Hub Questions

[AxeAngel]

Working on the new truck... ( I will leave the obscenities out), can't wait to have my old disco back on the road...

Changing out the pads in the new truck and I find that 2 calipers have seized pistons...awesome...

Rear passenger hub seems to be wet/leaking grease from around the stake nut. This hub had one of the seized calipers. Does this mean new hub or is there a replacement o-ring?

Front driver has good amount of grease on the cv boot. Is there a replacement o-ring for this or a new hub as well? How hard is the o-ring install (have not consulted rave yet).

Also what's the consensus? Used hubs from a puller (Will/Paul/John) or new from AB?

Thanks
Sam

 

[cosmic88]

which model and year are you dealing with here? I assume it's a d2 or p38 since you mentioned the cv boot... with the rear, so long as the bearing face and the inner face of the axel casing where the o ring sits isn't scored or worn, you could most likely get away with just replacing the o ring. As for the fronts, apparently the overall consensus with the P38 and D2 front is to replace the whole unit when the bearings or seal go out.

 

[Rocket Ship]

The rear axle has an O-ring between the hub and the end of the axle tube. It's purpose is to seal the axle oil in the axle tube. So if you've got grease leaking from the front of the hub (stake nut) then it sounds like you need a new hub.

There is no O-ring on the front. There is an axle oil seal on the outside of the axle tube, where the axle shaft emerges from axle tube, just inboard of the CV joint. Again, this is to hold in the axle oil. This can result in oil on the CV boot and the knuckle. But again, if it's grease that is leaking, then you need a hub. But you should probably do the oil seal at the same time.

You do likely need a puller to get the axle shaft out of the hub. It's actually not a bad job though, pretty straight forward.

I would never bother using used hubs unless it was a truck I was flipping, or they were giving the hubs away for free. The used hub will have a questionable service life and do you really want to be doing this again in another 10-20,000 miles?

As for the calipers, have a really good look at them, clean them up, and if the pistons are nice and clean and the reason they are sticking is not obvious, maybe squirt a little oil under the dust boots. I'm sure you know what to look for already, but could it just be the sliders?

 

[EricG]

I don't think d2 hubs are easy to get off. I had a fluid leak from a bad o ring that's in the tube I pulled the shaft and hub out together and changed it. I also "tried" to pull one of the hubs off and couldn't break the stake nut loose at 350 pounds of torque. New hubs are pricey I've bought used ones with a year warranty.

 

[AxeAngel]

The rear axle has an O-ring between the hub and the end of the axle tube. It's purpose is to seal the axle oil in the axle tube. So if you've got grease leaking from the front of the hub (stake nut) then it sounds like you need a new hub.

There is no O-ring on the front. There is an axle oil seal on the outside of the axle tube, where the axle shaft emerges from axle tube, just inboard of the CV joint. Again, this is to hold in the axle oil. This can result in oil on the CV boot and the knuckle. But again, if it's grease that is leaking, then you need a hub. But you should probably do the oil seal at the same time.

You do likely need a puller to get the axle shaft out of the hub. It's actually not a bad job though, pretty straight forward.

I would never bother using used hubs unless it was a truck I was flipping, or they were giving the hubs away for free. The used hub will have a questionable service life and do you really want to be doing this again in another 10-20,000 miles?

As for the calipers, have a really good look at them, clean them up, and if the pistons are nice and clean and the reason they are sticking is not obvious, maybe squirt a little oil under the dust boots. I'm sure you know what to look for already, but could it just be the sliders?

Thank you sir. I was led to believe that there is an oring on the inner side of the hub closest to the stake nut. Am i mistaken? Your comments on the front axle make sense, will diagnose rave and then pm you with more infos before I embark down that road

First thing I am gonna do is to look if it is in fact grease vs gear oil. They are both pretty gritty(truck caked in mud In ever imaginable area). Grease is bluish right? Hopefully I can discern.

Thanks
Sam

 

[AxeAngel]

As for the calipers, have a really good look at them, clean them up, and if the pistons are nice and clean and the reason they are sticking is not obvious, maybe squirt a little oil under the dust boots. I'm sure you know what to look for already, but could it just be the sliders?

looked at calipers again tonight after calling it indescribable words last night. I will caveat that I have rebuilt land rover calipers and rebuild wilwood or ap racing calipers every other year.

Pistons won't go into caliper even without oil seals and dust boot in place... New calipers on order... Not gonna bother with used units and rebuilding.

-Sam

 

[Rocket Ship]

I don't think d2 hubs are easy to get off.

It depends on what other vehicles you compare it to. If you've never worked on anything but older Rovers, then sure I could see why you'd think that. But compared to many other modern vehicles with unit bearings, the D2 is pretty straight forward. Just the fact that the hub simply unbolts from the knuckle, and is re-usable is a big bonus. On many vehicles, you can't even get the hub out of the knuckle without destroying the bearing. The bearings are a one-use deal. Often the outer-inner bearing race is stuck on the hub, destroying the bearing, and requiring special tools to get it off the hub just to be able to resuse the hub.

I was led to believe that there is an oring on the inner side of the hub closest to the stake nut. Am i mistaken?

Yes, I think so. The o-ring is on the back of the hub, and seals the bore that the hub fits into on the end of the axle housing. There is sealant on the splines of the axle shaft and hub, that would seal oil in as well. I suppose if the sealant failed for some reason, axle oil could leak out of the joint, and would appear behind the stake nut.

I don't think leaking bearing grease would appear from behind the stake nut. It would be flung up the back face of the hub. There's a good cross-section diagram in Rave that shows it all.

I'm not sure what colour the grease is when new. If the seals have failed, it's now black. And that's the only time you'll see it. I don't think there's enough grease in the bearing to get the entire knuckle area wet.

I would think a failed hub would be accompanied by 3-amigos. That was my prime indication that I needed a new bearing. Never would have known otherwise. Once I had it apart, it was obvious the bearing was bad. Trace of grease splatter outside the seal, and very gritty bearing. I also had a leaking oil seal, which is where the wetness all over my knuckle and CV boot came from. I'm not sure if the failed oil seal was just coincidence, or collateral damage from a failed bearing. Who's to say.

I am surprised your caliper is that bad already. Guess it's a good thing I don't drive mine in the winter.

 

[Roverhound]

In the front check your cv boot. It may be torn.