110 Swivel seals

Gotten fed up with my swivel seals leaking so finally started stripping down to change the seals. On this side the lip has folded into the ball causing a bigger leak. The swivels had grease in them which I'd topped up with EP90 before realising. The bearings felt fine so I don't plan on changing them.
Drive member was well stuck on but finally gave up its grip.


All other bolts have come off with a bit of force. I was surprised how much grease was in the bearings.

The front tapered roller bearing lifted out, the rear one is loose between the hub and disc and there is so much grease I'll have to split em to clean it out.
Hopefully what I think is the stub axle looks ok.

Just swivel housing and ball left to go.


The plan is to clean it all up and give it a paint before trying to get it all back together.

I think you need a new stub axle as the seal land looks fcuked and the bearings look like they have spun on the shaft.
If the bearing rollers or bearing track show any signs of grey dullness under the grease they need changing to, dont get the cheap ten pound ones Timken all the way think 25 quid a corner.
I mention this as wheel bearings are a weak point.

Cheers. I was expecting the rear bearing to be held in place in the hub but it's loose and I was wondering if that stub axle looked a bit past it. Once I took the circlip off the end of the drive shaft the hub was able to rock forwards and back a few mm so I don't think the bearings had any preload.

The bearings are a real weak point on the 90/110/defender models, weirdly the series bearings literally last a lifetime I think because axle oil can get to them, some people have modded their axles by removing a seal to allow the oil a pathway in to the hub.
The worn seal land will also let water/dirt enter making the bearings wear out even quicker.

Yes. Quite a lot of wear visible on the axle.

I'll order some new stuff next time I have some dosh. Either last time it was done it was filled nearly full of grease or its picked up a lot of debris... I may do new brake pads as they are hardly worn but very dirty. I'm hoping the disc will clean up.

So looking at parts I need;
Stub axle kit
Bearing kit
I already have swivel kit.

I see britpart DA2379G is the OEM bearing kit with timkin bearings. Does anyone have any experience with the Britpart stub axle kit DA3190? I'm hesitant to order Britpart but nowhere stocks the Bearmach kit.

Try Mail order 4x4.

IMHO, unfortunately based on bitter experience, do not use sh**part stub axles. ( or bearings ). OEM only for bearings and stubs. Cortico seals are OEM ( but you knew that !)

And i agree that you need a new stub - but the rear hub inner bearing race (with the rollers) will be loose 'tween the outer race and the seal - this is normal - I'd be looking at the outer race and or the rollers for wear marks. No wear marks and I leave them alone - YMMV.

Thanks for the tip, Mail order 4x4 have all the Bearmach stuff.

£130 for 1 Landrover stub axle compared to £27 for Bearmach. Is the 'Original Equipment' brand a subsidiary of Bearmach offering the original specification part unbranded? That's £70 each on LRDirect and seems to be a reasonable price for quality.

I'll take some pics of the bearings and races before I order them, because I'm convinced they are near-perfect. They are Timkin ones and I had no bearing related issues, just a swivel leak. I've cleaned the bearings and races completely of grease since my last effort, so I'll have to replace the inner hub seal.

I already have what i think are Britpart swivel kits (without the balls) but I've been considering not replacing the top pin and swivel bearing that came with the kits as again when i strip them they'll probably look near-perfect condition.

OEM (original equipment manufacturer ) just means that said supplier supplied parts to LR to build the vehicles new, and as such should be spot on. The catch is that some suppliers of (crap) radiators ( for example ), used to make inner wing plastic covers for LR, ( for example ), and thus appear to believe that they can claim to be an OEM. which they can, but NOT of radiators ( for example. IME, the sh**tpart "G" range are good value, but I await getting bitten on the bum for saying so

Bearmach are generally very good IMHO.

Cheers, so far I've done fine with Bearmach and trying to avoid Britpart so I may give em a go

This is a job well worth doing in my experience. When I did mine in the autumn of 2014 I changed all the bearings and seals even where they didn't have any obvious wear, just to get it all renewed while it was apart. The balls and stub axles were OK so they got re-used, as did the CV joints. It made such a difference to the handling. What had been a jittery, floaty feel on the motorway was replaced by something much more steady and positive. You'll be pleasantly surprised how it drives afterwards, if all goes well.

Finished stripping down to the axle casing this weekend. Few pics;

I will replace all the bits such as the bearings, top bush and pin etc. I can see why it was leaking as the inner lip of the ball seal was perished all the way round, and folded in on itself to the right of the picture. I can't see any issues with the ball at all, which may be down to it's past service in desert countries.
Given how stubborn and awkward the bush seems I think I'll get my local garage to swap it and the races over, knowing my luck I'd end up breaking something.

The top bush should come out with a bit of hammering from below using a suitable drift. If you have an old 1/2 socket extension that is long enough it will be ideal.

Yup, they usually come out readily enough. After all, it's all oily and greasy in there so it won't have rusted in. I find it's much better to work at my own pace rather than have to take time out to take things to a garage and pick them up again later. How are the ball joints? Could it be worth fitting new ones while everything's apart?

Hope you don't drop anything down that drain!

I'll give it a go at the weekend. May invest in some proper drifts. Also nervous about doing the races but I've heard the trick of putting them in the freezer overnight and warming up the hub

Other than the outer surface ball joints seemed fine and popped out very easily with the splitter. I'll give em a good look over before putting it all back together.

All this work and I have a whole other side to do yet, at least it should go quicker.

Lol, don't jynx me with the drain! Haven't lost anything yet but I can open it if I need to.

In my experience of doing this on both a Defender and a Series 2, the swivel bearings (both tapered roller and friction bush) come out and go in pretty easily. They're tight enough to hold them steady, but if you can do a wheel bearing you can do these without too much trouble. They need fairly decisive hammer blows, but they move. I go round and give them a tap at 12 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 3 o'clock, which keeps them moving and allows you to correct things if they seem to be getting skewed and liable to jam.

progress today, between other tasks. Bottom bearing and top pin and bush renewed with no issues. Preload set as best i can, i was a bit uncertain but its as good as i can get it.

Also have the bearing races in the hub ready for my next stint. Can anyone confirm which way the rear hub seal goes, I think it should be facing the bearing with the recess & metal spring face inboard so it keeps the grease in the bearings?

Nearly there then a whole other side to do.

Did the bearings and hub today. Tightened first hub nut up, span hub, slacked off and set to 0.1mm as per manual. This took a while as the lock nut kept tightening it. After reassembly I poppet the wheel on and it doesn't feel right. A low rumble and I can feel it rocking a tad. I'm thinking of redoing the inner hub nut hand tight now to remove any play, does this sound like a good idea?

Took hub off other side and the grease is still golden so must have been redone not long before being cast. Inner nut on this was quite tight and the stub axle is even worse than the first side.