Axle leaking again. Can the more experienced help assess severity?

[appleburger]

I rebuilt the front knuckles on my US '92 in January of '22. Cruiser Outfitters rebuild kit and Koyo bearings. My first time with Toyota solid axles. Everything was great until the driver's side started leaking randomly a little over a year later. Now the back of the knuckle is caked in grease and grease is coming out from between the axle splines and the spindle. I do feel some slight vibration from the front end while accelerating. I expect a little lateral play in the axle but I don't remember if this much vertical/horizontal play is normal. It seems odd that it would begin leaking from the front and the back at the same time. Otherwise I would just think one of the seals let go.

I obviously need to get into the knuckle soon but I'm hoping the more experienced can make some educated suggestions on what part/s I should be prepared to replace. And if this is something significant enough that I should park until I can address or if I can grease-and-go for a while.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

How did your inner axle shafts look? That is the most common issue we see as 80's continue to age and reach high miles. It's far more common the 80 as they are full-time 4WD here in the US and many markets. The 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x and many 8x and 10x's are factory part-time so that birf/inner axle isn't spinning full-time and thus the axle seals last longer.

Gear lube migrating from the axle housing into the knuckle relates solely to the inner axle seal. Culprits can be wear/tear (5+ years/50k+ miles minimum), damaged during install, damaged inner axle shaft seal surface, damage/loose spindle bushing/bearing, improperly shimmed knuckle, steering stops adjusted incorrectly,

 

[appleburger]

They looked good as I recall. But I’ve probably put 15k on them since then. Thank you for confirming that the inner seal is the culprit. Once I get in there I’ll hopefully be able to diagnose the cause.

Does the axle play look normal to you? That and the slight vibration is what has me most concerned about driving it right now. I could see how a spindle bushing could cause excessive play and lead to vibration and a seal failure.

 

[SpenserAK]

I've only done the job once, but don't believe my shafts had much play with the drive flange off, but not sure.

Don't see remnants of grease in there

Re: seal failure - spring could have popped out of the seal, maybe shaft is worn where seal rides, etc.

Did you check the breathers to make sure they're clear?

I used the wits end offset driver so it rides on a new axle surface - same kit. Only have 6k on the rebuild, but no leaking yet

 

[BILT4ME]

I rebuilt the front knuckles on my US '92 in January of '22. Cruiser Outfitters rebuild kit and Koyo bearings. My first time with Toyota solid axles. Everything was great until the driver's side started leaking randomly a little over a year later. Now the back of the knuckle is caked in grease and grease is coming out from between the axle splines and the spindle. I do feel some slight vibration from the front end while accelerating. I expect a little lateral play in the axle but I don't remember if this much vertical/horizontal play is normal. It seems odd that it would begin leaking from the front and the back at the same time. Otherwise I would just think one of the seals let go.

I obviously need to get into the knuckle soon but I'm hoping the more experienced can make some educated suggestions on what part/s I should be prepared to replace. And if this is something significant enough that I should park until I can address or if I can grease-and-go for a while.

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The first thing I see is complete lack of grease. I just see gear oil dripping out.

There should be wheel bearing grease on the bearings and black or red moly fortified grease on the axle shaft.

Seeing that would make me think there's not enough lubrication for the spindle bushing and that's your noise and vibration. It's also possible that your wheel bearings didn't get enough lube for operation and have become pitted.

90W gear oil is known the rear wheel bearings because it is more captive. The front wheel bearings will leak gear oil out the ball seal.

Did you do the rebuild or did you pay someone else?

 

[Broski]

The axle play is not alarming the drive flange will eliminate that play.
The original spindle bearings are just a brass sleeve about 1” wide and is not a tight fit away. There also on the other end of the spindle so not going to keep that play from happening.

 

[appleburger]

The first thing I see is complete lack of grease. I just see gear oil dripping out.

There should be wheel bearing grease on the bearings and black or red moly fortified grease on the axle shaft.

Seeing that would make me think there's not enough lubrication for the spindle bushing and that's your noise and vibration. It's also possible that your wheel bearings didn't get enough lube for operation and have become pitted.

90W gear oil is known the rear wheel bearings because it is more captive. The front wheel bearings will leak gear oil out the ball seal.

Did you do the rebuild or did you pay someone else?

I noticed that too and just assumed the oil and time displaced the grease because I put a ton of the right types of grease

The first thing I see is complete lack of grease. I just see gear oil dripping out.

There should be wheel bearing grease on the bearings and black or red moly fortified grease on the axle shaft.

Seeing that would make me think there's not enough lubrication for the spindle bushing and that's your noise and vibration. It's also possible that your wheel bearings didn't get enough lube for operation and have become pitted.

90W gear oil is known the rear wheel bearings because it is more captive. The front wheel bearings will leak gear oil out the ball seal.

Did you do the rebuild or did you pay someone else?

i did it myself carefully following guides here and on YT. I definitely used a ton of multiple different types of grease including on the splines and spindle. But I’ll keep that in mind as I get in there and inspect.

 

[BILT4ME]

I noticed that too and just assumed the oil and time displaced the grease because I put a ton of the right types of grease

i did it myself carefully following guides here and on YT. I definitely used a ton of multiple different types of grease including on the splines and spindle. But I’ll keep that in mind as I get in there and inspect.

Did you pack the cavity between the inner and outer wheel bearings?

What grease did you use?

I use Lucas Red-N-Tacky 2 because it has a high drop point and has much less tendency to liquify during extended times. In other words, it stays where it's supposed to.

With some of the "generic" wheel bearing greases (I call them green grease) they will liquify and then if any gear oil mixes with it and it will stay at the lowest point and may tend to leak easier than the thicker greases.

 

[appleburger]

Did you pack the cavity between the inner and outer wheel bearings?

What grease did you use?

I use Lucas Red-N-Tacky 2 because it has a high drop point and has much less tendency to liquify during extended times. In other words, it stays where it's supposed to.

With some of the "generic" wheel bearing greases (I call them green grease) they will liquify and then if any gear oil mixes with it and it will stay at the lowest point and may tend to leak easier than the thicker greases.

Interesting. The greases were the only things I got from the neighborhood parts store. I got the right types but they were definitely generic brand. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!