M151A2 Steering Extremely Stiff

[Horst]

at least it is a relatively cheap fix for your problem...

[rickf]

After seeing this I would highly recommend changing ALL of the oils, engine, transmission and differentials. You have no idea what this person has done.

[glcaines]

I received my NOS MRC 104 KSFF bearing from Army Jeep Parts today. The bearing was completely frozen up. No way to turn it. It had zero rust or corrosion, but apparently the grease in the bearing had solidified. The bearing is probably many decades old. Interestingly, this is a completely sealed bearing. I looked up new MRC 104 KSFF bearings and the new ball bearings with the same nomenclature are not sealed. Anyway, I took a heat gun to the frozen-up bearing from AJP and heated it up to ~120 deg. F. After this I was able to get the bearing to turn with difficulty. I kept heating it and trying to turn it and it finally completely loosened up. Even after it cooled down, it now turns completely freely, just like it should. I'm going to go ahead and use it. There is no way to add any grease to it since it is a sealed bearing.

[lpcoating]

You should be able to remove the seal on the bearing.

Guy

[glcaines]

You should be able to remove the seal on the bearing.
Guy

When I said sealed bearing I was probably misleading. The original bearing and the NOS one from Army Jeep Parts were identical. There is steel crimped in place on both sides of the bearing. There is no way to really get in there and remove the old grease and apply new grease. The bearing appears to be 100% functional today after the heat treatment with the heat gun. Apparently, the heat resurrected the old grease since it now turns freely and feels like it was recently greased. I'm going to install it today.

[Horst]

Following this thread, I probably have a comparable topic. As already said, once the jeep sits for some time, the first minutes of driving will show some stiff steering behaviour which goes away after a few minutes driving. I do believe now that also in my case that said bearing is the culprit. Being a "Barstow" it is the original bearing and did sit many years outside.

[glcaines]

The steering is back together now with the new bearing from AJP. What a difference! Before, it was literally almost impossible to turn the steering wheel. Now, with the front wheels off the ground, it will turn with one finger. I'm getting ready to adjust the brakes is why the front end is still off the ground. This was not a difficult job to do once I knew where the problem was.