Yesterday the XJ8 was a normal car, today it had turned into a banshee ! The cause is a front wheel bearing howling; jacked up the corner and spun the wheel, it was obvious where the problem lies.
What is less obvious is whether fixing it is a d-i-y job or not, as it’s unlike any wheel bearing I’ve ever seen. No stub axle and seemingly only one part to the bearing, not the usual >II< layout. There’s a split-pin at the rear which is presumably easily removable, then a sort of castellated ring which might hopefully unscrew ?
Anyone done this job ? Fortunately the bearing seems quite inexpensive.
Just checked and there are a couple of vids on YouTube with some detail, unfortunately neither show the complete bearing removal. It looks like the bearing(s) is/are retained by the castellated nut, possibly a large socket would remove it, no indications what size is required. Just remember if you replace brake pads/roots at the same time to evacuate the brake fluid and not push back into the reservoir.
Many thanks, Robin. As you say, some of the crucial bits are not shown. Nevertheless it doesn’t seem a particularly difficult job, and you can set the calliper to one side. Removing the bearing looks the most difficult bit, by the look of it, but you could always take the hub to someone with a press if you get stuck.
Since you don’t mention the MY please be aware that there are 2 different bearing sizes. 76 mm and 80 mm.
The vertical link needs to be removed and serviced off the car. Special tools are required and a hydraulic shop press is needed to press the old and new bearings out/in.
There are differences in the various MY X308 cars so it would be nice to know what car people are discussing.
Pay attention the grease deflector ring as stated in TSB 204-02.
bob
Just checking further into this, the locking ring needs to be tightened to 270-330 Nm this equates to 200 - 243 Ft-Lb torque fairly large numbers.
This is for the 1998-2003 MY
Ok, many thanks again Robin, and to you Bob. The car’s a '97, so I’ll have to make sure I’m ordering the correct bearing.
I think that, what with the locking ring and maybe the need to press out the old bearing, I’ll leave the job to the experts; either give them the whole car or just the hub assembly.
If you are happy to take the assembly off the car then that’s going to save you some money at least:slightly_smiling_face:
Anthony…The car is an early X308 so it SHOULD have 76mm bearing pressed into the vertical link.
If some changed the vertical link from a later car to get the updated larger bearing, then it will be an 80mm.
bob
Thanks again, Bob - good point ! Unlikely, but I’ll check before ordering.
If you order from a local supplier, you can order BOTH and return the unused bearing. Make sure they will accept UNOPENED returns.
If you order ONLINE, you might not have the option of RETURN???
bob
All sorted now, it was the smaller dia bearing - silence once more !
Thanks for the help & advice, guys.
Anthony
Great to hear the resolution of the problem, did you do the work yourself or farm it out?