Just had a search and I can find plenty about adjusting front wheel bearings but nowt about replacing them! Is it really necessary to have the 'special' tools recommended in the Jag manual?

And what's likely to go wrong?! Bear in mind that if it can, it will. Last weekend (balljoint and upper wishbone bush swap) I had seized/rounded bolt heads, sheared bolt heads, faulty new bushes...

Ta!

 

Ziggy,

Luckily the X300 is the last of the Jags with STANDARD taper roller wheel bearings in the front. Been around since the motor car, and still using good old Timken UK.

Replacement does not require any special tools, just removal of the caliper, and caliper bracket to get the rotor off, then straight forward hub off (watch the ABS sensor), and knock out the old and carefully tap/knock the new in. A new seal is a smart idea. Repack with grease, the later cars lost the grease nipple in the hub that the earlier cars had, sad moment that.

I use a brass rod drift, and take my time, got plenty of that.

Refit all the junk, adjust as specified, have a drink, smile, your done.

 

Excellent, sounds like a job for a sunny afternoon, aided by a couple of cold ones! The replacement wishbone bushes haven't arrived yet, so that job will have to wait until next weekend - no need to take on everything at once anyway... Cheers!

 

I know what would have gone wrong though - did the discs recently and one of them was so ridiculously rusty it wouldn't come off!

 

AHA, rust.

Forgot that as you are in teh "sunny" UK.

We dont get rust or salt etc down here, just dry, dust, dry, HOT, did I mention DUST. Some rain lately, but DRY again.

Have fun.

 

I'll take a photo of that brake disc for you if I can find it - sufficiently rusty that it wouldn't come off over the hub! The other side took as long as you'd expect a disc/pad/caliper swap to take, but this one took hours of fighting! Still, at least that shouldn't be an issue this time round. There's bound to be something though. I reckon that's part of the reason X300s are so cheap here - they really can be a **** to work on - or maybe that's just mine!

I'd settle for dust.