[vantunes]

Every time I change the hypoid gear oil from the front differential, I found that the hypoid is contaminated by grease, I guess that grease is from swivel housing. My question is: That problem should be solved at once or it can be delayed for more convenient time?
Thanks,
Vantunes
230GE 85

 

[Dai]

Hypoid is probably going the other way into the hub as well. It means doing a front axle service to get to the seals. The axle shafts need to be removed to replace those seals in the ends of the housing. If it was happening in my rig I would not wait long to address the issue. I would worry that the grease might be transfering contaminants into the diff that might lead to bearing/gear wear. Hopefully others will comment. Best of luck with it.

-Dai

 

[Hipine]

It won't hurt anything. Just get a little messy as the liquified grease in the swivels wil leak past the seals more easily. That said, the job is just an afternoon's work on the axle you have where the seals are out by the knuckles. On older style axles like the ones in my 1980 the seals are in at the diff end (stupid design which MB figured out quickly) and require pulling the diff to change.

Yours however can be changed by just removing the wheel, caliper, hub, swivel housing, and drive axle. Cuople hours' work per side. No special tools required.

Don't leave it for ever, but a couple months probably won't hurt anything. You will want to check your diff fluid from time to time though. If the grease in your swivels is incompatable with the diff oil, one or both could loose their lubricating properties when mixed in quantity. If you stick your finger in the filler plug hole and what comes out looks and feels like regular 90 wt, it's okay.

-Dave G.

 

[vantunes]

Hi Dave,

You seems pretty sure that my front axle have the seals out by the knuckles. But just to be realy sure, my front axle is 730300 17 047025 is it the new one?
Thanks,
vantunes

 

[Hipine]

Absolutely the new one

The old style axle didn't make it through the '81 model year. MB didn't make too many goofs with these trucks, but that seal placement was one. They corrected it quickly.

All the best,

-Dave G.

 

[sjtymko]

Dave,

My 82 has the inner seals like yours. Built in Feb '82 I am told, first registered in March '82.

...And yes, it is a poor design!!

However, the good part of owning an early G is non-staked-in U-joints[].

ST

 

[Hipine]

Yeah, you take the good with the bad, I guess. But the darned U-joints are so expensive it's still almost worth going to custom shafts. I don't know.

Hey, I scored another one this morning. Stopped by the mechanic's to return a tool I borrowed last night and he says, "Hey, look what I found!"

It was a like-new piston style vacuum pump for the 617A. Now I can ditch that ticking time bomb of a diaphragm pump that's on it. I asked him how much and he says, "Take it." Even threw in the gasket.

Things are coming along nicely for the swap. I'm just waiting now for parts to trickle back in and I'm installing them as they do.

Like they used to say on "The A Team"....

I love it when a plan comes together.

-Dave G.

 

[Hipine]

But if you REALLY want to know...

Send your VIN. I'm not sure if the cutoffs in the EPC are listed by axle number or not, I was thinking just by vehicle serial number, but I could be wrong.

I won't have access to my EPC 'till next week, but maybe someone else can help you.

-Dave

 

[vantunes]

VIN: WDB46023817042508
I am not in a hurry. So I can wait.
Many thanks,
vantunes

 

[Dai]

My '85GD has a 730300 10 front axle and the serial number of my truck is lower than yours. I think it is safe to say your axle has outboard seals. I think the part number is 009 997 28 47 but double check it. You will need one for each side. They are quite expensive viton seals and it may be a case where a less expensive generic might work fine. I bought all MB seals for the front axle service and most of them are superior to generic seals; extra sealing lips and features not available in generic seals of the same size. The axle seal is a pretty standard looking thing other than being made of viton. Good luck,

-Dai

 

[vantunes]

Ok, thanks.
Now I don’t have the space to do it alone so I must go to a repair shop.
Will a Land Rover trained mechanic encounter any difficulty to do this job?
Should I change anything else, like CV-joint?
And finally there is some corrosion on the part that you can see on figure. What can I do about it? Is there any treatment?
Again many thanks,
Vantunes

 

[Hipine]

LR mechanic should do fine. The only thing you'll need to call out to them specifically is DO NOT add/remove/adjust shims between the swivel pin caps and the swivel housing. On LRs these require frequent adjustment and a good LR mechanic will want to adjust them. It the G it's better not to.

He'll also need a special wrench for removing the hub nuts on the G. He might not have one.

The LR mechanic will get a nice awakening working on the G axles. I've worked on lots of both and grown to appreciate the ways of the G.

As far as the surface of the swivel ball goes, gently remove any surface rust with fine emery cloth or 0000 steel wool. If you have deep pits, they can be cleaned with brake cleaner, filled with epoxy, and smoothed down with a file to match the ball surface. The heavy grease in the swivel housings means that the seal of the ball to the housing doesn't have to be all that perfect. Using a good quality waterproof grease in the swivels will keep the swivel balls covered with a protective coating that will prevent rust in the future.

Good luck!

-Dave G.

 

[ewalberg]

wheel bearing condition...

if your about due for a wheel bearing service, hipine, do you think he should go after that since it's already half opened? That ones not so easy though.... read some recent posts about the topic.

 

[Hipine]

Curse of the shipfitter

It's always a good idea to check the condition of the wheel bearings any time the wheel is off the ground, I think.

But as far as when to do them, you have a good point that, it's already apart so why not? It is a little more involved than just the seal, but the bulk of the money in either job is in the disassembly and re-assembly. So if one is hiring it done then I'd say yes, just spring for a full service with wheel bearings, swivel pin bearings, and all the seals. He'd be paying the same labor costs all over again when it was time to do the bearings where he could get them done now for just a couple extra hours' labor.

Europa will sell you a kit of parts containig all the components required to rebuild both axle ends. Last time I bought one the kit was about $500. It's probably closer to 700 by now with exchanges what they are. But I forgot where the original poster is located. If in the UK, things seem to be more readily available, and thus less expensive, over there.

Good luck!

-Dave G.

 

[vantunes]

wheel bearings

I have read the post on wheel bearings. I am a bit worried about asking a LR mechanic to do that job if the wheel bearings are ok. Is LR wheel bearings service alike?
Thanks,
Vantunes

 

[Dai]

If your truck has around 100,000 miles or more and has not had the swivel balls and bearing service it is probably time to do it. It is similar to a LR service. A lot of Land Rovers are sold in this country about the time the owner realizes they have to do this service. The Axle Nuts are unique and need a special tool. My '85 needed updated nuts to mate with the MB claw socket wrench I purchased. I would recommend 4 new nuts and 2 lockrings. Buy all MB seals with the exception of the axle seals which were around $33 US each and locally sourced seals will likely work there. All of the bearings can be sourced through bearing supply houses and are 1/2 the price of those through the MB parts system. I used Timken and NTN bearings and I think the NTNs are of outstanding quality. Look at Dave Gomes' tech articles on the Clubgwagen site and his parts list. Both are excellent and will provide a guide for the work ahead. You or your mechanic need the claw wrench, a bearing press and puller, and a selection of drifts and punches. It is a bit time consuming but interesting to do. Do it right and you probably will not have to do it again for 100,000 more miles or so if you check adjustment on the wheel bearings from time to time. There are a lot of people here who have experiance with this and can help with questions. I found a wheel bearing that was very bad but I caught the problem in time. It would have been a very expensive project if that had come apart in there.

-Dai

 

[vantunes]

Ok. I want to thanks Dave and Dai for there advices.
Thank you.