Rear wheel bearings
So a miracle occurred and I did some more work on my Jimny today. First of all I repaired the ARB air locker tube that had been damaged. The threads had been pulled out in the brass mounting so I had purchased a repair kit and refitted the fitting.
You can see the original damage in this article - https://www.bigjimny.com/index.php/bigjimny-blog/problems/entry/812-arb-air-line-repair and the photos below show the new parts alongside the old.
I therefore re-tapped the diff case and installed the new fitting. Here is an inside view, it was quite difficult to attach the inside pipe.
Next I tackled the rear wheel bearings. They were pretty worn so I might as well change them as its all in bits.
Sorry for the slightly out of focus pictures.
NOTE: MY JIMNY HAS A REAR DISC CONVERSION SO THERE IS NO DRUM BACKING PLATE.
DO NOT FORGET YOU HAVE TO WORK AROUND THE DRUM PLATE IF YOURS IS STANDARD
First I used "Mr Angry" (thanks Dave for the name) to cut away the old bearing and retainer ring. Although some people claim it is possible to pull the retainer off I have never seen any proof anyone has done it. I use a thin cutting disc and first cut off the outer part of the bearing and then cut through the retainer ring.
With the outer bearing parts removed, this left the retainer ring and the inner part of the bearing still in place. Carefully cut through these but NOT all the way. It is then possible to use a chisel to open the "split" you have put in them and then tap them off the shaft.
Then it is a matter of cleaning it all up ready for the replacement bearings.
The bearings are available from the BigJimny store in both standard and ABS forms. It is essential that the bearing is fitted the correct way around. As can be seen in the picture the bearing has an inbuilt spacer on one face which HAS to face the hub. It is possible to purchase a variant of this bearing without a spacer built in (watch out for bearings made for early SJs where the spacer is separate). It can be seen in my "destroyed" bearing inner ring that there is a spacer built in on one edge.
I am fortunate to have a small press capable of pressing up to 10 tonnes and also taking long shafts, so a simple press on of the bearings and it is job done
