have a look at this:

http://defender-manuals.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/Land_Rover_Defender_Workshop_Manual_1999_and_2002_MY.pdf

Page 392.

My only advice would be don't even attempt this with one of those rubbish box spanners. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what I can see that manual above is TD5 onwards, i.e. MY1999-2002, his truck is a 1997, so therefore has the older style twin nut setup. The OP even says 'hub nuts' in his first post, indicating there is more than one of them.

Do NOT try and tighten it to 210Nm!

Here, page 47 onwards:

http://www.landrover...op-manual-4.pdf

Honestly though, you should be able to tighten them up using the box spanner until no movement is felt by hand, and then put the lock washer and other nut in place. If you still have horrendous vibration it won't be the wheel bearing.

Did you remember to put the circlip back on the end of the halfshaft/CV joint?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having never changed the wheel bearings on an older model I didn't know there was a difference. Like most things on a Defender I assumed they would be one of the things that is unchanged but that is also why I put the reference up just in case. My bad :blush:

However, hub 'nut' or hub 'nuts' is not what I based my advice on. For all I knew it could have been a typo or reference to the ones on the other wheels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Given another month and I would have learnt the hard way it's on my to do list for my 1988 110, so at least you've save me the job of finding the correct page number in the WSM. :rolleyes::D

As above check the props, these cause pretty horrific vibration when the bearings go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is from Land Rover manual, Defender 300tdi section, ref wheel bearing setting,

Refit

11. Clean stub axle and drive shaft and fit hub

assembly to axle.

12. Fit spacing washer.

13. Fit hub adjusting nut. Tighten to 50 Nm (37

lbf/ft). Ensure hub is free to rotate with no

bearing play.

14. Back off adjusting nut 90° and tighten to 10 Nm

(7 lbf/ft).

15. Fit a new lock washer.

16. Fit locknut. Tighten to 50 Nm (37 lbf/ft).

17. Tab over lock washer to secure adjusting nut

and locknut.

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is from Land Rover manual, Defender 300tdi section, ref wheel bearing setting,

Refit

11. Clean stub axle and drive shaft and fit hub

assembly to axle.

12. Fit spacing washer.

13. Fit hub adjusting nut. Tighten to 50 Nm (37

lbf/ft). Ensure hub is free to rotate with no

bearing play.

14. Back off adjusting nut 90° and tighten to 10 Nm

(7 lbf/ft).

15. Fit a new lock washer.

16. Fit locknut. Tighten to 50 Nm (37 lbf/ft).

17. Tab over lock washer to secure adjusting nut

and locknut.

Steve

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That's how I do it and it hasn't failed me yet.

Mo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use the technique of tighten it to a bloody good grunt and back off 1/3 of a turn. Can't remember where I got it from but it works and is very easy to remember without needing a torque wrench!

As above the Td5 onwards nuts have a spacer between the bearing shells and use a different system. You can actually fit either bearing system to either age of vehicle - the stub axle threads are the same - so instead of messing around trying to find the right spacer for a Td5 age vehicle you can bin the spacer and stake nuts, fit the double nuts and tab washer and do it the old way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

slap plenty of grease on everything,

fit new bearings,

tighten inner (1st nut) and rotate wheel/hub at same time to settle bearings/push excess grease out of the way,

back nut off again until loose

make sure your hands are oily/greasey,

grab hub nut socket and tighten inner nut as hard as possible until your grip on the socket slips (only grip the socket-not the T bar/breaker bar/ratchet etc-just the socket or box spanner thingy)

fit tab washers,

tighten outer nut till you fart (pretty tight)

knock tab washer over inwards and outwards onto both nuts.

Never any problems doing it this way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was there any vibration or wheel wobble before you took the car for the MOT?

After you overdid the bearings first time, did you check them for damage or put new ones in? (if the rollers were damaged or broken up it would give you a bit of a square wheel feel)

Prop UJ's as said will give a definite clunky vibration. Only takes a tiny bit of play.

Bloody obvious I know, but check the wheel nuts are all tight!

Doesn't sound like you've got vibration because of steering play, but check you've reseated the drag link and tie bar joints correctly and they're in good nick, there's no play in the panhard rod bushes and the steering box is adjusted properly - all these will give a bad wheel wobble at about 50mph

Link to comment
Share on other sites

slap plenty of grease on everything,

fit new bearings,

tighten inner (1st nut) and rotate wheel/hub at same time to settle bearings/push excess grease out of the way,

back nut off again until loose

make sure your hands are oily/greasey,

grab hub nut socket and tighten inner nut as hard as possible until your grip on the socket slips (only grip the socket-not the T bar/breaker bar/ratchet etc-just the socket or box spanner thingy)

fit tab washers,

tighten outer nut till you fart (pretty tight)

knock tab washer over inwards and outwards onto both nuts.

Never any problems doing it this way.

Exactly what I do, no problems for me either though I just had to adjust the bearings on one side after a year. They looked fine so perhaps I hadnt got the outer race fully home the first time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had an MoT place mis-diagnose a worn swivel pin as a loose wheel bearing. It even fooled me the first time I tried to adjust it - because that's what they told me, that's what I expected to see.

Loose swivels would go along with the 50mph wobble too...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wow loads of great advice :)

ive got a big list of things to check tonight now when i get away from work :)

incidently i have two friends that are mechanics at a landrover garage and no one there knew the proper way either, so its good to know this community is better prepared and more useful than and official garage lol

thanks everyone

tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. By using our website you agree to our Cookie Policy