All the inner and outer bearings were incredibly loose in their cages. I could almost push the inner necklace out by hand. When the new ones arrived they were much tighter. The races were ok.
With the front on axle stands and the wheels off it was a good time to check the steering and swivel assemblies.. cue unexpected detour!
I adjusted the steering to remove some play from the wheel. With the wings off I could watch the steering through its full range both ways. When I went to check the steering lock stop bolts were set to 1/2" (I'll check them again with the wheels on as I have some big tyres at present), I found one was a bit short - and promptly rung the head clean off. It looks like it will drill out easily enough..
I found there was no steering lock bolt or plate on the other side at all. The steering in that direction was limited only by the track rod geometry. Consulting The Book revealed I was also missing the jack location plate on the off-side - not incredibly important, but worth £1.50 to be as it should.
Next I checked the swivel housings. As you can see from the pictures, they are not TOO bad, some light rust I could file or emery cloth off. Maybe. I would have left it at that if they held oil..
The drain plugs came out wet which I took as a good sign - I knew I'd drained what might have been in there when I had the brake back plates off to clean up as they were far more oily than on the rear. Oily brake back plates, rusted swivel housings, rusted old seal retainers, congealed oily mass on the bottom pins.. Sounds leaky doesn't it? I put some gear oil in each side with a clean drip tray underneath and went back the next day to find both were leaking - while standing, with cold oil.
So before I fit those new hub and brake parts on the front, I will first replace the swivel seals, retainers, stub axle and housing to axle case gaskets, clean up the housings, and fit new steering lock stop plates both sides - and a jack stop(!).
Hopefully they'll hold oil when I've finished. If I can't get the housings appreciably cleaner I will replace them but I'm hoping they can be tidied up. I prefer to clean and mend than replace where possible.
