swivel seal replacement information please

Some information please, I have a leaking offside swivel seal it is not too bad at the mo but I want to sort it PDQ.
I have made several checks for free play but I am shure none is present so am going to go with seal replacement only. Am I correct in my observation of the task please tell me if its not this simple:-
1. Jack and secure the vehicle
2. Remove road wheel
3. Drain swivel oil
4. free the track rod
5. remove brake calliper (keep pipe attached to negate bleeding the system) put to one side
6. remove seven bi-hex bolts securing hub unit to axle casing
7. withdraw hub unit including half shaft
8. clean area around seal remove six retaining bolts
9. remove seal
10. clean area around seal
11. replace with new:- seal, gasket and retaining plate
12. clean hub and axle mating faces
13. replace axle gasket and seven bi-hex bolts to required torque
14. re-attach track rod
15. refill swivel housing with oil or one shot grease
16. refit road wheel
17. check diff oil level top up as required

might be worth buying a new seal retainer but theres no gasket,.13 you wont get a torque wrench in there hook 2 spanners together etc to nip up, and check swivel preload before bolting seall up ,but pretty good list, 1/2bihe socket is good for caliper bolts as is 14mm for chrome ball bolts

James
Thank you, thought there may be a gasket @13.
what should I use the hypoid oil or one shot believe one shot is a Land Rover part so is it an upgrade or just a means to stop the seal leaking?

Also just how much time should I allocate to doing the job?

either oil or one shot,one shot was only used to reduce service costs not for any upgrade reason but does obviously leak less than oil 3hrs ish

jamesmartin said:

either oil or one shot,one shot was only used to reduce service costs not for any upgrade reason but does obviously leak less than oil 3hrs ish

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Great; 3 hours should be able to dodge the rain then, I will stick with the oil.
Thank you again James

Have you turned the wheel lock to lock to make sure there is no corrosion / pitting on the swivel bowl (where the seals will run). May save a new seal getting chewed up and leaking prematurely - but may mean a swivel change too?

jamesmartin said:

you wont get a torque wrench in there

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I've got one of these FRDHM13, Torque Adaptor, Metric, 13 mm, 12-Point not tried yet to see if it will fit or if there are any access constraints but it may work. If using one of these adaptors you need to calculate a new required torque value due to the additional leverage. may have a look at the weekend (weather permitting) and report back. I know most people wont be too worried about getting the torque correct as long as its tight but I've been trained / worked in an aircraft engineering environment 35 years so a bit institutionalised in me!

yes that should fit ,but tricky to have in same position to tw so torque remains the same

I'll have an experiment to see how things go

Kwakerman said:

Have you turned the wheel lock to lock to make sure there is no corrosion / pitting on the swivel bowl (where the seals will run). May save a new seal getting chewed up and leaking prematurely - but may mean a swivel change too?

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Thank you kwakerman, an update.
I have cleaned and degreased the area around and the joint to have a good look. Both joints are of the Teflon coated type and there is no visible corrosion or damage to the surface of the swivel joints. What I did manage to observe is the joint which is seeping oil, there is damage to the swivel seal retaining plate and one of the retaining plate bolts. It certainly looks like it has taken a blow from something and distorted the plate and this is pulling the seal into an odd shape just in this area causing the oil to seep out. I have now treble checked the joints and wheel bearings for play and no play is present this has now given be the confidence to change only the seal, seal gasket, seal retaining plate along with new bolts and washers. I have also checked access to all the bolts which are needed to be removed with the tools I have and the oil filler plug for the swivel is able to be removed. I wouldn't want to take it all out drained the oil refit and then find I am not able to fill with oil. It will give a final update when I have been able to do the job this will be next week time permitting.

Don't forget to have some new split pins to hand for the steering / drag link ball joint retaining nuts (assuming they are castellated ones rather than nylock). Its always trivial things like that which catch you out on a Sunday when all the shops are shut.

Kwakerman said:

Don't forget to have some new split pins to hand for the steering / drag link ball joint retaining nuts (assuming they are castellated ones rather than nylock). Its always trivial things like that which catch you out on a Sunday when all the shops are shut.

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Good point Kwakerman they are the castellated type. It is always the odd little thing that stop a job from being completed. "NOTE TO ME" Add split pins to the list of parts to be collected.

Swivel seal replacement update.
I have ordered all the parts including grease, advised by Land Rover dealer service technician to use the grease as they find adds to life of the joints not just stops leaking.
Total cost of parts all genuine Land Rover is £43.31 inc VAT.

ps also included is a new lock stop bracket as the one fitted is damaged.

also... before you start make sure you can get the swivel filler out

and I don't think you will do it with out undoing a break line

Those caliper bolts can be a right PITA to remove; see if you can loosen them first ( I stand to be corrected but I'm sure new - I didn't ! - calliper mounting bolts are recommended ) Don't put copperslip on them, just a smidges of thread lock.

SteNova said:

also... before you start make sure you can get the swivel filler out

and I don't think you will do it with out undoing a break line

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Yes last thing I need is not able to refill that will make my day.

wirral_series2a said:

Those caliper bolts can be a right PITA to remove; see if you can loosen them first ( I stand to be corrected but I'm sure new - I didn't ! - calliper mounting bolts are recommended ) Don't put copperslip on them, just a smidges of thread lock.

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OK thank you for that I will get new calliper bolts. better to be safe than sorry especially on safety critical parts. Looked on line cheapest £0.83p each,most expensive £36.40 pack of five.

Also a deep 13mm 12point impact socket

I set to work this morning task to change the nearside swivel seal along with the gasket and retaining plate. I had previously established the swivel housing was in good condition no rust or scoring, the reason for the change was a leak caused by damage to the seal. One of the retaining plate bolts and the retaining plate, possibly a rock had struck them.
The parts I had were:-
1. Swivel seal,
2. retaining plate gasket,
3. retaining plate,
4. new bolts for the retaining plate,
5. new bolts for the calliper,
6. sealing compound for swivel to axle
7. one shot swivel grease
8. Loctite to stop the bolts vibrating loose
All the parts were genuine Land Rover with a total cost £43.31.
Using advice from this thread my operating procedure was as the original list (plenty of cleaning before dismantling and before reassembly) and the time taken was 2 hours and 20 min, all went as planned with no problems (as is usual). I am chuffed all is now well and should have no leaking swivel I am a happy bunny. Thank you all who gave advice.
Ps also purchased new Alpine window seals and infill rubber see new thread.