QuestionI own a Landrover discover series 2 TD5 year 2000 assembled in the UK
I have asked several different questions on your site about this problem but i still sit with the problem.Whenever i go to the dealer it shows a left wheel sensor problem. I have had two sensors replaced on that wheel. It works for a while then the problem comes back I had the vehicle for three years before the problem first manifested itself on a trip to the Richtersveldt.I have read all yours and the readers articles on the three amigo's but I am still no closer to finding the answer. Recently in desperation I decided to take the left wheel hub off myself and examine the sensor .I noticed that the sensor had some black grease on the end of it, looking thru the hole into the bearing i noticed that the gease looked black . I then opened the right wheel rear sensor and noticed that the sensor was clean with just a mattering of clear grease and I could see the silver bearing with clear grease on it clearly . Is it not possible that even though I am told by the dealer that the bearings never pack up that the wheel bearing seal has gone and oil from the diff is leaking into the bearing housing and with a bit of iron filings causing the sensor to get inconsistent voltage readings ?
Or is it possible that I am on a wild goose chase and the problem is in fact with the ABS or SLABS unit itself with the shuttle valve switches or non return valves or solenoids? One last thing the last time I had it cleared at a dealer on the test book it worked for half an hour driving thru town I parked at a shopping centre and on the way out after shopping I had to brake hard for the exit and the light came on again and has stayed on ever since . John I think if you find the solution to my problem you will be well on your way to soving the 3 amigo's . Thanks for a great site regards
Ken rowney Big bend swaziland southern africa
Answer*************************************
Hi Ken,
you may have caught on to something there. I wrote to some owners and got some positive feedback on your observations. There has been known problems with axle and bearing seals and this may very well be the cause of wheel sensor failures (ABS, TC, HDC '3amigos'). Here's a comment that I found interesting:
One owner commented that he does not use the bearing grease suggested by LR. He uses gear oil....
"The advantage of lubricating your wheel bearings with gear oil is more than just a convenience. Gear oil is a better lubricant for this application, wheel bearings will run cooler as a result of less friction (and the gear oil provides some cooling capacity) and hence will last longer. The disadvantage of this arrangement is you have a greater possibility of leaks. Land Rover installed axle case seals in the rear primarily because of warranty issues in the North America market. Here where Rovers are marketed as "up market" vehicles and the minimum price for one is $40,000+, Rover found that these folks don't want drips on their driveways and garages - period!
In Australia where vehicle durability seems to be of a greater concern, removing the rear axle case seals is standard procedure. On the front another thing done is to remove the front axle case seal, the inner swivel housing seal and the outer hub seal so that literally gear oil can flow from one set of wheel bearings to the other passing through both swivel assemblies and the diff on the way. To accomplish this effectively you need to overfill the diff by jacking the vehicle up in the front. Unlike engines and transmissions you don't create any problems overfilling diffs (within reason!). The other critically important thing you need to do when you are eliminating axle case seals is to upgrade inner hub seals. Before Rover eliminated axle case seals they had either single or double lip hub seals. When they went to grease in the wheel bearings they down graded the hub seals because it is very easy to seal in wheel bearing grease - it doesn't go anywhere because it doesn't flow! The big problem with this arrangement is that these down graded seals don't seal some things from coming in such as water! In my opinion whether you eliminate the axle case seals or not you should upgrade the inner hub seals to prevent the ingress of nasties into your wheel bearings.
On a related subject - swivel housing grease vs gear oil, I haven't seen a debate in a while on this list about it. Similar to the axle case seal issue it was introduced as a solution to a warranty problem - leaky swivel seals and American driveways and garages, but it was actually an improvement, swivel housing grease is moly-disulfide and you can't get a much better lubricant for this application. If you don't want to eliminate the axle case seal but want better wheel bearing lubrication, eliminate the inner swivel housing and outer hub seal and run your wheel bearings in moly-disulphide. Again it is extremely important to upgrade the inner hub seal when doing this.
Bill
Great Basin Rovers "
Word is 'leaking' around about your observations. Repairing a seal is much less than replacing the modulator and wheel sensors (often prescribed).
Thanks for the tip!
Regards,
JohnMc
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Ken,
very good observation on your part. Could very well be the source of the problem. Have you since had the wheel bearing seal repaired?
If someone does find the solution, they would be immortalized within the halls of LR ownership.
I will forward your comments to other owners for their comments. I'll let you know what happens.
Regards,
JohnMc
jmcinnis64@hotmail.com
