[xj-s] Re: Bad wheel bearings?

XJ-S
1

The car had new front wheel bearings and stub axles less than 12,000
miles

ago (although I said at the time that I was worried about installing
bearings that were made in Slovakia). With the front end jacked up,
both

wheels feel the same to spin them, and both wheels seem to have about
the

same amount of play when rocked.

Wrong. IME, if they have noticeable play they’re shot. R + R.

It may not have been the country of origin but incorrect installation that
killed them. Was the grease seal replaced at the same time ? Were they
set up correctly ?

Grease seal replaced, adjusted as per The Book. BTW, I removed and
re-greased the outers and re-adjusted, and the noise is about 90% gone. I
will probably be needing to replace them again soon. I was quite shocked
at how much grease had mysteriously vanished from them bearings. They had
been carefully packed with “high temperature disc brake wheel bearing
grease”.

2

In message 85256647.001E9CA4.00@bblnmta.unisys.com “Peter Cohen” writes:

I was quite shocked
at how much grease had mysteriously vanished from them bearings. They had
been carefully packed with “high temperature disc brake wheel bearing
grease”.

That’s the point - the grease ISN’T supposed to vanish so quickly that the
bearings stand any chance of running dry. If the bearings were made in
Slovakia, am I right assuming that they weren’t OEM parts ?

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I don’t know what things are like stateside or in continental Europe,
but here in the UK there is one Jaguar part that is cheapest to get
at the dealer: XJ-S front wheelbearing kits. All the aftermarket
kits I’v come across were a) more expensive and b) contained the
wrong (pre-ABS) grease seal. Grit your teeth and buy British for
this one.
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Regards,–
Stefan Schulz
@Stefan_Schulz
'88 XJ-S V12, UK version