Front Axle Swivel Ball lubricating

[dwmcompton]

Is there a means for lubricating the swivel balls with grease other than taking the entire housing apart? My '73 Series III '88' arrived with some major gunk/dirt, which I have been able to clean-off pretty well, but now need to reapply grease. Does that simply happen on the surface of the portion of the swivel ball that I can see, or is there a port for applying this grease? Thanks!

[parrie]

The swivel balls each have a fill plug and drain plug...fill until fluid starts to come out fill plug opening. Preferred fluid is the "one shot" swivel ball lube or straight 90wt EP gear lube. The exterior of the swivel ball does not get any grease. If drain plugs are removed inspect the copper crush washer & renew if damaged. Do yourself a favor and pick up a "Green Bible"...almost every question, of which you will have many, can be answered. Good Luck!

[TeriAnn]

The swivel balls each have a fill plug and drain plug...fill until fluid starts to come out fill plug opening. Preferred fluid is the "one shot" swivel ball lube or straight 90wt EP gear lube. The exterior of the swivel ball does not get any grease. If drain plugs are removed inspect the copper crush washer & renew if damaged. Do yourself a favor and pick up a "Green Bible"...almost every question, of which you will have many, can be answered. Good Luck!

Almost a very good answer. The only exception I would take is that the U-joints inside the swivel housings have a narrower access to the inside bearings than constant velocity joints in a coiler vehicle. The one shot hub grease was designed for use in hubs with coiler constant velocity joints. The grease doesn't leak through the seal as well and the company got fewer warranty claims from new owners upset because their new Land Rover leaked oil. The Series hubs call for gear oil which can freely flow into the U joints. It leaks easier but lubricates U joints better. Of course if you do not use your truck as a daily driver and commute vehicle it probably doesn't matter all that much which you use.

A good use for coiler one shot grease is the Land Rover's steering box. The box uses loose bearings with no access issues and has a shim pack at the bottom that can slowly weep oil.

About manuals:
The owner's manual goes through all the normal tuneup and maintenance procedures, explaining in a way that people who are not professional can understand how to follow the steps. It explains things the workshop manual doesn't.

The factory workshop manual was written to be used by the trained professional mechanic. The manuals are must have items if you will be performing more than basic tuneups and oil change.

And of course if you really like manuals there is the parts manual and the optional parts manual.

[lumpydog]

A good use for coiler one shot grease is the Land Rover's steering box. The box uses loose bearings with no access issues and has a shim pack at the bottom that can slowly weep oil.

^^^^^Yup. Did this. I drained my steering box and swapped in one shot. It was interesting - the residual EP90 leaked out until it was gone. With only one-shot left, no more steering box leak.

[parrie]

Very interesting Teriann...I did not know that the one shot grease was designed for the coiler CV joints. Matter of fact when I purchased my swivel ball rebuild kits for my '61 Dormie our host recommended the one-shot grease. Learn something new everyday I guess...thanks for setting me straight!

[cnfowler]

The one shot grease solved the problem of swivel ball leaks on the coilers. Unfortunately, people starting thinking "if it keeps the swivel balls from leaking, I can use it dang near anywhere that calls for EP90 and is leaking." That's when people starting improperly recommending it for ALL swivel balls. Stick with what the factory recommends and everything will be A-ok.


Colin