So following on from the KingPin bearings I have moved onto the wheel bearings. Again I have prepared a "How to" guide with the full details of the change so there is only an overview here!

The problem with the front wheel bearings is that they are hidden behind a special lock nut.....

So if you have been following this website you will know my car failed the MOT and one of the factors were the Kingpin Bearings on both sides.

It was a fair decision and I have now changed them.

A number of people have offered advice on which bearings to use as some bearings do not seem to fit. I used bearings from BigJimny Shop which fitted ok.

As you can see the hubs were full of water, oil and grease....

One of the MOT failure points for my car was headlamp aim. Therefore I have pulled the headlamps out to clean and oil the adjusters and check the adjuster motors (UK Spec. models can have a headlamp leveling system).

The headlamps are pretty straight forward to remove, simply underdo all the wiring on the rear (unplug the lead from the main bulbs and twist out the indicator and sidelight bulbs,  prise off the headlamp adjuster power connector with a screwdriver) then undo the two screws (one top and one side) and then lever out the unit (this can require quite a push as there are two plastic locating pegs at the bottom rear that need to be dislocated).

With the headlamps removed I saw this........

Just an update (I am preparing a full article!)

Took the front hub off to find it full of water/grease....

So it never rains but it pours!

 Having rebuilt the entire rear end (trailing arm bushes) and replaced the front shock absorber rubbers I put it in for an MOT.

The failure list was extensive:

Front sidelight bulb - it was working when I tested it

Front nearside kingpin bearing - fair cop it was worse than I thought

Front offside Kingpin bearing - again worse than I thought

Front nearside wheel bearing - looked fine to me but now its in bits I can hear the noise 

Brake imbalance at the rear - going to be hard to find as the brakes are all new.

But strangest of all - Roll Cage!

Having passed the MOT in the last few years the Roll Cage managed to fail on "obscuring Area A on the windscreen"