Going back a bit, I noticed that I had some oil leaking from a swivel hub on the Patrol. I knew that the likely cause of this was the inner axle seal leaking. Unfortunately, to replace the seal, you need to dismantle the entire swivel hub. And if you’re doing one, you might as well do both. I had a quote to repair it for $1400. Being a naturally born tightarse, I started researching the viability of me doing this myself. By all accounts, the job is mechanically quite simple, but very messy (the messy part was very true).
If you’ve stumbled on this page via Google, then like me, you’re also thinking about DIY Swivel Hub rebuild. I’m not super mechanical, but I do like tinkering, and do like saving money!
This is not a DIY guide. There are plenty of tutorials and videos out there to show you the way. From people that actually know what they’re doing, too! I flicked between different videos, but mostly stuck to this one which I found quite helpful. Watch part one and two in full before beginning (I didn’t do this).
Tutorials aside, I still managed to make lots of mistakes and took twice as long as it probably should have. Learn from my errors, and may your swivel hub rebuild go smoothly, and not take up your entire weekend as it did mine.
After acquiring the necessary parts, and a few tools which I’d read would be handy, I set aside some time to have a crack at it. This is where things started to go wrong.
Tools I Bought, and Liked
Based on some online guides, I bought the following things that I found very handy:
Bearing Puller
I’m so glad I bought this kit. I have no idea how I would have removed the kingpin bearings without it! I’m sure there is a way, but this will save you a lot of time. You can get them from Repco etc but if you’re forward planning then online is generally a bit cheaper.
Seal Puller
The axle seals themselves are well stuck in. A cheap seal puller did the job in getting it out reasonable easy. I’d definitely recommend having this in the kit. You can get them from Supercheap Auto, Repco etc. Or from Amazon if you’re like me and prefer the comforts of home delivery.
Hub Tool
You can’t get away without one of these. You can fashion these up yourself, but it is just easier to buy one from eBay. It’s needed to get the hub lock off.
Rags
Not a tool as such, but I had heaps of rags and paper towel with me, and boy did I need them. To say this job is messy might be an understatement.
Tools I Didn’t Even Use
I bought a fluid pump with the idea that I needed it to pump oil into the differential once the job was done. It turns out that the diff oil bottles have little flexible spouts built in, and I was able to squeeze the oil in that way instead. The pump remains in it’s packet!
I Wish I Had These Tools
The job got done, but a few things would had made life a lot easier. I wish I had a couple of these items.
Vice
I got away without one, but a vice would have made the bearing puller job so much easier. You could also use it to press the new bearings back on to the kingpins. I used a plank of wood and a hammer.
Bearing Packer
Purely as a time saver, if I was doing this job again I’d probably get myself a bearing packer. It felt like I spent a lot of time messily working grease into bearings. A packer would make light work of this job!
Garage
I don’t have a garage, so my job was done on the driveway. On the first day, an unforecasted storm rolled through and washed me out. The next day was dry, but then I was having to deal with wind and dirt getting blown around. A nice clean garage would have been super luxurious, but not an option unless I move house unfortunately.
Don’t Do These Things!
I was unprepared for the spindle bearing removal.
This small bearing is in a real pain of a spot. You can’t get anything down directly onto the bearing edge to knock it out. The tutorial I watched suggested welding a little blob onto the bearing to give something to knock at. I don’t have a welder though.
I finally worked it out by grinding out a slightly bent end on a tent peg to use to knock it out. It worked perfectly and the rest came out quickly. But I wasted a good amount of time coming up with a solution.
I ruined my draglink bolt!
The steering arms and draglink are connected by some bolts that need to be removed. For the first one, I just gave it a whack on the underside of the bolt and it popped right out. On the drag link, I gave it a whack. Then another whack. Then many whacks.
I now have a bolt that has squished threads and the nut won’t go back on. Whilst some of these rods have replaceable ends, mine did not! I had to buy a whole new draglink which cost another $225. There are cheaper options, but I figured I may as well get something decent.
Sunburn
Whilst the camper trailer is taking up most of my carport, I still had shade to work in at the front of the car. I figured this would be fine, but apparently my frequent stops at wheels – sometimes in sunshine – over the course of an entire day was enough to get rather burnt! I didn’t even notice until I hit the shower and felt a painful sting on my legs. Be sun smart, people!
What I do This Again?
Would I do the DIY swivel hub rebuild again… hmm, good question (that I’ve asked myself). A number of times through this project I stated “I wish I’d just paid someone to do this”.
However, after solving all the issues I encountered on the first side, the second side was relatively easy to do. It’s really about knowing exactly what to do, and nothing beats having done it before.
The parts and tools cost me about $400 all up, so I potentially saved $1000 doing it myself. I did have to spend another $225 on the draglink, but hey, I now have a heavy duty drag link! I also have a greater understanding of the how this all works, which may or may not be handy out bush one day.
With any luck, I won’t need to do the swivel hubs again anyway!
