Leaking Swivel hub repair.

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My base plate had some corrosion on it so I first cleaned that up.

 

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After that I packed the new bearing with grease. Put the base plate vertical in the vice and pressed the new bearing home by closing the vice. Using a suitable socket to protect the bearing.

 

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Having changed the bearing itself it is also worthwhile to check the bearing cup on the axle. The upper bearing cup was in good shape.

 

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But as expected the bottom bearing cup was in a bad condition.

 

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This meant that the bearing cup also had to be replaced. Another surprisingly 'easy' job. On the inside of the trunnion socket there is a kingpin seal, this is a sort of grease seal. A metal cover which stops the grease leaking into the kingpin bearing. Unfortunately it is a right pain to get these out in one piece. However some other models don't even have these seals so it is not the end of the world if it doesn't come out nicely.

Mine didn't want to come out, so it had to go. Once this seal is removed you got access to the lower bearing cup which could easily be knocked out with my ball joint seperator.

Use a bit of grease on the new bearing cup and tap it into place. This is the new bearing cup installed.

 

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When the new bearings are installed it is a case of packing the knuckle flange and the trunnion socket with a suitable grease. Then you start slowly installing everything as you have taken it off.

Once the knuckle flange is back over the trunnion socket and the kingpin bearings are back in place you need to check the resistance required to move the knuckle flange. This should be between 0.5 and 1.5kg of force required. If it is not up to this value then shims need to be removed or added.

As I haven't got the required equipment to measure this I estimated it. Seems to be noving fine. My logic is that if the car can be fixed in Africa in the bush with basic tools then it can be done in the UK with basic tools. Probably that not everybody agrees but that is a personal choice.

 

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Once the force required has been adjusted it is time to install the grease and scraper seal on the back of the knuckle flange. These need to be fitted over the trunnion socket before installing the knuckle flange. Unless you want to cut the seal which is also an allowable way of doing it by Nissan.

The seals are held in place by a metal retaining ring which is bolted to the back of the knuckle flange. It consists of two metal plates which overlap at the top and bottom. Once installed the painted surface (red dot) at the top should be visible. I noticed that the retaining ring on my off side knuckle flange was originally from the near side. As a result the painted surface was not visible. This also meant that the retaining ring wasn't flush on the back of the knuckle flange. As I didn't want to install it in this way I had to change the retaining ring. I flattened the bit with the painted surface on it and made a raised area on the other piece of metal. Now the ring sits nice and flush.

 

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This is the retaining ring and seals installed.

 

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Once the retaining ring has been installed, ou can connect the tie-rod again. Followed by the knuckle spindle and the baffle plate.

The rest is for tomorrow as I first need to fabricate a tool to tighten the wheel bearing lock nut.

One important item I haven't mentioned yet is the diff oil. Nissan recommends that you drain the diff oil completely. However it really depends on why you are doing this job. If the drive shaft has broken and metal fragments are expected in the diff oil then you will have to drain the oil. If you are doing this job like me because of a leak then draining the diff oil is not required. If you jack the car up on the side that you are working on then all the diff oil should stay in place as your 'working' end is higher then the other side. Just make sure that you check the diff oil level when finished and top up if required.

 

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Fabricated a wheel bearing lock nut tool out of some tubular steel and some coach bolts.

 

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In progress

 

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It turned out that the coaching bolts were too long and after a little modification it worked fine.

 

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The wheel bearing lock nut is then secured with two tiny screws.

 

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We are nearly coming to the end. After fitting the wheel bearing lock nut, you will have to refit the circlip and shims, if required.

 

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The free wheeling hub is installed next.

 

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After the free wheeling hub is installed, the tyre needs to be installed ad don't forget to change the free wheeling hub back from LOCK to AUTO.

I have completed this repair just before Christmas and now a good 200 miles later it is still dry.

The job can be easily done by a home mechanic as long as you take your time. A seal puller and and bearing instalation tool are handy but not a must.

After completing this repair I also gave the car a service, replacing the oil filter, fuel filter, air filter, auxillary belts, rear brake discs & pads, gear box oil and rear diff oil.

Unfortunately when changing the near side rear brake disc I noticed a leak on the drive shaft. I pulled the drive shaft apart and changed the inner oil seal which seems to have stoped the leak for now.

 

[makeitfit]

Awesome write up , cheers for that :thumbs
My axle has sat in my garage waiting for me to pull my finger out for a year now
I promise to do it this year, especially now I've seen the pics :clap

 

[Davey Boy]

Thanks for the pics.
I did this on mine with the seal leaking oil into the hub.
Mine cleaned up really well and the scrapers are surprisingly good at keeping the spheres clean.
I used these guys when I had my Pajero, and have used them for some of my Patrol bits.
Complete swivel hub rebuild kit both sides including driveshaft seal £110.00

www.ksinternational.com
Hope this helps!