Defender Swivel Ball Seal....

[bf900]

One of my swivel balls has a "sweat" while the other is gross and starting to drip on the ground..... perhaps a silly question but having never changed a swivel ball seal...how long does this job take for an average DYI'er ... The ball itself is fine / no pitting. I have never ventured past the rotors so anything beyond is new ground for me...of course, my time is limited as well so wondering if it's just worth taking it to an indy. They are wanting $500 for their time (not including parts of course)
I much rather do it myself if I can.

[BlkP38]

There is a bodge....
Remove the seal retaining plate, pull the seal, cut it and discard.
Make a neat cut in the new seal, install with the cut at the top and pop some silicone sealer in the joint.
Reinstall the retaining plate, and fill with 90 weight oil. If no leaks you are good to go.
If it leaks, back to square one.
Did this on a Rangie years back with zero problems. Then again, some of us enjoy pulling everything apart to do it properly.

[bf900]

Yes I found that "work around" but it goes against the part of me that likes to do things the correct way.....however, very tempted.

[red90]

Two to three hours per side once you are good at it. It lets you change the hub seals and set the swivel and hub preloads and check everything else out, so is worth the effort. $500 is quite reasonable. It is worth doing yourself especially if you go offroad as you will then know how to change a halfshaft.

There is a quicker way to "only" change the swivel seal that does not involve cutting it, but, IMO, it is worth going through everything.

[swamijake]

I agree with red. Might as well re pack the bearings while you're in there. A good eight hour day should have you with a fully tightened up front end and the skills to fix things on the side of the trail.

[bf900]

Thank you.

Appreciate the insight.

[BlkP38]

If you do decide to get into it (and it will be rewarding and fun) make sure you have good quality circlip pliars and a selection of shims for swivel preload.