Wheel bearings

I decided to grease & check the wheel bearings last Sunday. One side was fine but the other was shot. The bearing was very floppy in the outer race and the rollers were grooved and didn't rotate freely.

Not having done this before I found a company who supply bearings and can press the outer race into the hub so took all the bits there. Not knowing what they would need I put each hub, bearings, washer, nut and split pin in a carrier bag and took it all in to them.

They booked it in for Wednesday and duly pressed the bearings in. I went and collected them and when I tried to fit them I found a washer was missing. I am going back there tomorrow morning to try and get one.

For those who haven't done this yet, first loosen the wheel nuts, jack up and secure with an axle stand and remove the wheel. Ensure the handbrake is off. Knock the cap off. I did it by tapping lightly with a hammer.

Remove the split pin and undo the castellated nut. Pull the hub off.

There are two taper roller bearings, an inner and an outer. The inner is a L44643L and the outer a L44643. The inner has a seal (a black plastic disc). Each bearing fits into a race which is pressed into the hub and although there are many who would press them in themselves I didn't feel confident enough to do it so got someone to do it, cost me £25.

Pack the inner bearing with grease and fit it in the hub, then slide the hub and bearing onto the axle. Grease the outer bearing and slide that onto the axle. Slide the washer on followed by the castellated nut.

The nut is tightened and then a split pin is put through the castellations and axle to secure it in place.

One thing I am unsure of is how much to tighten the nut. I think I should tighten it with a spanner, to make sure everything is pressed well in, then back off until there is no binding (drag) and virtually no play. The hub should spin freely. Then put the pin in. I believe there should be just a little play rather than slight binding which seems to be the choice between the two holes I can put the pin in.

I would appreciate some advice on this.

My feeling is that if I only do it finger tight, the grease etc will not bed in properly and it will be too loose. If I use a spanner, I risk squashing the rollers into the race, but, as the bearing supports 250kg, it must be capable of a bit of tightening with a spanner without causing damage. I'm suggesting about 20 lbft.

When we checked and regreased ours we just nipped tightened the nut and then backed it off about 1/4 turn, or to the nearest slot. As you say so it spins free.

Yup, that's the standard rule of thumb for wheel bearings, be it a dandy or a landrover. There is a "proper" way of measuring end float, but a quarter turn has always done me (3 landrovers on the drive!)

Thanks for that. I have a problem now. I have fitted it all back together but when I back the nut off enough to get play it is covering the hole for the split pin. The axle is too short or the hole is in the wrong place or the nut is too thick.

When I originally took it apart, one side had the oil seal on the outside and the pin was butchered. I wonder if that is why.

I have fitted a slightly thinner pin and cut one leg off and got it in but there is no play and it is running a bit hot after about 12 miles.

Not sure what to do now. File the castellations down is all I can think of other than a new hub assembly.

We are going away next Saturday morning.

From memory ours doesn't have a seal on the outside, just a washer. The dust cap keeps the grease in.

Do you have any pics?

You could cut the grove in the nut a bit deeper with a hacksaw or redrill the stub axle for the split pin. If you have replaced like for like you shouldn't have to go to those extremes though.

If necessary we will whip one of ours off tomorrow and have a look for you, but we do have a few things going on at the moment.

Thanks. The oil seal should be on the inside but one side was fitted on the outside instead. I suspect whoever did it before, had the same problem as me. I think I will try and cut the groove in the nut a bit deeper with a hacksaw as you suggest.
Need to adjust it then mark the slot I need to cut. Not easy when I gotta turn it 20 times.

This particular nut is tight on the thread and I wonder if it's the wrong nut. Perhaps it's a bit thicker than it should be. I could swap the nuts and see if the problem swaps sides. Might even be a bit of dirt or a burr on the axle shoulder.

The other side is fine so I have something to compare it with so no need to take yours off.

Sorry I've come in from being out (where else) and tried to contribute to this. I've fallen asleep at least 3 times. Just opened up the forum on a new tab and seen you and Phoenix have covered a good bit of this ground.

navver wrote:Thanks for that. I have a problem now. I have fitted it all back together but when I back the nut off enough to get play it is covering the hole for the split pin. The axle is too short or the hole is in the wrong place or the nut is too thick.

When I originally took it apart, one side had the oil seal on the outside and the pin was butchered. I wonder if that is why.

I have fitted a slightly thinner pin and cut one leg off and got it in but there is no play and it is running a bit hot after about 12 miles.

Not sure what to do now. File the castellations down is all I can think of other than a new hub assembly.

We are going away next Saturday morning.

Hello navver I'm going through everything I can think off sorry if some of it seems to insult your intelligence but better that than play coy and not find the item.

We are not talking about winding the nut out slightly more than 1/6th of a turn to get the pin to drop in. The problem is that the castellated nut is not exposing the hole?
So to state the obvious everything is sitting higher than it was before you srtripped the bearing.
So obvious thoughts:

The first bearing has it been drifted fully into the collar?

Is an unneeded extra grease seal being used? Just seen what you have said about the seals position.

You have tightened to 20 lbft before backing off to squeeze up the grease and establish a true end float.

Thanks. The oil seal should be on the inside but one side was fitted on the outside instead. I suspect whoever did it before, had the same problem as me. I think I will try and cut the groove in the nut a bit deeper with a hacksaw as you suggest.
Need to adjust it then mark the slot I need to cut. Not easy when I gotta turn it 20 times.

I'd just mark it up with a centre punch. If you can get the nut to the point where the grooves are just proud of the shaft I might try a cutting disc on a grinder to polish out the odd 40 thou or so from the bottom of the castellation. Holding it on the shaft being as handy as any clamp when you grind.

This particular nut is tight on the thread and I wonder if it's the wrong nut. Perhaps it's a bit thicker than it should be. I could swap the nuts and see if the problem swaps sides. Might even be a bit of dirt or a burr on the axle shoulder.

I'm trying to think back here though you can compare the relative heights of the nut isn't the nearside axle's thread left handed?