I’m thinking , I may have an issue with my left front wheel bearing.
There tire on that side is wearing on the outside rim
And I gave it the old shake test. Seems to be slight movement
there. Not really hearing any noises though.
Thought I would change out the anti - roll bar bushes whilst
I’m at it. I was going to change the ball joints and front
Springs at the same time but they all seem good.
I guess my question is if there is a preferred wheel bearing
And grease manufacturer one should be using or is this
All generic stuff?
I was also reading in the Book about a proper set tool to
Use when putting it all back together for tightness.
There’s also a comment about checking the axle stub for
Wear and using locktite on the race.
Aside from all that seems like a fairly straight forward job.
I’ll give it go.
First of all, remove the wheel and the cap and the nut and the shim, inspect the bearing. And stub axle. If it looks okay, and the grease too, put it back together, adjust the nut so the wheel just becomes harder to turn and back off by about one flat. New split pin recommended. It can have a little bit of play. If the grease looks really bad clean thoroughly and repack, there’s a trick to get the inner bearing out, [xj] Disassembling front wheel hub. How? - #2 by Doug_Dwyer
Bearings Timken, grease, I say anything but better grease will be a little better. ARB bushes are a good idea. Look at your steering rack bushes too while under there.
I used Redline CV2 grease, in case you’re looking for suggestions/recommendations?
Timken are the OEM brand used. Because the Timkens I ordered ended up being the wrong size, I went with National branded bearings. No problems going on seven years now. Thats what my parts store had in stock.
FYI, the original Timkens I removed were all make in the UK, the new ones that I never ended up using because they were the wrong size came from Poland and Italy…in case you care.
Definitely Timken.
If your bearings aren’t noisy on turns, they’re probably ok.
I wore edge of my tires having bad alignment for only 500 miles (after my subframe work). Are you sure you have good alignment?
Gary - with tire wear being on the outside, this would indicate the tire top is tilted out as compared to the bottom - quick check with a string dropped from top outside, compare distance of string to bottom outside of tire - then compare this to the left front tire stance - you may have a bad A arm bushing allowing the tilt - as Greg mentioned, you may have an alignment problem - Tex.
I have a sneaky feeling there is more going on here.
(Probably alignment , camber , caster) but I was taking
opportunity, to go through the basics first. The one wheel seems to have more play in it when i grab the top and bottom on the shake test.
My tyres are
Directional Dunlops, so I’m hooped as far as rotation.
I was going to put on a new set of rubber and then go
For an alignment. I’m just not sure if every average Joe tire shop Knows how to perform an alignment on these cars.
They seem a little different than your average North American car.
The aligner will not monkey around with the shims to align your camber or caster, just the toe.
There’s also no adjustment to the rear wheels.
1/16” shim changes 1/4 degree. Keep that in mind when you do get your readout from the shop.
Replacing the bearings is not a tough job. I’d do the whole darned suspension though….just to make sure you got it all. That includes:
- Upper Control Arm Bushings - use OEM
- Both upper and lower ball joints - use Lemforder
- Tie Rod ends - doesn’t matter, but Moog seems to work fine
- Anti Roll Bar Drop Link bushings, replace the metal link too, it’s probably in bad shape and not too expensive. EBay will have kits that will be fine.
I think that’s it. Not a ton of money here, but if you’re gonna do it right, you gotta do it all so you start from a clean slate.
There is camber adjustment with shims at the inner ujoints on the rear end. No toe adjustment though.
Thank you all for all your thoughts and suggestions.
I am far from a suspension and steering expert.
Based on what I went through last month, my bearings were also a bit loose but I assume are OK, so I simply tightened them a bit. Rule is to tighten until resists turning wheel, and then back off 1 nut flat. I ended up tightening just enough to put cotter pin into next section. I found it works much better removing wheel, removing bearings cap and cotter pin, and putting wheel back on so you can tighten the nut while turning the entire wheel. Then of course you need to remove wheel to get cotter pin and cap back on.
As for alignment, that is probably what is messing up your tire wear. Camber should not really change much from factory, as long as that thick washer spacer is in the right spot on upper control arms plate. Toe in can easily change and mess up your tires, and that’s easy for an alignment place to do. Go to an Indy that’s been around a long time, not something like Firestone or Goodyear.
My Caster was a tiny bit off…they had me take it home, move the shims, and have it checked out again. But I don’t think Caster causes tire wear.
To check for roughness, with the wheel off the ground, spin the wheel and place a finger on the road spring, if there is any problem with the bearings you will feel vibration on the coils of the spring.
With the wheel jacked up off the ground there should be a small but discernible amount of play if you grab the wheel at the top and the bottom and rock it.
I suspect your tyre wear problem is more likely due to incorrect wheel alignment and/or tyre pressure.
Gary,
Your tyre wear is not the bearings.
And if only one side wears is neither Toe nor Caster.
Actually the most probable cause is not the Front but that the Rear.
If the Thrust Angle is not 0°, because of uneven Rear Toe or Camber, the rear steers the car to one side and the front has to constantly compensate.
Finding a competent alignment shop willing to work on the Jag could be a challenge.
After many failed attempts I gave up and did it myself. And the car now drives straight and have no tyre wear.
It’s not that hard to build a rig, you just have to be very meticulous.
If you need more info let me know.
As for the bearings:
It will not harm to change them but if they are not noisy I suspect it’s not their fault but your stub axle is worn. You will have to remove the hubs to check that.
Mine where also worn, I didn’t change them but mounted the bearings with Loctite. Tightened the bearings until they were stiff and left it overnight.
Then I adjusted the bearings with a slight pre-load and not end-float. Tapered bearings like pre-load better and there will be less chances that the bearings will spin at the hub axle.
All the rest you want to do will also improve the car, but why on earth you would want to change your springs if they have no problem? Unless you need to change the lower arm bushings there is no reason to go in all that trouble.
For the upper control arm bushings use only OEM. Aftermarket are not good.
Ball joints Lemforder only.
Get the updated steering rack bushings.
As far as wheel bearings go, yes. There’s nothing remotely exotic about your Jaguar as far as front wheel bearings go
Over the decades I’ve used Timken, SKF, and Quinton-Hazell and never had any problems whatsoever. So, I wouldn’t be adamantly insistent on Timken, personally. They’re widely regarded as the best but, in real world usage, they might end up being a bit more of a feel-good purchase rather than offering any guaranteed or tangible advantage.
Not that there’s anything wrong with a feel-good decision, mind you. If you end up with greater peace-of-mind…or merely a bit happier…it’s worth it. 
All of the usual petro-product suppliers have offerings that are suitable for your purpose, along the lines of this:
I agree with Aristides to leave the springs alone.
In some (IMO rare) cases they’ll be collapsed or broken but, other than that, leave 'em alone. The archives are loaded with owners who have replaced springs and live to regret it. Far too many cases where doing so led to incorrect ride height
Somehow jaguar wheel alignment has become mystified to the point where most shops won’t even attempt it. Fundamentally it’s the same as any car: camber, caster, toe-in. The only things that are a bit unusual are the method of adjusting caster and the (much debated) requirement of using the suspension setting links. The former is actually very obvious and simple and the latter has already been beaten to death over the decades…with tons of testimony in the J-L archives.
Find a shop that caters to the hot rod/trailer/RV crowds. They’re generally not intimidated when something a little unusual comes up. They’re accustomed to it, in fact. And, I can assure you, not inexpensive.
Cheers
DD
Way back when, my boss taught me hw to service front wheel bearings.
wash or wipe them clean. The rollers should be tight in the cage. the rollers should show no signs of brunneling. Teh cage and rollers should be snug as to te racel Most are.
use a long fbre, high temp grease. wrk it in to the cage by hand. Do not pack the space in the hub between the bearigs.
Assmble. tighten til snug and drags a bit. back ff a castel. Spinand feel. if loose trya gain. A tad loose is better than a tad tight. use a new cotter. Indtall correctly. replace cap. Doe
tire wear.
unevn but smooth usually means alignment issue.
irrgular. usually means los e parts.
OK , I think it’s confirmed I drove slowly around a parking lot doing hard turns. When I did a full right turn the left front
Wheel bearing starting grinding noises like an SOB.
So I guess my original question would be would a bearing cause a tyre to wear on the outside.
I guess I’m checking to see if theres a groove on the stub axle
I’m replacing the tyres and getting an alignment anyway.
I was jist always suspicious as there was no pulling or
Steering wheel misalignment.
Before you start dismantling everything, check this- If the steering rack has not been “centered” or the tie rods are very different lengths, it is possible for the inside of the rim to contact the towing eye on a full lock turn and make a horrendous grinding noise. Only takes a minute!
Thanks Dave, I’ll give it a whirl.
In my view, NO1 What is a puzzlent is the grindig on the left frot. On the right turn, the stress is there, on the riht!!
Good point Carl and Dave , I need to scope this out more.