Swivel Joint Clunk

Hi All!
I have just returned from a a five week secondment on the inner Hebridean island of Islay. On our drive home I started to notice a single clunk when steering from near lock to lock.
I think I have pinned this down to the near side Swivel Joint.
The seals look shot, with a lot of weeping.

What do I need to look for to determine what to replace:
- Rebuild kit with bearings and seals?
- Rebuild kit with swivel housing and above ?
- Rebuild kit with swivel housing and ball?

I would like to do both sides and CVs while
I’m at it.

What’s the job like?

Thanks everyone

MungoPark said:

Hi All!
I have just returned from a a five week secondment on the inner Hebridean island of Islay. On our drive home I started to notice a single clunk when steering from near lock to lock.
I think I have pinned this down to the near side Swivel Joint.
The seals look shot, with a lot of weeping.

What do I need to look for to determine what to replace:
- Rebuild kit with bearings and seals?
- Rebuild kit with swivel housing and above ?
- Rebuild kit with swivel housing and ball?

I would like to do both sides and CVs while
I’m at it.

What’s the job like?

Thanks everyone

View attachment 150551

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Is the ball pitted? A clunk/ping noise on full lock is often the CV joint. If the balls aren’t pitted probs no point changing them tho it’s often the cause of a failed seal.

Might as well change the wheel
Bearings whilst you’re at it as they are easy.

What sort of secondment was that Looked tough, can I go on the next one
Check out the LR Toolbox videos on Youtube for changing the pivot bearings or bushes, depending on what yours has.

I replaced everything including the cv joints but only one ball housing as it was pitted, I also replaced the
wheel bearings & used Timken bearings, more time consuming than anything else as I painted the housings
& once I had it striped that far I pulled the diff & done the diff bearings, I also replaced the drive members
mines is older than yours I'm assuming its much the same set up.
The ball ache was the axle bolts behind the swivel, someone had had a go previously & made a mess of them
lucky I had oxi/acetylene to remove the busted ones or it would have been a right "pita"

Easy enough job though

Cracking pic btw !!

Thanks guys.

Secondment was farming related, but slightly slower pace of life than I am used to so plenty of time to explore and enjoy some wild camping. Highly recommend it !

The ball seems to be in alright condition, slight pitting in places but not too bad I don't think (see pic).

But while I am there is it worth me just using this https://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/ff_part?part=14908 or is there still life left in the ball and potentially the housing too? Do they wear together or one goes before the other?

Ta

Are you using 'One-shot' grease or EP90?
Have you checked the prte-load on the swivels, and made sure that there is no top-to-bottom play on the wheels, which couold be remedied by the removal of a shimm or two?
The swivel seal can be swapped and cheated by cutting across the top of each, (leaving the spring in place) and replacing it the same way with the new one, and always assuming that the ball is still in fair condition, drain off the EP and replace it with 'One-shot' grease.
Is there any specific reason why you would want to change the top and bottom pivot bushes and bearings?

I haven't touched these since I have owned her so it's whatever grease was used from factory or previous overhaul.

I can feel some knocking from the swivel when i rock the wheel. If i can get away with removing a shim or two and putting new seals and grease in it then that would be fantastic.

When I get a moment I will strip it all down and see what's what, and order parts after that.

Sounds like something's loose in the swivel bearings. If you're messing about with them it might be a good idea to change them anyway as they can develop a notchy feeling. Mine had a notch in the straight ahead position and new ones made the handling feel a lot better. It's hard to tell whether that's just dirt on the chrome ball or pitting, but if the things that look like pits are indeed pits it's time to change it. Land Rover components are widely available and for the most part affordable so there's no point soldiering on with anything substandard!

Brown said:

Sounds like something's loose in the swivel bearings. If you're messing about with them it might be a good idea to change them anyway as they can develop a notchy feeling. Mine had a notch in the straight ahead position and new ones made the handling feel a lot better. It's hard to tell whether that's just dirt on the chrome ball or pitting, but if the things that look like pits are indeed pits it's time to change it. Land Rover components are widely available and for the most part affordable so there's no point soldiering on with anything substandard!

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Agreed, I will get it sorted next week and report back !

With CV joints, any particular brand to go for, a lot of Britpart stuff around. Is their quality as bad as made out or not?

Thanks

I see the Britpart ones can be had for around £20 and the Bearmach ones for around £30 (based on the LR Direct website) so personally I'd go for the latter.

When I dismantled my hubs and swivels the CV joints looked pretty good and had no discernible slack or roughness so I reused them. So you might want to wait until you have everything apart before committing yourself to renewing them. These days when ordering off the internet stuff comes within a day or two, so unless you're on a very tight schedule it often pays to see what you need first.

I've just replaced the swivels on mine and decided to replace the CV joints, halft shafts, drive flange, stub axles, bearings etc whilst I was at it as none of the parts were expensive. I was incredibly surprised at how easy the entire job was. The only thing that caused me any difficulty was getting the new track rod end to fit. I'd suggest inspecting your old CV joint and half shaft first so that you can make sure you order the correct parts.