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Swivel seal 'cheat'


Les Henson

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If you can't undo the bolts that hold the chrome ball to the axle case in order to replace the swivel seal, then there's a way round it that's less hassle and works just fine as long as you exercise care.

This involves cutting through the new seal, opening it up just enough to get it round the ball, then closing it again.

Method is as follows:-

Remove the inner spring - don't stretch it or tension on the lip of the seal will be lost, resulting in a leak.

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Using a Stanley knife or similar - cut through the seal lip as far as the blade will go.

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Then cut through the rest of the seal with a fine blade hacksaw.

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The seal can now be opened sideways, and very carefully fed over the chrome ball.

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Re-align the two ends of the seal and replace the tensioning spring.

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When refitting the retainers, make sure the split is at the top and put a small blob of rtv sealant on it to be sure that there will be no leak.

Les. :)

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Tonk -

Sure it's a bit of a bodge, but done carefully there shouldn't be any problems. Some might think it worth it rather than undo the axle/swivel ball bolts - particularly if a bolt head rounds off.

Lesmund -

This is just part of a 110 hub re-build, so this post is part of a bigger thread.

Les.

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3-bearing crank series engines have a split seal too, (not that you girly coiler types know owt about it :lol: ). They are fine if fitted properly.

Bill - don't happen to have a pic of one of those do you please?

Meccano - never knew that.

Les. :)

No Les, I've never actually used one. When I don't feel like stripping things down I just use the trick you just described. Although, being a cheapskate, on my own vehicle I turn the old seal 45 degrees a couple of times throughout its life before replacing it.

The Vendors company name for the hinged seal is Four Wheel Drives PTY LTD 304 Middleboro Rd Backburn Sth Melb Vic. They probably source them from the UK anyway.

I Dont deal with them. just keep one of their parts cattledogs for price reference.

Bill.

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Mate of mine who worked at a LR main dealership told me years ago that this was how the dealership workshop used to always install swivel seals.

Presumably any time saving would always have been passed onto the customer in reduced labour rates for the job....

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And my job this wknd is too sort out the swivel preload which I know is too loose.....

Was going to strip it all down, but before doing that was going to see if I could get the axle/swivel bolts undone 1st before I started stripping the hub. When I did the other side a few years back they were a right barsteward to undo.

Ironically my seals don't leak and my balls are perfect.. :blink: but once you start taking out the shims from the pins, the postion of the seal relative to the ball changes which then causes it to leak (well thats what happened on the other side).

Did think about cutting the seal if I couldn't get the bolts off, so that's the other option, as recommended here you could say..

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Probably, but after 160K miles and 12 years, i bet they will leak when I put it back together again.... :unsure: and you dont want damp balls...

And of course on a 101 you cant remove the balls, same as a Salisbury front axle, as they are integral to the axle tube so the seal has to be split.

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Just one question, if doing this without stripping the complete hub, how do you get the spring over everything with out stretching it or does one just re-use the spring from the old seal?

Thanks in advance,

Pete.

The spring, by it's nature is elastic. It will stretch over the ball just fine as the ball is very little bigger than the inside lip of the seal. I think Les intended to say that you should be careful not to stretch the spring beyond it's elastic limit.

Chris

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Forget the ball having to be strectched over .....your brake disc or drum (as its all still atchhed) will be the problem :lol:

Some of these springs actaully can come apart, if you look at it carefully you might see a tapered end that you can "Unscrew" and then pop around the asemble and pop back in, if not then as per above use the old spring left there when you cut the old siwivel seal off.

If you have more time, 2 pack araldite the cut together clamp with tape etc makes a far stronger repair, and is nearly as good as uncut seals

Nige

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If you are careful you can open the spring - they have a taper at one end, which is pushed inside the opposite end to make the ring. you could however, just cut the spring, wrap it round the ball, and 'hook' the ends back together. This is quite fiddly to do, and this thread is just to show a way round undoing those ball/axle tube bolts.

Call me suspicious, but I get the feeling that there's a degree of smut creeping into this thread! :P

Les. :D

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Probably, but after 160K miles and 12 years, i bet they will leak when I put it back together again.... :unsure: and you dont want damp balls...

And of course on a 101 you cant remove the balls, same as a Salisbury front axle, as they are integral to the axle tube so the seal has to be split.

Are the non 101 Salisbury front swivel balls welded on then? The only Defender I have ever seen with a Salisbury front end (A UK police armoured riot vehicle on loan to the Victorian Police here in Melbourne) had normal bolt on balls.

Bill.

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Are the non 101 Salisbury front swivel balls welded on then? The only Defender I have ever seen with a Salisbury front end (A UK police armoured riot vehicle on loan to the Victorian Police here in Melbourne) had normal bolt on balls.

Bill.

101 front salisbury axles have swivels welded to the axle casing. Both 109 and 110 front salisburys in UK (and I believe worldwide) have conventional bolted on swivels.

Regards,

Diff

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Well its all done and much better for it as well.

Couldn't get old seal out without wrecking it as the retainer plate and the groove in the housing it sits in were all badly corroded.

Luckly the local dealer had the retainer in stock, they shut at 1pm and I rang them at 12.15pm, so quick dash down there in someone elses car to get it (the series 3 rebuild is at rolling chassis stage, but literally that so couldn't use that..this is why you need TWO Land Rovers..)

Few things of note, the previous owner or the factory, had but in the hub oil seal back to front. Interestingly, the WSM and Haynes sectioned diagram both show it correctly, but in my Haynes manual (not that I ever use it), the picture showing them levering it out of the hub shows it also in the wrong way round....

Also the CV joint was actually stamped with the day it was made and a load of GKN part numbers - but didn't bother to make a note of them.

And the axle bolts were a right barsteward to undo as I thought. Since you can't get a socket on, some were undone by levering up the ring spanner using the trolley jack, others were done by using a bit of straight bit of old (Renault 5, new it would come in handy 1 day...) exhaust pipe over the spanner. Oh yes a large hammer came in helpful to. Fortunately my 14mm spanner was fairly flexible. :blink:

So just got to drag the transfer box out to change the input seal now, might leave that a bit yet and get the body off the series.. :rolleyes:

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  • 2 years later...

And this is where I have the problem, I have removed some of the good bolts and left with 3 bolts left in place! Now I have put the loose bolt in the ring spanner and looks like the spanner is too big for it? The other 3 will not move it just slips, 13 or 1/2" are too small 9/16" is too big just need something in the middle!! looking at the swivel ball it will need replacing very soon (rust) so for now I will do the cut seal but need help on removing the ball any ideas please? thanks .....JJ

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