Hi Folks,
Just noticed a tiny amount of play in the rear wheel bearings. With
the rear end on jacks, if I push/pull the top of the rear left
wheel there is a small amount of movement. I am pretty sure this is
from the rear wheel bearings and not the suspension bushes. The RHS
rear wheel has a tiny amount of movement, barely noticeable if I
hadn’t already been alerted by the LHS.
So I looked on my JAG CDROM, and rear bearing replacement looks
daunting. The hub carrier has to come off, and the two bearings
removed/ replaced using a hydraulic press. Not the kind of task to
tackle on the driveway.
The car has done 130k miles. There are no unusual noises, rumbling
etc from the rear. So the question is: do I leave well alone and
wait and see, or should I have this attended to now? Any thoughts?–
scuddriver XJ8 4.0 2000 UK
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from scuddriver sent Sat 29 Oct 2005:
Double check it is not comming from the output bearings on your
diff. The play is easy to confuse with wheel bearing play if you
are not careful. If it is from the diff it needs fixing, especially
if oil is seeping out as well.The wheel bearings are probably OK to
leave for a while if the play is slight and there is no noise.
Of course you could try delaying and monitoring the diff situation
closely too, but those bearings are under heavy loads and it would
be worse to spoil the housings by leaving things to move around if
there is slack bearing fit as well as, or instead of, wear of the
bearing itself. When one of mine was done on the first X300 I had,
there was no trace left of the shims supposed to hold the bearing
in place, although I guess by fluke it’s possible my diff needed
none?–
Peter Crespin 66 2+2 ‘E’
Buxton, United Kingdom
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
–Support Jag-lovers - Donate at http://www.jag-lovers.org/donate04.php –
In reply to a message from scuddriver sent Sat 29 Oct 2005:
greetings; re: the rear wheel bearing, I just had replacement
surgery on my rt. rear wheel bearing ( 98 XJ8L, w/ 63K ) because I
waited so long, like a trip back from NYC to Houston, and a second
jaunt to Dallas, I was forced to also replace the hub as well;
price, in Houston, in a reputable shop ( $ 58.00 per hour labor )
was $ 567.00. also, i’m told that I pretty much destroyed my rear
right side brakes, i.e., rotor and, of course, pads as well. I
wrote to Chris M who has given me the courage to try the brake job
myself ( price= $ 500.00 in said shop ) I say replace the bearing
now; stay tuned for my brake job. by the way, Chris thinks that the
right rear bearing failure is rare; anyone else with this malady,
please let me/us know.–
The original message included these comments:
Just noticed a tiny amount of play in the rear wheel bearings. With
etc from the rear. So the question is: do I leave well alone and
wait and see, or should I have this attended to now? Any thoughts?
Just noticed a tiny amount of play in the rear wheel bearings. With
the rear end on jacks, if I push/pull the top of the rear left
wheel there is a small amount of movement. I am pretty sure this is
from the rear wheel bearings and not the suspension bushes. The RHS
rear wheel has a tiny amount of movement, barely noticeable if I
hadn’t already been alerted by the LHS.
So I looked on my JAG CDROM, and rear bearing replacement looks
daunting. The hub carrier has to come off, and the two bearings
removed/ replaced using a hydraulic press. Not the kind of task to
tackle on the driveway.
The car has done 130k miles. There are no unusual noises, rumbling
etc from the rear. So the question is: do I leave well alone and
wait and see, or should I have this attended to now? Any thoughts?
To check the rear wheel bearing (which usually makes a noise like a jet
taking off when it goes - can’t miss it),
look for play at 3 and 9 o’clock on the wheel. Play at 12 o’clock diagnoses
the differential output shaft bearing, and a small amount of play is normal
there.
Dave Lokensgard
'96 XJR (DAVZCAT)
'90 Sovereign (MELZKAT)
'90 Vanden Plas Majestic (PATZCAT)
'55 XK140 OTS
Poway, California
In reply to a message from Lokensgard sent Sun 30 Oct 2005:
Dave - acceptable maybe (as I tried to indicate) but ‘normal’?
There was no play at all once my dodgy output bearing had been
replaced and none at all on either side of my later 84K miles X300
But yeah, I wouldn’t lose sleep over a very small amount of play in
an otherwise silent and oil-tight output bearing, or wheel bearing
come to that.
In reply to a message from Peter Crespin sent Mon 31 Oct 2005:
Thanks for your input Peter - good to see you back on the forum. Is
this just a guest appearance or have you bought another X300/308?
Dave, I tried your suggestion, jacked up the car again and pull/
push in the 12 o clock position, when there is a small but
noticeable amount of movement. You can feel the movement, but it
amounts to probably no more than a fraction of a millimeter at the
wheel rim. I then tried to push/ pull in the three o clock position
and can’t feel any movement. From what you say, it may well be the
the diff output shaft bearing. The pinion seal and output shaft
bearings were replaced on this side about 15000 miles ago to cure
an oil leak, so it is strange if they have gone again so soon.
I also spoke to David Marks garage here in the UK. He is a well
known Jag independent and acknowledged GURU. It appears they all do
this to a greater or lesser extent, so maybe I should just stop
worrying and keep an eye on things!
Thanks for all your help.–
The original message included these comments:
But yeah, I wouldn’t lose sleep over a very small amount of play in
an otherwise silent and oil-tight output bearing, or wheel bearing
In reply to a message from scuddriver sent Mon 31 Oct 2005:
David Marks is the one who did my output bearing that time, or
rather his partner Bob (?) did. I had actually gone there for rear
shiock replacement as I didn’t have the compressors, but I’ve since
done it without at home on the Daimler. He was the only dealer I’ve
ever been to where I was welcomed and allowed to watch everything
because I had nowhere else to go once i’d arrived. But then I also
made myself useful by brewing lots of tea
The irony was that when I felt the old output bearing there was no
slack in it, so it must have been the shims. But there was no way
we were going to put the old bearing back in once we’d got that
far. If the slack amounts to fraction of a millimetre at the
wheelrim it’s almost non-existent at the output shaft. If you’ve
actually had the job done 15K ago there’s no need to repeat it IMHO.
No, sadly no X300 has darkened my driveway since losing the Daimler
to fellow lister Anthony Richards. I’n on the E-type forum a lot
for my re-build but I can’t resist looking over the fence at my old
X300 pals. Hope nobody minds me not even having one of the cars
anymore!–
Peter Crespin 66 2+2 ‘E’
Buxton, United Kingdom
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
–Support Jag-lovers - Donate at http://www.jag-lovers.org/donate04.php –
