I am in the process of repairing my leaky front axle seals, and at the same time address the sloppy steering of my 93 FJ80. I replaced the axles, Birfields, all bearings, and seals. During the re-installation I had trouble shimming the steering knuckle to give me the 5.6-10 lbs pull the service manual calls for. My cruiser has always been a bit squirrely at highway speeds, and one video I watched said if you have a lifted Cruiser and larger tires the correct tension is 12 to 15 lbs. When I add any shims at all my knuckle is basically loose, no play, but no resistance either. I removed the shims all together on re-assembly and got about 7 lbs resistance. I did not measure the distances to verify the axle is centered, since adding any shims exacerbated the steering issue. I reassembled everything according to spec and drove the truck back and forth to work once, about a 50 mile round trip. Parked it in garage for a few days and noticed both seals are leaking my fresh gear oil onto the floor. I’m assuming my issue is the axle is not centered and wiping out the seal.
My question is does anyone have any ideas as to why my knuckles don’t want to shim properly? How do you fix it? It was the same issue both sides. Would seem unlikely the knuckles on both sides are bad or the axle housing is the issue (god forbiod), so I’m guessing there is something I’m missing. All of the original shims were in the top of the knuckle, none in the bottom. Can the pieces that are shimmed be collapsed slightly like what happens to a crush sleeve?
My question is does anyone have any ideas as to why my knuckles don’t want to shim properly? How do you fix it? It was the same issue both sides. Would seem unlikely the knuckles on both sides are bad or the axle housing is the issue (god forbiod), so I’m guessing there is something I’m missing. All of the original shims were in the top of the knuckle, none in the bottom. Can the pieces that are shimmed be collapsed slightly like what happens to a crush sleeve?