Front drive shaft seals

Hi Guys, please excuse my lack of knowledge but I'm new to the Jimny and I'm trying to get to grips with what to look out for when buying one. I have read through the very good buying guide which is pointing me in this direction.

My question is I have viewed two this weekend both are low mileage cars, one was 53k on an 03 and 41k on an 02. Both look to have oil leaking from the front drive shaft seals, is this linked to the king pin bearings? I could drive the 41k 02 and there was no sign of wobble. Is this common at around the mileage?

What would the expected costs be to change the seals and the king pin bearings.

Also I noticed on one that the fuel gauge was showing 1/4 tank even when the ignition was off, possible wiring problem?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

BR

There are two sorts of Jimny: those that have just had the kingpin bearings done, and those that need them doing
The oil leak will be because the kingpin bearings need doing, along with the oil seals. If they are bad enough to cause an oil leak, the car will fail MOT.

No idea how much at a garage, I wouldn't trust anyone else to touch my car, I have to psych up for a week before I can let the MOT man near it. :ohmy:
The parts cost £48 a side from the BigJimny shop, this includes the dust seal that is around £20, and you can get away without changing.

Suzuki fuel gauges stay up, this is normal. The reading only changes if you have the ignition on.

Hi, thanks for the response. Interesting you say it would have been an mot failure as the one I looked at today has just had an mot done. Very suspect. I assume then that they should have picked up on the excessive play in the bearings.

Thanks, confirmed my fears.

The basic kit which includes the bearings and the inner seal (which is where the oil is coming from) is £24 per side. The version with the larger dust seal is £48 but as said this larger seal is not essential

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What happens is the play in the bearings causes the driveshaft to distort the oilseal and it leaks, enough play to do this will fail the MOT


From the MOT Testers Manual

It is not possible to lay down precise king pin/bush wear limits but the following may be helpful as a guide in determining acceptable wear at king pins.

With the wheel braked, note the total amount of movement at the wheel rim when the wheel is rocked. For a 50cm wheel this should not exceed 10mm. The maximum for other wheel diameters should be in proportion to this figure.

So up to the tester really, I'd at least expect an advisory if there was play.


There should be grease inside the swivel, and it is possible that a smear of grease gets on the surface that looks like an oil leak..

A leaking seal causes oil to run down and drip on the tyre. If it is oil, it is runny and smells a bit like cat wee, grease doesn't smell much.


Like I said, you will be lucky to find one that doesn't need the kingpin bearings doing

Hi facade, there was far too much for it to be grease. It was all around the inner of the tyre and all over the disc back plate. It had been dripping. To be honest I'm going to give the one today a miss anyway, it just doesn't feel right.

BR