gadget Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Out of curiosity I've cleaned up my old chalices to see how deteriorated they were. I'm shocked at how bad they are. There's quite a lot of rust in the unswept area, which i'd have expected to be pristine with there being lots of one shot in there. I've no reason to believe that these aren't the originals, and the 110 is a 2003 so they're only just 10 years old. Is this level of deterioration caused by bad/lack of maintenance or are teflon coated balls just poo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 *touch wood* my teflon balls (snigger) are about 3 years old now and are fine on the outside. However I run EP90 in the swivels. I'm not sold on the one-shot idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quagmire Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 +1 on ep90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 grease in mine but with a few squirts of EP90, not had any problems yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 My balls are 22yrs old (I wish I was !!!) and have always had EP90 - the casings have both drain and fill holes - are are pristine. No rust on the swept surfaces, but I don't know about the unswept surfaces. Possibly the One Shot was a step backward, and good old EP 80/90 is the way to go. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 I'm with gear oil too. One shot is a bit runnier than alpha-gel, which used to let the inside of fabricated mower gearboxes go rusty. It seems fair that the thinner the lube, the better it will be at getting everywhere. One shot should have better film strength for CV's though. I'll also blame the swivel housing breathers. As there arn't any, I suspect it will try to suck in water? And any that gets in cannot 'breath' out. Ever notice how they leak some days more than others? If I noted the flow on the S1 I bet I could log the high and low weather fronts Maybe we're all just another pair of brake pipe breathers away from longer life swivel balls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadget Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 have always had EP90 - the casings have both drain and fill holes - are are pristine. I did look at fitting drain plugs to the housings, but there was no obvious flat. I may take another look at it. I'm with gear oil too. One shot is a bit runnier than alpha-gel, which used to let the inside of fabricated mower gearboxes go rusty. It seems fair that the thinner the lube, the better it will be at getting everywhere. One shot should have better film strength for CV's though. Western mentioned he uses a squirt of oil. Would a 50/50 blend of one shot and oil give the best of both worlds or be worse than either? Maybe we're all just another pair of brake pipe breathers away from longer life swivel balls If you are dunking your balls often that might not be a bad idea at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 To drain the housing you can just remove one of the bottom pin bolts I think, I believe the holes are drilled right through during manufacturer. With regard to fitting a breather, for owners of later (Td5-on) models you might be able to adapt an ABS top pin (which I believe is drilled through top to bottom) to fit a breather. Obviously this is only an option if you don't already have ABS! It might be possible to modify the earlier pin types by drilling them in a similar fashion, even on pre-1994 models as there is a hole in the thrust washer and the bottom of the Railko bush. Failing that one of the top pin retaining bolts, the seal retaining bolts (if their holes are not blind - I can't remember) or even drilling and tapping the housing itself would be alternative options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadget Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 To drain the housing you can just remove one of the bottom pin bolts I think, I believe the holes are drilled right through during manufacturer. Yes they're drilled through. Would the lower pin seal be ok with a bolt being removed and re-tightened? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 I should think so. If you want to take extra precaution then take the wheel off and put the axle on a stand - that way there's very little weight/stress on the pins and any chance of movement is drastically reduced. I usually drain and refill them with the wheels off anyway as it makes it easier to get to the drain/fill plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 I was just going to replace the filler plugs with pipe fittings? (BSPT) I recon a good puddle is enough to get water in there when the seals get tired. Out in the rain and a blemish just lets a tiny bit in every steering wheel turn? "Western mentioned he uses a squirt of oil. Would a 50/50 blend of one shot and oil give the best of both worlds or be worse than either?" Could easily be worse with a mix than one or the other, I hear you can reduce the film strength? I'm not too convinced though. And to be honest with the mechanical tech, if it holds ep90 it might as well have ep90. There are thicker gear oils though, like VG320, but I havn't looked into them. It is more like treacle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadget Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 I was just going to replace the filler plugs with pipe fittings? (BSPT) Put a push fit in the middle of a filler plug? Could easily be worse with a mix than one or the other, I hear you can reduce the film strength? I'm not too convinced though. And to be honest with the mechanical tech, if it holds ep90 it might as well have ep90. There are thicker gear oils though, like VG320, but I havn't looked into them. It is more like treacle. How critical is the ep90 fill level? Without a level hole it would be a bit hit and miss level wise. I'd still like to know how the chalices got to be in the state that they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Has to be moisture in there, and a lack of oil/grease on the rusty bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Didnt you have a spare axle? Cant you swap the swivel housings across, so you get the housings with the level/drain plug? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadget Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 Didnt you have a spare axle? Cant you swap the swivel housings across, so you get the housings with the level/drain plug? The axle is still under the Discovery 1 which is awaiting dismantling But yes, i could take them off there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadget Posted April 28, 2013 Author Share Posted April 28, 2013 Has to be moisture in there, and a lack of oil/grease on the rusty bits. Both swivels had lots of one shot in them. Along with some oil from the axle casing. I suppose they could have been run at some point with little or no lube and then refilled after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 "Put a push fit in the middle of a filler plug?" I was considering that first. But I think 1/2" BSPT (tapered) to 1/4" bsp male/male would be better. Then I could quarter hydraulic hose breather it. I am fairly sure it is half inch tapered thread. Best check? I nearly drilled new small level plugs half way up my hubs, but I thought stay with the usual welding wire dip stick, to half fill them with gear oil. A 10mm bolt works as a level though as long as there is a big fiiler to go with it. I tried that sucessfully on the rear KAM diff cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadget Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Came across this Nice and simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danebrewer Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 I bought new LR Genuine teflon balls, and thaykd only been on a couple of months and there's already signs of rust, I think It's just the thickness of the coating, I might try and paint the unswept area as I'm rebuilding my 90 atm and see if the paint sticks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadget Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 I bought new LR Genuine teflon balls, and thaykd only been on a couple of months and there's already signs of rust I'll be mightily unimpressed if that happens to mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Came across this Nice and simple. A very smart idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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