outersketcher

After reading your comments, and doing a little more research, I dove back under the front end of the XJ to try to identify the source of the grinding.

Remember, the hub was smoking... the passenger side wheel was sprayed with oil, the XJ pulled hard to the right and, of course, the horrible grinding, are all what led me to this point.

I did the following inspections...

1) checked the vents, I discovered that the past owner had installed tubes that run up into the engine compartment. That was a nice find.

2)Removed the front drive shaft and grabbed the pinion yoke and tried my best to get it to wiggle up and down or left and right. _NO Movement_

3)reinstalled the hubs, but without the axles or driveshaft in place. Installed the wheels and tightened everything down. Then tried my best to get the wheels to wiggle up and down or left and right. _NO Movement at all_

4) Then I drove the XJ out of the driveway, and up and down the street a couple of times. The purpose of this was to remove the pinion and diff bearings from the equation while doing the test drive. It was all about the hubs at that point.

_NO grinding_

Great. HOWEVER.. when I lifted the front end again, there was suddenly about 1/2" of play in both hubs. A drastic difference from NO play 30 minutes ago. What had I done? I wonder? Did I cause the damage to those hubs while driving up and down the street twice at 10 mph?

I dunno.... doubt it. But it's possible I guess? After all, those hubs hadn't been changed to my knowledge since the original purchase. That was over 220,000 miles ago.

So, I ordered a set of new hubs, new seals, and new front brake pads as well. Re-installed everything (including the driveshaft) and filled the hub with new gear oil.

Everything runs great now.

I'm guessing the hubs were just worn out. Goofy tho, that they went from seemingly solid to 1/2 inch play in less than 30 minutes. I guess that axle nut really does play an important role in protecting the hub bearings from stress.

Now I gotta get that sagging liner out of my face..

David

outersketcher

I thought I'd post a follow up to the replacement of the front wheel bearings. At the time, I couldn't afford the $180+ for each Timken bearing. So, I found a pair of cheapie, chinese knockoffs on ebay (rated to last around 7,000 miles) for $35.00 for both.

Suuweet! Said I to myself. Installation went together fine and I drove the XJ on freeway traffic for two months...no problems.

But than, I tried to tow a little, vintage camping trailer down out of the local mountain range. The brakes got hot, and those cheapie bearings failed before I could get down into the foothills.

So, I found a way to get the money together and purchased a set of the Timken bearings this time.

Still having problems with other issues in the front end, but It least now... I KNOW I don't have to worry about the front wheel bearings.

I feel better now... and wish I hadn't bothered to waste my money on the cheapie knock-offs.

Serves me right for being a cheap-skate I guess.