So I rotated the tires on the car over the weekend and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. After driving the car a few days I could feel the front right side seemed loose. The front right wheel also made a grinding noise when turned at less than 10mph. So I got the car home and jacked it up. Grabbed the wheel and had about 1/4" of movement back and forth. I looked from behind and could see where the hub goes through the suspension and could see it move inside that area. I'm guessing the bearing is shot so my question is, am I right? Has anyone else done this? I looked around and found an old thread but it pretty much led to the guy taking it to his local mechanic there in the UK. I ordered the bearing, $38 US just in case.

 

Yeah, that is shot...

Do you get motion if you press the top edge of the wheel in? It shouldn't move what so ever. As soon as anything moves, (and you can hear it click in the hub area) it is the bearing.

Being a 1998 XJR (I assume that is the car you are refering to) you can use some cheap, standard bearings like from the PT Cruiser (it is the same type and same size, my front left bearing is a €12 PT Cruiser bearing). IIRC it was a 76 mm diameter.

You need a press and a special tool to replage the bearing. And you'll want a locking strip as well as two new circlips...

 

I figured as much. I ordered the bearing kit from my Napa Auto Parts guy here. 2 days to get it and it's $38 US. I did some research online and it looks like the 2" diameter 12-point socket is the way to get that ring off instead of the pricy specialty tool. Not sure about other specialty tools but a press is a no brainer whenever there's front suspension involved. lol.

 

Well, I rebuilt my XJS suspension and didn't need a press what so ever Back to topic

You DON'T want to damage the ring! They don't cost much new, but if you damage it, your ABS system can go wrong. And the special tool is needed for later on torqueing it up. I think it got 130 nm or so... Something like that...

 

Well I got the wheel off, steering disconnected, tried to get the rotor off but it's rusted to the hub. So tonight it's soaking with some WD40 with hopes that tomorrow evening it will free up. Already ordered the bearing, not from Jaguar (they wanted $152 US). no leaks on the ball joints and all boots look to be in great shape. It's quite obvious now that this car spent a lot of time sitting. When I'm finally able to get the rotor loose and use the tool to remove the control arms I'm betting the bearings will just fall apart from what it sounds like when I rotate the hub now.

 

Probably. Mine just crumbled away when I removed them. The ***** and rollers just fell out and some had flat spots, others were nearly non-existing!

Anyhow, whilst it is apart, check the condition of the balljoints. The lower ones on the passenger side (no matter what market!) will probably be really soft. You CAN replace only the ball joint but the lower arm section is so awkward to do, a new arm is easiest to replace.

 

I was surprised how good the ball joint boots were, no tears, no leaks and when moving the vertical link back and forth, very smooth and absolutely no play whatsoever. I'm very pleased with the car overall. This poor thing sat so long baking in the sun that the paint has heat cracks. The interior was spared and since I've conditioned it a few times it's like new. The undercarraige has no grease stains or oil leaks. Other than some surface rust on the exhaust and such, the car looks practically brand new underneath. I will need to do bushings at some point as a lot of them are looking pretty dry but for now I want to get her back on the road so I can enjoy driving it again. This will definitely fix the bit of wandering the car liked to do over uneven roads.

 

Water Displacement 40 is not really a penetrating oil, it is a fish oil product that has many uses. You might want to use a penetrating oil designed for that application.

Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster, Kroil, WYNN'S #5 etc.

bob

 

So far nothing has worked to free the rotor. I'm buying the ball joint separator tool tomorrow so I can just take the whole assembly off and work at it on the bench

 

Just jet a FBH. Brake discs can take an awful lot. And your wheel bearing is dead, so an extra knock or two won't hurt it.

 

Still no go on the brake rotor. Got the upper ball joint out of the vertical link but at a cost. Somehow tore the boot around the stud. Same thing with the bottom one but it didn't budge yet. So unless those boots are replaceable, I will be pressing out the ball joints and replacing those too

 

The upper ball joint is a rather easy job. The lower one... HAVE FUN! That is so awkwardly shaped and so impossible to get into the press to press it out...

 

Well did some research and talked to a retired mechanic friend and after cleaning the dust boots on the ball joints I used super glue to hold the tear in place then used black RTV silicone letting it completely dry before moving. So far it looks like it will hold for a long time and am happy with the result. I did finally get the hub off the bottom ball joint and all I have left is to press out the hub, replace the bearing and reassemble.

 

Ok about to finish up this project. I just paid a small shop in town $40 to press out the old wheel bearing and press in the new one. WELL WORTH IT!!! Having done this project now I have a few pointers for those wanting to attack it. Harbor Freight Tools has the ball joint separator but the forks are not wide enough. I took a cutting wheel and a small grinder and made the center opening bigger so the forks don't cut the ball joint dust boots. I purchased a 2" diameter 12-point socket that worked perfectly for the locking nut on the back side of the hub assembly. All said and done, I'm into the project including the cost of the bearing itself, $130. Jaguar wanted almost $700!

 

If I might ask, which one was it?

3/4" Forged Ball Joint Separator

Or was it just the regular fork? (I have the fork, just didn't know if that was the one you had issues with clearance - I need to do this job myself very very soon)

 

For both my XK8 and Maserati I borrowed a ball joint separator from Autozone. I really great tool.

OEM Ball joint separator 27308 - Read Reviews on OEM #27308

 

Just saw a video on youtube, and he had one of those. I think I'll spend the few extra bucks and add one to my toolbox. Probably never use it again, but I have to imagine it's handy to have.

 

I used the Harbor Freight one. Problem is the 3/4" opening isn't quite enough to go around the knuckle without tearing the dust boot. After cutting and grinding out 1/16" on each side, it fit like a glove without damage. I got the car back together tonight and it drives great. While I had the right side apart, i went ahead and cleaned up the front rotor with some scotch bright and used brake clean and scrubbed the caliper down.

 

I found the GearWrench model on Amazon for $22 bucks with prime shipping, and figured I'd take the opportunity to add a press set, bearing splitter kit, and a couple other things (why are there no Amazon vendors selling new rings!!!). Pray for me...

Glad you got it sorted through, and that the results were worth it!

 

Now that the suspension is tight I can tell how crappy the tires the PO bought are. But I have to save $$ for a new set. Plus my corvette is in line first and the Buick needs the trans finished