Defender TD5 Leak ball/swivel front axle

Dear All
Will appreciate a lot if somebody can help me and tell if the leak in picture is normal ? If more pictures are needed, I can provide.
Many Thanks. Julien

is there any play in the swivel,since ball surface looks smooth enough

jamesmartin said:

is there any play in the swivel,since ball surface looks smooth enough

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Evening James,
Thanks for your speedy reply. How can I Check if there is a play ? Merci

Julien_Paris said:

Evening James,
Thanks for your speedy reply. How can I Check if there is a play ? Merci

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jack the wheel up a hand on top of tyre one underneath and feel for play, if you get someone to look they will see the swivel housing moving in relation to the ball, as if there is play it could be the swivel but also wheel bearing so you need to see exactly which, if theres no play, could be axle breather or just a poor seal that needs replacing, but it would appear to be an early top swivel bush axle so play would seem very likely

When you check for play on the wheel, if you find movement when you rock the top and bottom of the wheel, get an assistant to apply the foot brake. If the play stops when the brake is applied, it is wheel bearings, if it is still there then it is the swivel pins.
Either way, it is a bad thing, especially with oil so close to the brake disc.

Easy job to put right. You can refit new seals without removing the whole lot but may as well refit both sides with new bearings etc..

Hi All

Garage confirmed that swivel and bearings are OK. Only the ball joints to replace. They are not expansive 105 € but aking for 3hours and a half labour.
To those how repaired by themselves or sent to garage. Do you think that 3.5h labour for one joint ball is exagerated ?

Your feedback is more than welcome.

Merci !

It sounds a little excessive, but they are probably allowing for seized bolts or unseen issues. They may not be used to doing them and unfamiliar jobs always take a lot longer. As James said above the chrome balls look ok in the picture. I’d get under with kitchen paper and clean all of the oil off so that you can see better. You’ll discover the rubber seal under the grease and dirt too. Clean the seal too and where the seal touches the chrome ball. Now you will be able to see if the chrome ball is damaged, the seal is damaged or both. If they are ok, then I would suspect swivel bush/bearing which is a far cheaper part and half the time to replace.
To clean and see all of the possible chrome ball surface you will need to turn the steering fully one way and then the other way.

Julien_Paris said:

Hi All

Garage confirmed that swivel and bearings are OK. Only the ball joints to replace. They are not expansive 105 € but aking for 3hours and a half labour.
To those how repaired by themselves or sent to garage. Do you think that 3.5h labour for one joint ball is exagerated ?

Your feedback is more than welcome.

Merci !

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I would agree with the above that the ball looks ok and in good condition, in which case you do not need the 105£ ball kit you just need the much cheaper seal kit (e.g. link, but get OEM rather than aftermarket). 3.5 hours to do the job sounds an ok estimate if it has not been done recently and the condition is unknown. But it is an easy spanner only job to do yourself, in which case it will probable take all day the first time you do it, but you could also do the wheel bearings at the same time while it is all apart. there is probably a workshop guide on here somewhere freom others that have done the job.

dag019 said:

I would agree with the above that the ball looks ok and in good condition, in which case you do not need the 105£ ball kit you just need the much cheaper seal kit (e.g. link, but get OEM rather than aftermarket). 3.5 hours to do the job sounds an ok estimate if it has not been done recently and the condition is unknown. But it is an easy spanner only job to do yourself, in which case it will probable take all day the first time you do it, but you could also do the wheel bearings at the same time while it is all apart. there is probably a workshop guide on here somewhere freom others that have done the job.

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Hi Thanks for the reply. Garage confirmed that swivel, bearings and ball are OK. They have only to change the seals (cheap parts). What worries me is the 3.5 hours labour for one wheel. Do you think it’s excessive or that’s what it needs ?
Best !
Julien

dag019 said:

I would agree with the above that the ball looks ok and in good condition, in which case you do not need the 105£ ball kit you just need the much cheaper seal kit (e.g. link, but get OEM rather than aftermarket). 3.5 hours to do the job sounds an ok estimate if it has not been done recently and the condition is unknown. But it is an easy spanner only job to do yourself, in which case it will probable take all day the first time you do it, but you could also do the wheel bearings at the same time while it is all apart. there is probably a workshop guide on here somewhere freom others that have done the job.

Click to expand...

Hi dag ! Thanks for the reply. Garage confirmed that swivel, bearings and ball are OK. They have only to change the seals (cheap parts). What worries me is the 3.5 hours labour for one wheel. Do you think it’s excessive or that’s what it needs ?
Best !
Julien

Julien_Paris said:

Hi dag ! Thanks for the reply. Garage confirmed that swivel, bearings and ball are OK. They have only to change the seals (cheap parts). What worries me is the 3.5 hours labour for one wheel. Do you think it’s excessive or that’s what it needs ?
Best !
Julien

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It sounds a fair estimate to do the job properly, i.e remove wheel, remove caliper, remove hub, remove swivel housing, remove half shaft, remove ball, replace seal, refit as reverse.
To cheat and leave everything attached and just undo the swivel ball pulling the ball, housing, shaft, hub all attached together to do the seal (more difficult, awkward and heavy) then is it is far to long. so it depends which method is being used.

This is the seal that needs to be replaced. Swivel Housing Oil Seal
I think I can see where you are coming from because it does seem like a lot of time to replace such an inexpensive part, but that's how it is.
If I was doing mine I would use dag019's second description. This would mean brake caliper off and tied up out of the way, steering joints off, then removing the whole assembly off the axle by undoing the bolts that hold it on to the axle. You can just see the head of some of those bolts in your picture. These can be difficult to get off. It only takes one to be problematic to add a lot of time to the job! Once those bolts are off the whole wheel assembly and the half shaft can be removed. The seal is held in with a steel ring which is retained with about six small bolts. You can just see some of these through the grease in your picture. These come out easily. Sometimes you need to replace the steel retaining ring as they can rust quite a bit. Changing the seal at this stage is very easy. Then you have to put it all back together. This method is a lot less work and so much faster. However, even so its a lot of work! Lets say things go well and it takes the 2-21/2 hours. You are only paying for one extra hour for peace of mind. If the job hits snags then that extra hour will soon vanish and you will be getting good value for money. (Depending on the hourly rate of course)

3.5 hours seems fair to me. It’s not a tricky job to do, but will be messy and lots of cleaning to do it properly.

Salut Julien, 3.5hrs a side is correct for time/labour. I've recently stripped out and rebuilt both front axles and to complete properly it does take time. Subject to mileage you might want to replace all bearings and inner/outer seals whilst the work's being done...then you know both side are in tiptop condition.