Swivel ball service

[mrmurray]

Hello. First off, thanks a ton for all the info provided on this forum!

It seems my swivel balls have pitting and should be replaced (as evidenced by the significant amounts of oil leaking out of the swivel ball wiper-seals)

What other parts (besides the swivel balls and wiper-seals) should I replace while performing this service?

Also, what fluid/grease should I put into the swivel ball housings when the service is complete?

Thanks again!
Mike

[Contractor]

If I were going to the trouble of replacing the swivel balls I'd look at replacing just about everything while I was in there.

- Railco Bushings
- Oil Seals, SPH seals and since the hub will be apart too you should replace the hub oil seals as well.
- I'd look at all the bearings (Half Shaft Bearing and the SPH Bearing and race). If they are worn, replace them.......Hub Too.

I use 90W Gear oil in mine.........if you do the above you won't have any more leaks.

[o2batsea]

Railco bush. Top and bottom pins. Bottom bearing, hub seals, distance piece and hub bearings. Axle u joints. Half shaft bearing. Inner axle shaft seal. Fill with EP00 Moly grease. Our hosts sell it in pre measured tubes (One shot grease). Or use hypoid 140 oil.
Oh and order new nut lockers too.

[mrmurray]

Thank you very much for the info. It seems the bottom pins are part of the steering arms. Is this correct? If so, I might hold off on ordering those as they are spendy.

Also, do you know if there is a pro-line (or other) alternative to the Rover brand u-joint RNE640?

Fairly expensive operation to repair these swivel balls, looks like around $500 per side to do it right.

Cheers
Mike

[jac04]

^^I wouldn't bother with the axle u-joints unless they show signs of wear. Same with the hub bearings. You should also be able to use the existing steering arms/bottom pins. Don't get caught up in replacing everything just because you have it apart. Hub bearings can be done later.

Typically the retainers for the swivel ball seals are corroded, so you may want to replace those.

Nobody has mentioned the shims required for setting pre-load on the Railco bushes. You will need those. If you don't have the Green Bible (factory service manual), get one. It tells you how to do the job & set the pre-load. You will need a scale - I picked up a spring type fish scale at wally world that worked fine.

[o2batsea]

Oh yeah I forgot about the Series pins being part of the steering arm. I was thinking Range Rover (!). Anyway I would replace everything that rubs together. Seals, bearings ujoints. Might as well as long as its apart as it would suck to have to do it again for a different reason.
Do not buy cheap (pro line, britpart, allmakes, etc) parts if you can avoid them. There is a list of alternative parts on the LR FAQ that correspond to the actual spicer, neapco, timken SKF etc bearings and stuff, if you don't buy the genuine from our hosts.

[stomper]

Wow! Can you $hit on the host of this page a little more? I don't think it is very appropriate to suggest that Pro-line parts are cheap while on the forum of the sellers of such parts. Granted, the hosts don't necessarily monitor these pages and chime in very frequently, but have a little class.

[I Leak Oil]

Uh oh.....

Anyway, in theory you don't have to replace much of anything besides your goal of the replacing the ball and seals. If all the other parts are in good shape you can reuse them if you have the tools to get them all apart. Some items make sense to replace like the top pin and bushing, perhaps the bottom bearing and inner axle bearing. New hub seal.

As was mentioned, don't get too caught up in replacing everything you touch just because. If money is concern then consider reusing what you already have.

[PavementEnds]

You can even repair the pitting in the ball swivels if you like. Fill the grooves and pits with epoxy, sand smooth, and paint. I did this for the swivel balls from my 1951 Series I and used POR-15 paint and a final clear spray coat (see attached pics). But new seals are a must. And, as the others have said, since you are in there, check the other parts to see if anything else needs to be replaced. If the pitting is not too bad, TeriAnn tells how to add a new seal without taking the entire assembly apart by making a single cut and twisting the seal around the axle for the install and then fitting the seal so the cut sits at the top. I followed this procedure for my 1973 Series III and it has worked great for the past nearly 4 years. Good luck! 8965

[niceguystrom]

I'm a high school shop teacher whose got his kids working on just this approach--replace everything. Just when I thought we had it all taken apart ...

When replacing the bearing for the half shaft how do you remove the bearing inner race? If I'm looking at the Haines manual I see "distance piece for bearing" and a "retaining collar for bearing". My current method is to go after it with PB Blaster and use a cold chisel on the "distance bearing" since it is flanged. I've inserted a detailed picture of what I'm talking about, (along with a 'proud parent' picture of all the parts the kids have spread across the shop).

Thanks,
Steve


If I were going to the trouble of replacing the swivel balls I'd look at replacing just about everything while I was in there.

- Railco Bushings
- Oil Seals, SPH seals and since the hub will be apart too you should replace the hub oil seals as well.
- I'd look at all the bearings (Half Shaft Bearing and the SPH Bearing and race). If they are worn, replace them.......Hub Too.

I use 90W Gear oil in mine.........if you do the above you won't have any more leaks.
90339034

[I Leak Oil]

It should come off pretty easily if you can get a bearing seperator behind the shoulder of the distance piece and use a press or you're prefered method of removal. The retaining collar and distance piece get reused (i.e. don't come with the new bearing) so I wouldn't suggest using the cold chisel method unless you want to replace them. Use of heat has been known to help as well.

[Contractor]

It should come off pretty easily if you can get a bearing seperator behind the shoulder of the distance piece and use a press or you're prefered method of removal. The retaining collar and distance piece get reused (i.e. don't come with the new bearing) so I wouldn't suggest using the cold chisel method unless you want to replace them. Use of heat has been known to help as well.

Good advice here.

I took mine over to my local Napa and they have a full blown machine shop. They used a press to remove them and it cost me like $10 bucks or something.

Mine were in bad shape so I ended up replacing them and I tried to re-install myself. I put both pieces in the freezer for a couple of days and then heated the half shaft with a torch.......after it's nice and hot you can try and drop them on and use a wooden dowel or something if you need to seat them further. I could not make this work and ended up taking it back to Napa for another $10 bucks where they used a press and were done in a matter of minutes (other folks have obviously been successful with the hot/cold method)

Anyway, good luck.......what a cool shop project!

[I Leak Oil]

Ah ha! You needed to heat the retainer et al to expand them and freeze the shaft to shrink it! And then work really quickly!

[niceguystrom]

I think the machine shop will have to be the way to go. I've tried the bearing separator without luck. I also dropped into East Coast Rovers just down the road and got the advice to heat it up and ... "it should come off pretty easily". Well, it's not with oxy-acetylene, so before I do some damage I'll check in with a professional.

And yes, it's a great experience for my kids, many of whom have never had grease under their nails.

Steve



they have a full blown machine shop. They used a press to remove them and it cost me like $10 bucks or something.

Anyway, good luck.......what a cool shop project!

[Les Parker]

One way is to die grind the retainer off. Looking at the surface of the bearing, replacing it would be advisable.
We offer this kit :-

http://www.roversnorth.com/Products.aspx?gsearch=plk029

This works for 1 side and covers just about all for the upper swivel pin.

[1971Series88]

If this is a first time for you I definitely recommend these videos...here is part 1 removal...part 2 for reinstall will come up.

They are awesome.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s2id4_VcJ54