Prop-shaft bearings

hay good people I will start looking at old threads after posting this but if anyone decides to save me the time and point me in the right direction then great.

So the k series 1.8 is going great ! It’s an island car so no mot required. However I am slowly knocking of the jobs and this forum has been fantastic.

Recently I have been trying to track down a knocking noice and on another thread I thought it was the shocks but while waiting for the ferry the other day I was grovelling under the car as one does poking and prodding bits of Freelander hardware in the hope of finding something that needed attention.....

I think I may have found the knocking noise..... both rubber prop shaft bearings look to be shot, so I am trigger happy to order some new ones and wanted to get people views on.

1. Is this as easy a job as it looks ?
2. Do I go aftermarket or OEM parts on this

Remember that this car only drives at a max speed of 20 mph and only for two miles at a time......

Thanks for any help

Col

Just read @Hippo post on this subject, great post and hopefully will be my guide.

CPD1973 said:

1. Is this as easy a job as it looks ?
2. Do I go aftermarket or OEM parts on this

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It's a simple enough job by all accounts. Nuts and bolts stuff. Pressing off the old bearings and fitting the new ones is the hardest bit if you're not equipped with a hydraulic press. Mancunian engineering method is possible (hammer).
You can cut/smash the old bearings down to the race and cut them free if you've a steady hand. Also, separating the VCU from the universal joint can be a ballache if you're impatient. Heat required potentially.

Get good bearings like FAG. Forget aftermarket. Bell Engineering have good feedback from folks on the forum and can supply quality parts.

Great stuff, I am pretty handy and do all my own work on the car so it’s sounds like something I will do, will track down the parts in the next few weeks when I get some penny’s together.... it’s a great wee car that’s going strong after six years of use on some pretty dire potholed roads....... if I can keep it going without spending more than £400 a year on it then I am happy. It’s not got any serious rust and this year I gave it a really good clean underneath and a serious wax oil. Will report back when the work is done. Col

Are you sure the prop bearings are shot? They normally rumble/hum. Remember they are slung in a rubber diaphragm which can resemble bearing play. If you thump the prop with your fist near the bearing and it knocks, they’re shot.

General knocking is often the drop links.

Also, I’ve had two prop bearings from Bell fail prematurely, so perhaps their supplier has changed. Otherwise they are very good. But go with GKN just to be sure, or you’ll be repeating the job in a year’s time.

If it is the prop bearings, remove the entire prop/VCU/prop assembly and undo the bolts holding the props to the VCU. Once the props are off, cut round the bearing rubber diaphragms with a lubricated stanley knife. Note position of shaped steel ‘flingers’ either side of bearings. Use a grinder and hammer to slit/shatter the parts of the old bearings away. Use a suitable long socket and hammer to knock the new bearings and flingers into place.

@guineafowl21

guineafowl21 said:

Are you sure the prop bearings are shot?

Click to expand...

I will crawl under and have another look, the car has not got many miles on the clock 52k, due to the roads being so ****e you can’t drive more than 15-20mph and never get out of third gear.... second as often as not, so it’s impossible to hear the normal running noise of the car as associated when driving on tarmac. I will do the thump test! And try and get a photo as when I looked at it it seems to be sitting really low in one of the rubber diaphragms and if I remember correctly there was a degree of movement that was alarming...... however I definitely will double check as I don’t want to be chucking cash at this if it’s not necessary as I would prefer to put that money into new brakes at some point. Really appreciate the comments from you and @weemac

I believe GKN use FAG support bearings - ie they are one in the same.

Yes, remove props/VCU together. Then separate props from VCU - this is a great vid for how to do it....



Note, you may need to use a lot of aggression with the chisel (see the shape of the chissel they use for the job!).

Then you can remove the support bearings. The way I've done it is also with a chisel - 'simply' hitting the things off - takes time and aggression! The angle grinder method does sound quicker, both methods sound like they have potential to damage the VCU shafts.

Great video @GrumpyGel makes it super clear what’s required at that stage, thanks.