The shop down the road looked over the 85 XJ6 and shook the wheels (hanging free) for whatever might need attention. My RH rear one seems a bit "loose" ie. it rocks a bit up/down and L to R. No noise when running. Any ideas where I should start looking?

 

Jack the rear of the car, if the majority of the play is verticle then it's probably the diff output crush sleeves. The XJ rear axle shaft also act as the upper control arm and place a load on the crush sleeve, even when the car is standing still.

If it is the crush sleeve you will need to drop the rear subframe and replace them - this is a good time to plan a rear end rebuild. It isn't difficult.

Best of luck.

 

Are the tyres wearing on one shoulder ? If it were me, I'd suspect the wheel bearings. I had to replace them on my 1980 I once had between 1988-2002. The hubcarrier trunnion bearings may well be worn by now. These only move over a very small angle, and can "brinel" from road shocks.

 

The amount of play needs to be clarified as "a bit loose" might be .010" to one guy or or .125" to the next guy.

Hub bearings would be my first guess. From my personal experience I'd that a trace amount of movement at the bearings is of no consequence. I've seen Jags soldier on for years like this.

Hub bearings must be the most neglected thing on these cars. They virtually never get new grease. They'll go a long time without actual failure...probably because they're huge.

I would suggest having one person move the wheel while another carefully observes where, exactly, the free play exists. It might be in the half shaft u-joints, or the differential output shafts. Or the movement might be in the shaft bearings at the bottom of the hubs.

A recent thread (XJS section?) exposed that a trace amount of play...barely perceivable.... the u-joints is not of consequence.

Cheers
DD

 

[QUOTE=Doug;2894364
Hub bearings must be the most neglected thing on these cars. They virtually never get new grease. They'll go a long time without actual failure...probably because they're huge.
Cheers
DD[/QUOTE]
They are a complete orphan when it comes to periodic greasing. I've added a little "hub oil" (140wt) to the hub cavity for more peace of mind. The outer hub seal must not be designed to retain a liquid as they weep a little.

Dave

 

I've done the very same.

You can add grease into the hub but is it really reaching the bearings, and getting into the bearings? You never actually know.

With hub oil you at least know that some lubricant, of some kind, is touching onto the bearings

Cheers
DD

 

Is Lucas Hub Oil the stuff you use?
Do you just put some in on topp of the grease?
I had a bearing failure last summer, and I have filled up the hub completely with grease in hope of it not happening again.
Never heard of this stuff, but it sounds a good idea.

 

Yes, I use the Lucas brand. On top of the hub housing is a little metal cap (breather) that will come off easily. I made a simple "dip stick" I could use to mark the oil level. I set the level to the bottom of the output shaft, that will put the rollers in the oil, but won't foam the oil. Doug mentioned it and I completely agree that filling the hub with grease will not keep the bearing additionally lubed. Grease has to be under a certain amount of pressure (minimal to a lot) to flow it into a bearing. The other way is to keep the grease contained around the bearing (seals, shields, etc). When I rebuilt mine, I packed the bearing very well, but knew I would add a thick oil in the hub for added lube. With your hub completely full of grease I don't know how well the oil would migrate down to the bearing.

I bought 1 pint(?) of Lucas oil and I still have some left after using it in both hubs.

Dave