fluid leak from swivel joint

mreyeball · Jul 4, 2012

97 300 tdi
have just noticed a large leak of fluid under passenger side front wheel.
its stopped now but has dropped maybe a foot square patch on the ground.
been under and looked and leak is coming from the swivel pin housing.
been advised to drain the oil and refill with one shot grease.
does that sound right?
thanks

robint · Jul 4, 2012

if its leaking that bad , the swivel seal has perished , check the swivel itself for scoring and loss of the chrome , my old 300 same year didnt have a drain plug same year as yours could be need to replace the whole swivel

mreyeball · Jul 4, 2012

had a quick look not too sure what i was looking at till i got my haynes manual out!! chrome didnt look to bad but i'll give it a better look over now. anything in particular i should look for.
thanks

robint · Jul 4, 2012

give it a dam good wipe off with a rag take it for a drive and if the seal is leaking there should be a drip on the bottom of the swivel

mreyeball · Jul 4, 2012

there already is a drip on the bottom of the swivel without even cleaning it!!
so does this mean new seal or can i just get some one shot grease?

JonnyP · Jul 4, 2012

I tried one shot grease in mine, but its still leaking.. I am not looking forward to replacing the seals..

robint · Jul 4, 2012

mreyeball said:
there already is a drip on the bottom of the swivel without even cleaning it!!
so does this mean new seal or can i just get some one shot grease?

have you checked you have a drain plug ??
before putting one shot in you need to drain the swivels or the new grease will be mixed with the oil in there , i would try that first ..... but as stated above if the seals are gone it will eventually seep out

simonmc73 · Jul 4, 2012

Got the same job to do on mine, got to replace one swivel ball and just the seals on other side. doing to bearings at the same time and give the brakes a good looking over.. Good luck..

Simon

mreyeball · Jul 4, 2012

its the bottom swivel pin bearing

jamesmartin · Jul 4, 2012

mreyeball said:
its the bottom swivel pin bearing

are you sure, top and bottom pin work as a pair jacked up any play will show in bottom pin with wieght on wheel it will seem in top ,shims can be removed from under top pin to adjust ,if fitting new bearings bottom pin doesnt need to be removed just top ,bottom bearing can easily be replaced with pin still secured and housing off ,

mreyeball · Jul 4, 2012

it has about 2'' play when jacked up. i am no mechanic so what would i pay roughly in a garage. gutted as my money for billing will go on fixing this

jamesmartin · Jul 4, 2012

2 inches your lucky wheel still on £200 possibly ,cant you manage it yourself ?

mreyeball · Jul 4, 2012

no, ok with my hands but not on something like that.
off to the garage via the rac tomorrow!!!

Si AJ · Sep 10, 2012

Hi All, am about to do that this week as part of the MOT work on Florence (disco1). Any advise welcome

Paulmitchell1984 · Sep 11, 2012

iv just done my CV joint and found i had no oil left in mine, ealyier discos didnt have a drain plug there fore grease was used, later discos had drain plugs so oil was used, when checking globe, it should be perfectly smooth, any rust or chrome peel will allow it to leak.

can take a while to do but its worth it and one less leak on the drive lol

fluid leak from swivel joint

mreyeball

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robint

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mreyeball

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robint

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mreyeball

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JonnyP

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robint

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simonmc73

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mreyeball

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mreyeball

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Si AJ

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