XK150 Rear Hub Purchase Advice

[Bishopsrock (Andy Shaw)]

Hi Morris,

Thanks for your picture of the Churchill Puller.

Just by looking at it you can tell that it’s a substantial piece of heavy solid steel deploying a massive bolt with a fine thread - a proper tool for the job.

I decided that by carrying on with the current puller, I was going to either break the puller or injure myself (badly) so I went out and ordered a similar tool to yours but made here in the UK by Motor Wheel Services (MWS). The puller is double sided and so you just flip it over to remove the other side.

It arrived today and certainly looks the part weighing 3 kg. Its beautifully made from a single lump of steel and is very tactile with a highly polished finish. Unfortunately, due to work commitments I will only have time to try it out at the weekend. Wish me luck!

[myfdun (Morris Barnett)]

Andy
Yes , that should do the trick.

Looks like a good piece of kit.
I did however forget to mention that if you are a member of a Jaguar club they sometimes have specialized tools which they loan out, l am surprised someone in the Uk did not bring this to your attention.
However you are now in a situation to rent out the puller and try and get some of the income from it.
Morris

[XK140MCOTS (J.E.Farr)]

Be sure to lubricate the threads throughly to prevent galling of the metal. After preloaded a reasonable amount of strike force with a heavy hammer should shock it loose.

[LLuis_Gimeno]

Just one ignorant question : this is just to free the wire wheel hub, right? Not the axle hub? Thanks.

[XK140MCOTS (J.E.Farr)]

Yes that is correct, the tapered end of the axle with woodruff key will remain.

[MGCJAG (Steve H)]

Hi Andy…do not be supprised it this dosnt work…i tried this tool but without hitting it with a hammer…its not designed to be hammered…i spoke to a well known UK restoration shop who told me that its not uncommon for a hub to not seperate with a puller and need lots of heat…when mine wouldnt release i pulled the hub with the axel shaft as mentioned in a post above and used a press and heat…Steve

[Bishopsrock (Andy Shaw)]

Whilst I was researching how to get my rear hubs off, I came across this video of a guy trying to remove the rear wheel hubs from his Jaguar Mk2. It’s the funniest thing I have watched in years and well worth your 5 minutes:-

Jaguar MK2 Rear Hub Removal Ordeal

[Bishopsrock (Andy Shaw)]

Just gentle fatherly encouragement will do for now Steve. We can start talking about plan ‘B’ if it doesn’t go well this weekend!

[Killer58 (D. Serber)]

I watched his video series three or four times before replacing the bearings and bushings in my MKII. Well worth the time.

I used the Churchill puller and the hubs came off fairly easy. I also used a 20lb slide hammer with the puller as Vic did to remove the axles. Not nearly as easy, but with a lot of heat, it did work in the end.

One word of caution - when you pull the hubs, slacken the big washer and nut on the axle but leave them attached. It will keep the disk and hub from aerial flight. You’d be amazed at how far they can sail. Don’t ask…

[Bishopsrock (Andy Shaw)]

Hi All,

A quick update.

Using the Churchill Puller. I wire brushed the puller threads to polish them and get rid of any minor swarf. I then generously lubricated the threads and tip with copper-based grease. Next, I put the washer and nut back on as recommended by D. Serber - thanks for the tip.

Finally, I used a long bar on the puller and although it put up substantial resistance the threads kept turning - probably because of all the grease I had applied.

Then without any drama the hub pinged off - what a relief!!!

What I can’t believe is how much force I used with the first hydraulic puller without getting anywhere and how much more effective the Chruchill puller proved to be.

My next job now is to replace the hub seals on the rear axle if anyone has any tips or warnings…

[MGCJAG (Steve H)]

Hi Andy…great news…well done…measure the end float of the bearings and check they are in spec befor you do anything else…but personally youve gone this far so you might as well just pull the bearings…clean everything up fit new bearings and seal and re shim to spec. …Steve…PS…yes its obvious but put big lables on your new hubs so you fit them on the correct sides…you dont want to be trying to pull them off again

[Bishopsrock (Andy Shaw)]

Hi Steve,

Sorry about my very late reply to your message but work went nuts all of a sudden and I had to drop the car and start fighting fires before the Christmas shutdown. I’m back now though and hoping to make a little progress.- although I keep seeming to go ever further backwards!

The big question is how much tail end float should there be and will I need to buy a dial gauge or can I measure it any other way?

The second question is does anyone know what the part numbers for the rear wheel bearings are?

I found a list of wheel bearings that says they are SKF K25577-K25820. http://www.classicvehicledata.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/LIST-OF-SKF-NUMBERS-FOR-VEHICLE-WHEEL-BEARINGS.pdf. There seems to be some difficulty buying this combination though.

I haven’t removed the shafts yet (need to buy or borrow a sliding hammer) but the cup part number is clearly visible and is Timken 25820/3 (Made in England) so the 25820 cup is correct but is 25577 correct?

[MGCJAG (Steve H)]

Hi Andy… yes you need a dial guage to measure and a clamp stand to attach it…some info here XK150 Salisbury axel shaft endfloat I used the Bearings from SNGB a Timken equivelent to 3846 the part number in the 150 spares catalogue…Steve

[Bishopsrock (Andy Shaw)]

I need a little more help please, but first here’s a quick summary of where I am up to.

I have taken the sound advice given on this forum and whilst the hubs are off I am going to replace the rear wheel bearings - a job I have never done before.

I didn’t have a sliding hammer and so I bought a Neilson sliding hammer kit off eBay for £39 delivered. It turned out to be a far better and more substantial piece of kit than the price would lead you to believe. In fact, I was amazed at how much I got for £39!

You need something to attach the sliding hammer to in order to pull the bearings out and my Churchill hub puller came in handy for a second time, so I’m feeling slightly better about its high purchase price now. I inserted the hammer rod through the puller and put the nut on to secure it as pictured below:-

Having drained down the diff first, there was plenty of weight in the hammer to pull the bearings and they both came out without a hitch.

Now, the next bit is important news because the PDF catalogue that I linked to in the above post is incorrect as far as the XK150 rear hub outer bearings are concerned. On examining the original bearings removed, I discovered that the bearings fitted were Timken ones and that the part numbers are as follows and pictured below. :-

Cone = Timken 25877
Cup = Timken 25820

I bought new inner and outer hub tube seals from SNGB as pictured below:-

Having removed the half shafts I have discovered that the axle tubes are both full of old grease although its not high enough to reach the half shafts. Is it ok to leave it like this?

Also, one of the half shafts has several patches of surface rust as pictured below:

Is it ok to sand the rust off and paint the shaft with chassis black spray paint?

With regard to swapping the cone bearings, how do I remove them from the shaft? Are they a hand press fit/knock off or do I need a hydraulic press to remove and press them back on? When refitting is there a natural stop that they sit against?

Finally, here is a picture of what seems to be the inner hub tube seal with the half shaft removed. How is the seal constructed? Does the metal ring pictured prize out or screw out? Is it in two or more parts? How should I remove and then refit this?

As always all your help, expertise and experience is very much appreciated.

[Robin_O_Connor]

Either a press or a 3 legged puller should remove the bearings from the half shaft and if you measure the shaft where the bearing buts up and compare with the ID of the new bearing you should see how much shoulder there is for the bearing to but up to.
If you are replacing the seal then just throw a screw driver in one side and lever it out, it will probably destroy it but you are replacing with new so no foul. Sorry just looked at the photo and realised that it might be a bit deep in the bore, you might be able to fashion something to attach to the slide hammer?
WRT the rust, shouldn’t be a problem, just clean up and you could paint or just oil it.

[MGCJAG (Steve H)]

Hi Andy…press, puller, or position it vertically in a vice with bearing just resting on the vice jaws and tap the shaft down…remove the old grease from the axel tube just in case there is debris in it…probably caused by over greasing the bearings at the grease nipple (zerk)…rust on shaft…just clean it up and oil it. …inner oil seal as mentioned bang it out…hook the nut on the end of your slide hammer into it to pull it out…clean up the shaft key way and make sure the key fits in it nice…Steve

[MGCJAG (Steve H)]

Hi Andy…clean out the grease nipple by squirting new grease through it and also clean out the tiny vent hole at the outer ends of the axel tubes…Steve

[Bishopsrock (Andy Shaw)]

Hi Steve & Robin,

Thanks for the heads up that the part in the photo above is actually the inner seal.

I have found a couple of pics to show it properly. Essentially it is two steel rings with a leather seal sandwiched in the middle. I have never encountered one of these seals before. I’m going to use a lip on a sliding hammer attachment to get this out.

[MGCJAG (Steve H)]

Hi Andy…yes the old type seals are typically leather in Jags…they can get imbedded with dirt/grit and act as a great absasive on any shaft they are ment to seal after time…so check your shafts for wear…its possible that the modern lip seal may seal on an unworn part of the shaft if you measure it up…Steve

[Bishopsrock (Andy Shaw)]

I have sourced new Timken outer rear wheel bearings from eBay for £23.95 a pair delivered. That’s only £11 each!

I removed the bearings using a press and discovered from the amount of pressure required that there would have been absolutely no way that I could have got the bearings off iusing a vice etc

The bearing sits against a shoulder on the shaft so that you know exactly how far it needs to go on. As I pressed the new bearing onto the shaft I didn’t notice that the cage stands a little proud of the inner race and so I deformed the cage slightly as I pushed it slowly down the shaft into position.

Please could anyone tell me whether this slight but significant deformation of the cage is terminal?