Replacing Jimny Kingpin Bearings

I have bought the bits (4 bearings & 2 seals) and studied a couple of HOW TOs on the forums.
The only thing left I can think of that might give me a problem is access to the 4 bolts holding the bearing hub to the steering knuckle.
My 2004 Jimny has both the vacuum operated hubs and ABS rotors & sensors.

I was hoping to avoid dismantling the bearing hub as that would require buying the pin tool to undo the circular bearing retaining nut (160 ft-lbf trque) as is indicated in the Suzuki Jimny workshop manual.

Using a flat style ring spanner will I be able to get at the 4 bolts behind the ABS rotor without having to dismantling / removing the bearing hub parts first?

thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

overthetop:ohmy:

mlines,

I replaced the brake discs and pads the other month and unfortunately I didn't take too much interest in the kingpins (as I should have!) or the ABS rotors although I did see them. As in the Suzuki workshop manual, it appears the ABS rotor is directly behind the wheel stud flange, pressed onto the wheel bearing hub. From what I remember, the rotor is about 12 mm wide although its diameter varies depending on which view you look at in the workshop manual!
The question is, is there enough space between the rotor and the 4 bolts holding the bearing stub axle housing to the steering knuckle to undo the bolts. Basically it is the same gap as you would have had less approx 16 mm.

Next point of interest is that my Suzuki dealer (where I bought the seals) implied he would hire me the wheel bearing locknut tool although I still hope not to have to dismantle the wheel bearings.

Another forum member reckons he changed his kingpins by only removing the knuckle seal and the two kingpins before pulling forward the whole lot including the half shaft! It looks technically possible although that is quite a lot of weight! I assumed he had the sense to remove the brake disc first.
Not sure if he had the option of leaving the half shaft for withdrawal later as I have found splined shafts in these situations stuck firmly in their hubs on other cars.
It must have been a pain to guide it all back in on reassembly.

Brian

Just pull the kingpins out and snatch the whole hub assembly off. I've done Landrovers that way, and I pulled the whole ball housing, driveshaft, CV brake disk etc. off the rangerover as one lump to change the large swivel seal. They go back no problem, just wear rubber gloves so you don't get axle oil on your hands, use the left hand to wiggle the halfshaft and the right to support the housing which you balance on your thigh and just push.
remember to keep that side jacked up

Take a wheel off and have a look at what you have to do. If you want to leave it a few months I will pull mine off in the summer hols and regrease everything, I'll take some photos then.

There is absolutley no need to take the entire hub apart on ABS models I changed my king pin bearings ( 2006 VVt with ABS ) a while back and only one of the 4 bolts is a bit awkward to get out oddly, the upper right as you look at the hub head on.

The bolt will go hard against the ABS ring with about one turn to go before being fully out, but if you line it up with one of the cut outs in the ring and rotate it back and forth a little there is just enough movement to get it out using an open ended spanner, it's a tight squeeze but it does come out. ( don't use the ring end of the spanner, not enough space and it jams. guess how I found that out ) Otherwise just follow Martins guide,it's spot on.

p.s. don't even try to take the ABS sensor out, all I managed to do was snap the bolt and the sensor was still totally solid in the hub but thats no different to any other car I've worked on. It WILL break if you force it ! There's more than enough length in the sensor wiring to get the hub out of the way, just remember to support it as its way to heavy for the sensor wiring to support.

If I choose the option of not removing the ABS sensor and not unbolting the wheel spindle from the steering knuckle then I assume I would have to leave the half shaft behind because of limited length of the sensor wire?
If that is the case then by taking off the vacuum locking hub first and removing the circlip & washer it would allow the half shaft to stay behind. I could then pull out the half shaft as a separate item to give me full access to the replacing of the kingpin bearing outer rings.

Does that sound in/ practicable?

That's exactly what I did, worked a treat and it's exactly as described in the "how to" on here. I should probably also explain when I said "the upper right as you look at the hub head on" I was thinking of the nearside / left. I should have said the upper bolt towards the rear.

www.bigjimny.com/index.php?option=com_ku...=7&id=2448&Itemid=75

Found the above link in Jimny Technical Forum regards the front ABS sensors.
It shows a couple of decent pictures of the ABS sensor, its fixing and the rotor.

Obviously removing a working sensor for reuse without damaging it would be ideal - they are not cheap!

Something to add/update to the original well-written HOW TO for the newer Jimny owners?

Unfortunately, despite wishful thinking and common sense, there is no connector for the front abs sensor, both sensors are wired to a single plug at the abs unit

I would take the disc off, and spray a bit of plusgas*, or diesel on the thread of the sensor bolt, then remove it and carefully twist and push the sensor out.

*WD4* isn't a penetrating oil, it doesn't work.

Having just replaced the kinpin bearings I would say by the poor state of the lower bearing that it had suffered from water ingress.
The grease around the lower bearing had emulsified; the bearing was all black, badly pitted and fell apart on removal.
Has anyone any suggestions on how to improve the effectiveness of the swivel hub seal?
Also, what about pouring 100ml of SAE 140 EP gear oil thro the top kinpin opening on re-assembly?

overthetop

It will come out. And it smells

As someone pointed out, the seals are a service item and should be checked and renewed pretty much every time you drive through mud or sand.

Just use waterproof grease on the bearings, and strip and clean them every year.

I accept that the Jimny swivel hub seal isn't going to keep out all the weather but at £60+ a pair that is a bit steep for routine replacement for owners like me who only go off-road once in a blue moon.

I think you will find that waterproof grease isn't 100% waterproof – it is just a bit more water resistant than some of the other greases used on motor vehicles.
Under extreme pressure between the components of the taper roller bearing, the grease and any water ingress will eventually produce an emulsion mix to the detriment of the bearing.

So what about a top hat shaped shim to keep in the grease and keep out the water for the bottom kingpin bearing?

Shims are already available for those who want to increase the kingpin bearings’ preload.
The idea being to take the quality of fit of the assembly to something a bit better than the result normally achieved from the machined tolerances of all the parts involved.
Ideally, this preload will maintain uniform steering characteristics when driving under normal situations.
Properly measured, a small increase (but a well chosen amount) of preload, is likely to reduce bump steering when driving off-road.

So, the answer to my question is yes, by all means add a little more preload to that chosen by Suzuki but at the same time why not try to keep water out of the bottom kingpin bearing.

That is my logical for adding a top hat shaped shim. Obviously the top hat dimensions must be suitable for its location. Not too tall as to foul the CV joint. Not too small as it would not have a small grease reserve and/or a small airspace above the bearing.

Or is my logic flawed?