Swivel Pin Housing

[Cheggs]

The chrome coating on the  drivers side swivel pin housing has started to peel off, I'm planning on servicing both sides with the availble kits, the only thing is how urgent is that they be done, should it take the Disco off the road till its done or will it be ok, i have a old axle with a swivel pin housing in much better condition so will replace the defective one but how much risk is there in running as is for 2 weeks of short journeys. :(

[DiscoCWK]

The chrome coating on the  drivers side swivel pin housing has started to peel off, I'm planning on servicing both sides with the availble kits, the only thing is how urgent is that they be done, should it take the Disco off the road till its done or will it be ok, i have a old axle with a swivel pin housing in much better condition so will replace the defective one but how much risk is there in running as is for 2 weeks of short journeys. :(

The most likely failure will be the CV joint - especially if you go wading as the lack of seal against the swivel will suck in water, which will speed up the failure of the CV joint. My drivers side swivel was corroded for four months before the CV went!

Swapping the entire hub assembly over is a doddle. Drain the diff oil. Undo the steering ball joints (tap the outer housing to release them) take off the caliper (2 x 13mm 12 sided bolts). Undo the two bolts on the top king pin to remove the brake pipe bracket (have a pan to catch the swivel housing oil) and then zip tie the caliper to the spring. Undo the seven 14mm 12 sided bolts around axle and extract the hub assembly and half shaft in one. Reverse to fit. Are both axles 10 or 24 spline?

[extreme90]

wouldnt worry about it leaking out, apart from if it gets real bad, it runs down onto the discs so breaking becomes very fun indeed

cv failure wise, wouldnt worry too much, mine ran on water for a month or so  :oops:

[Eeyore]

Generally, if grease isn't coming out, water won't be getting in significantly.

However, the surface finish on the crome balls plays a big part in the life of the seals at the back of the ball  

Now comes the hard bit. Do you pay for the parts to rebuild the axle (which isn't cheap if the balls need replacing) or do you just source a low milage complete axle, 2nd hand?

Something to ponder.

Cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[DiscoCWK]

Generally, if grease isn't coming out, water won't be getting in significantly.

However, the surface finish on the crome balls plays a big part in the life of the seals at the back of the ball  

Now comes the hard bit. Do you pay for the parts to rebuild the axle (which isn't cheap if the balls need replacing) or do you just source a low milage complete axle, 2nd hand?

Something to ponder.

Cheers
 8)
Eeyore

When my CV went on my Disco (my swivels were a mess!) - I sourced a pair of mint 110 330tdi hubs complete with half shafts, discs and calipers for £85 and swapped them over when I fitted my Truetrac diff. I had to make new brake pipes to accomodate the 110 calipers (the short piece between the bracket and the caliper itself) and changed the oil - now I have one spare CV joint, 2 Disks, Calipers, Half Shafts etc. The advantage of the 110 hubs is that they have a larger diameter king pin (so I have been told) which should help accomodate the 33x12.50's I'm running!

[Eeyore]

You also get the advantage of the 110 calipers doing that. I would recommend fititng the 110 rears to as soo as funds permit, it'll keep the braking balance between the two ends.   A popular conversion with the racing fraternity.?

As far as I'm aware the swivel pins are similar between Disoc and 110 (but I'm happy to be proved wrong by someone with access to Microcat, etc). The difference is in the age of the axle. The later types run with roller bearings, the earlier type run with a solid Railko bushing. The needle type are easier to replace. I certainly have Dicso balls on my 110 (the racer has them too, IIRC). Later Disco balls run with the black teflon coating whixch is alledged to be tougher than the original chrome finish.

Anyhoo, you see what I mean about repair with new or replace with second hand!  

Cheers
 8)
Eeyore