Can SJ410/413 hub fit Gen.3/4 ?

The SJ wheel hub uses taper roller bearings (yum -yum) whilst the Gen3/4 uses a twin ball (no comment), and I was wondering if it was possible to retro-fit the taper bearing hub for the ball set-up, and if so, what, if any, are the problems.

Roger

I have a dismantled SJ front axle so I could see what the difference is between them when I do my king pin bearings later this spring. I know the brakes, King pin bearings, tie rod ends, are the same. Swivel seal is different.

Cheers Yakuza. I was thinking along the lines of just replacing the wheel hub and leaving the swivel hub as is, so the swivel seal would be as is. It is possible (maybe) to machine a groove in the new style hub to accept a circlip that in conjunction with the one already there and a suitable outer distance piece would solve the problem. Then again the lip that is already there to hold the existing bearing may suffice and all you would require would be the distance piece.

Roger

Knowing Suzuki, there is a good chance you can simply unbolt the Jimny spindle and bolt on an SJ one on. No idea why you'd want to though!

All manufacturers are looking for ways to cut costs and Suzuki are no exception. When I had my SJ I modified it for green laning and RTV competitions and in all the years I drove it I managed to break various parts incl g/box layshaft front bearings, back axle sun/planetary gear shaft (badly worn) and, from memory, a steering box but I never had to replace front wheel bearing because of wear. Aggressive driving in deep water/mud did overcome the seals letting in gloop that destroyed them but that's a different story.

Taper roller bearings are far stronger, albeit a lot more expensive, than the twin ball set-up on Gen 3/4 hence my interest in changing over if the time ever comes that I revert to laning from my rather sedentary driving that I am obliged to do at present. If a Gen.3/4 is driven in the manner that Suzuki may expect then the standard set-up will, no doubt suffice but !!!

Roger

Are double row angular contact bearings less expensive for the manufacturer than the simple taper roller bearings found in the SJ? They are certainly aren't less expensive for us to buy. The only savings I can think of would be in assembly time and warranty, where the pre-assembled unit removes the need for a technician to set the pre-load, and removes the potential issues caused buy that being done incorrectly.
From my experience, Gen3 front wheel bearings last a decent length of time. I've changed 2 in my 10 years of Jimny ownership, each on different vehicles, each with over 110,000 miles on the clocks. I put 80,000 miles on my first Jimny (taking it from 50k to 130k) without ever changing a wheel bearing. I run slightly larger tyres and I'm working on farms, in forests and doing lots of towing so whilst not abused they don't exactly get the easiest of lives.
Of course people running big wheels, bigger wheel offsets or often going in deep mud will need to change them more often, just as they do with SJs and any other 4x4. That's par for the course. From my experience fixing farm stuff, the bearing type makes no difference when mud is involved. They all die quickly!

A quick check on the web indicates kit for SJ413 is £31 with £13 for the Jimny. You give high mileage for the ball type and then say they all die quickly!

Roger

I was comparing like for like brand wise, not just the absolute cheapest I could find. 
All bearings die quickly when contaminated with mud is what I said.
How many miles do you expect to do in your Jimny?

My last Jimny had a hundred and fifteen thousand miles of farm, circuit, towing and green laning on the same set of front wheel bearings. Ok I prefer to avoid deep water if possible and also liquid mud but still I wouldn't say that the bearings were worse than tapered ones. Oh and I know land rover defender are made of cheese but I was either of adjusting or replacing the front bearings on my 300tdi almost every service and that didn't get half the abuse.