To Grease, or not to Grease???

[yorker]

Thanks Gene. Either of your trucks have drive flanges with oil plugs?

So evidently the changeover happened sometime between '64 & '68.

Got a jpeg of one?

FWIW:

59/60 catalogue lists both types and the one with a filler as an option.
Without filler 217378
With 276033 this is member only no level plug.

http://www.series2club.co.uk/forum/f...;topic=51634.0


I'm pretty sure Rover's instructions for greasing the bearings predate the 1980 hubs. They were far less worried about combining lubricants in the old days than people are now. Back then they didn't have BITOG to tell them better.

http://www.landroveraddict.com/forums/thread.cfm?threadID=3955

[ignotus]

My 1971 Series 3 workshop manual(grey binder) has no mention of oiling hubs. Personally I haven't oiled for years prefering the grease method.

[parrie]

I hear ya Mark...never did I think this would stir such a debate! After some more pondering I think I will go both ways...oil in the rear and since I will be converting to free-wheeling hubs w/o a fill plug, grease in the front.

[SafeAirOne]

Holy cow! 4 pages on this topic?

I'm confident that it if you do it EITHER way, your wheel bearings will last for decades--just pick a way and do it. This doesn't have to turn into another one of those "best way to double-clutch" threads...

[o2batsea]

Back in my leaf sprung days, I had these type flanges on the 109. I would always fill them with 140wt using a syringe. Two syringes full shot in there. Never greased a hub to my recollection.
Oh and lose the free wheel hubs. Those are for the Jeep folks. In a Rover you need not soil your Wellingtons.

[parrie]

I have to say that I'm really not sure which way to go here. Teriann, do you grease both front & rear hubs? Here's a pic w/ the fill plug.

[jac04]

What factory change happened to make not oiling the hubs current practice?

The factory change was a new design with oil seals fittied to the stub axles to keep the oil in the SPH and out of the wheel bearings. According to the parts list, this change was made in October 1980.

I think the real question is; When were the service manuals revised to specify greasing the bearings instead of adding oil to the hubs?

[ignotus]

grease?

Thanks Gene. Either of your trucks have drive flanges with oil plugs?

So evidently the changeover happened sometime between '64 & '68.

Got a jpeg of one?

TeriAnn, Couldn't find one in my current inventory but I do have both styles I can take pics of.

I know that you wish to enhance your website with info and pics but for me the big questions are; What factory change happened to make not oiling the hubs current practice? If I have the hub(or model year) with the oil fitting do I still need to oil them, or can I get away with grease? Was/is there a change in wheel bearings and are all new ones supplied the "grease" kind?
From my experiences if you pack around a bearing with grease it will push a track thru the grease and the excess grease is a waste, unless it gets hot enough to melt the grease into the bearing......

"Inquiring minds want to know!"

gene

[jac04]

I have a set of Fairey lock-out hubs I plan to install but the drive flange has no oil fill!!! I suppose a bit more research on converting to grease is warranted...a slippery topic indeed

If you want to go the oil route, then check to see if one of the drive flange mounting holes goes all the way through. Not sure if they all do.

[parrie]

Well it looks like I missed quite a conversation over the week-end! Thanks for all the input! Finished the tear down on both front & rear...both front & rear original flanges have the oil fill hole. As I mentioned before she's an early IIa and sports some II parts, not sure if these would be left-over II parts utililzed or even if they are original to the vehicle? Now here's the next quandry...I have a set of Fairey lock-out hubs I plan to install but the drive flange has no oil fill!!! I suppose a bit more research on converting to grease is warranted...a slippery topic indeed

[jac04]

In my experiance the change came when the drive flange changed from the individual lugs for the mounting holes to the solid round flange style drive.

All the drive flanges that I've seen with the fill plugs have been solid round flange design.

[TeriAnn]

Thanks Gene. Either of your trucks have drive flanges with oil plugs?

So evidently the changeover happened sometime between '64 & '68.

Got a jpeg of one?

[ignotus]

My white parts book for S2/S2a(dated July 1964) shows the drive flange for both front and rear to be the same part # 512887 along with joint washer #232038 and oil filler plug #276039. In my experiance the change came when the drive flange changed from the individual lugs for the mounting holes to the solid round flange style drive. As JAC says one of the drive flange bolt holes (the one between the wheel studs) goes thru the hub. Put it at the top and add oil! Simples! Then watch it all drip out. . . . .

My light green workshop manual for S2/S2a dated Dec 1958 in section E, page E-2, operation E-10, paragraph 6, "Fill the hub with one-third of a pint (0,190 litres) of oil, through the oil filler plug ( shouldn't it say oil filler plug hole?) in the driving member, using a dispenser with a pipe extension, so that the oil is discharged adjacent to the the outer bearing. Replace the filler plug and joint washer." this is the rear axle section.

A quick perusal of the front axle section shows no mention of oiling the hub.

PS, it does mention greasing the wheel bearing prior to installation, but "don't disturb the oil on the bearings".

[jac04]

Could this be a Series I thing?

It definitely applies to II & IIA vehicles, since Publication No. AKM8159 is the II / IIA Repair Operation Manual. I think (again, not sure) some early III vehicles may have had oiled hubs. I checked out my brother-in-law's SIII yesterday and the drive flanges had oil fill holes, but there is no way to tell if they are original to the vehicle.

Any dates as to when the hubs were filled with oil?
...
Now we just need to figure out what years had a drive flange with a hole for oil.

I've never seen production dates listed. It may be possible to trace the history of the drive flange with the fill hole by using the old parts listings, but that would be a real PITA (and I'm not sure how you would verify the correct p/n in the first place). The drive flange won't tell the whole history since the hub could also be filled using the one bolt hole that goes all the way thru.

[stomper]

I'm not looking to stir the pot, but my 1966 IIa has the oil fill holes Jac speaks of. There is a machined hole with an button head Allen screw between 2 of the hub bolts. I've seen a ton of hubs set up with this full hole.