Rear Hubs and Stub Axles

I have just replaced the rear axle’s stub axles and hubs with the later type which uses the same bearings inboard and outboard and a double-lipped seal. These bearings are the same as used in Range Rover Classics and all Defenders. They also match those in my front axle, so I only need to carry one pair of bearing sets as spares on the trip, instead two pairs of differing types.

I started by jacking up the axle end and removing the wheel. Dots of white paint were used to make alignment marks for the brake shoe adjusters before backing the shoes off, and the drum was then removed. Next, the hub cap was removed, folowed by the drive flange and half shaft. I found at this point that I had a little bit of play on the splines at the flange joint, so decided that I would be replacing the flanges and half shafts with the low mileage units I had from another axle. I diassembled those shafts for cleaning, and then sprayed the drive flanges with zinc-rich primer, along with the new hubs.

The lock washer was chiseled flat and the hub nuts undone. With the hub slid off the stub axle, I was able to confirm that the axle was indeed of the older type. One design aspect that surprised me was that the older units don’t have an oil catcher around the hub – the newer axles have a collar that partially covers the end of the hub, catching any oil that escapes the hub seal. This oil then runs down the inside of the collar and through a drain hole in the back plate and stub axle to leak away on the external side of the back plate, keeping the shoes clean. The older axles lack all of this backup system.

With the P-clips holding the brake pipe to the axle spring plates removed, the back plate was moved over the end of the stub axle and put to one side, still connected. The old stub axle was then removed with a soft mallet. The mating faces were cleaned up, coated in grease and the replacement stub axle fitted in place. The bacplate was then refitted and the six securing bolts secured with their nylock nuts and some Locktite.

The brakes were then given a good clean out to get rid of all the dust before the new stub axle was coated with grease. The new hubs, having had their bearings and seals replaced this morning with brand new Genuine Parts (the hub service kits cost just under £20 each and have two Timken bearings and Angus seals), were packed with LM grease and fitted. With the outer bearing fitted and the first locknut wound up finger tight, I then fitted the road wheel direct to the hub. This allowed me to set the bearing pre-load to minimal pressure while eliminating wheel wobble – the hub nut was set just tight enough to get rid of play at the tread. The lock washer was then fitted and the second nut done up tightly before bending the lockwasher and removing the road wheel again.

The replacement halfshaft and drive flange splines were greased, they were reassembled, and were then fitted to the axle. The brake drum was refitted with a very thin smear of grease on the back face where it contacts the hub – previous practice of this made drum removal very easy indeed. The reassembled hub was then sprayed with matt black enamel before refitting the hub cone and the wheel. The other side was then tackled in the same way.