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Wheel hub Assembly

F

family XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Jacksonville North Carolina
OK here's my situation. I got a '93 that has 210k with 5" of lift 33's on 15x10 with 3.75 back spacing.
Last year I put in a new wheel hub assembly.
Well in December I went from 3" of lift to 5" of lift. In Jan. the assembly went bad so I replace it.
Then the end of Feb. it went bad again. Still under warranty I got a new one. Well today It is bad again. I am confused as to why I am having so much trouble with these. I am only getting around 2k miles out of them. I have all new ball joints, tie rod ends, swaybar bushings, and control arms bushings. The last time this went I had to replace the brakes. I guess the thing that is confusing is that it is only the Passenger side and not the Drivers side. The drivers side is still the original one. The one I got I bought on base and I believe they go through Car quest and it's suppose to be OEM quality. I appreciate all the help

Doug
 
Bet you're not getting enough torque on the axle nut.
 
You know that may be true. How much of a player is that. I didn't think the axle nut held anything other thankeeping it on the splines with the hub. Since if you pull the assembly with it the axle slides right out. Maybe I am just confused. You are talking about the big nut that has a cotter pin in front of it. Anyone else.
 
family XJ said:
You know that may be true. How much of a player is that. I didn't think the axle nut held anything other thankeeping it on the splines with the hub. Since if you pull the assembly with it the axle slides right out. Maybe I am just confused. You are talking about the big nut that has a cotter pin in front of it. Anyone else.
Click to expand...

It is absolutely critical. The assembly is pressed together but the axle nut is all that holds it from coming loose under the stress of driving. If you attach a slide hammer to the flange and leave the hub attached to the knuckle (or if it's stuck by rust) you can easily pull it right apart. You must sock that nut down tight. The factory spec is 175 foot pounds of torque. That's "put a cheater on the wrench handle and jump on it" tight!
 
family XJ said:
Do you think if I went and tightened it up now it would be salvageable?
Click to expand...

Probably already damaged, but you have nothing at all to lose by trying. Tighten the nut, then jack it up and test for play and roughness. Road test for noise. Iif the bearings have run loose for long the races will likely be damaged, but if you're lucky it will be all right at least for a while.
 
Well, you never know. You could get lucky. I once accidentally pulled one apart with a slide hammer trying to get it off. According to most wisdom this was curtains for a bearing unit that already had over 100K miles on it. I stuffed some grease in it and put it back together and it lasted close to 100K miles more!
 
tealcherokee said:
i pull them apart and replace the bearings, $7 bearing vs $140 assembly
Click to expand...
That works great, with 2 provisos:

1. you have a source for the bearings themselves (only a "Berry Bearing" or similar shop can get you a correct match, and those are not found in every town around)
2. you need pretty good sized arbor press to remove and install the bearings into the hub unit. Most guys don't have access to those.
 
I'm very interested to hear that you guys replace the bearing themselfs as a complete OEM assy. is very expensive over here. Are they only held in by tight interference fit? I have access to a good Timkin bearing shop and press equipment and have always wondered about replacing them and the safety concerns. Any advice would be great
 
family XJ said:
I went home and tightened up the but on the axle and this morning the noise was gone. I guess that fixed it. Not sure how badly I hurt it running it loose. Thanks for the help

Doug
Click to expand...
How tight did you tighten it? It needs to be 175ft-lbs...mighty stinkin' tight.
 
aussie paul said:
I'm very interested to hear that you guys replace the bearing themselfs as a complete OEM assy. is very expensive over here. Are they only held in by tight interference fit? I have access to a good Timkin bearing shop and press equipment and have always wondered about replacing them and the safety concerns. Any advice would be great
Click to expand...
I was interested to see that the person who said he rebuilds them has a '96 XJ, and that he says the bearing costs $7. Until I saw that post, I went by the factory information, which is that the early style hubs could be rebuilt, but the newer hubs could not. Quadratec stocks the bearings to rebuild the early ones, but the two bearings and related seals price out to around $50, not $7. Still a lot cheaper than $125 to $150 for a new assembly -- but I don't have a large arbor press, so it's academic.

This is the first I've heard about rebuilding the new style hubs, and I'd sure like to see part numbers for the bearings.
 
I didn't have a way to tell if it was 175 ftlbs but I used a 3 foot breaker bar and my Floor jacl handle for about a 5' extension. I have no noise and I got a free assembly out of the deal. I have a back up now for either mine of the wifes TJ.
 
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