Birfield Question... Got them done and now I think theres a problem?? (1 Viewer)

[92FJ]

I had my Birfield replaced at 142k miles.
Now at close to 144k miles, I see that when I look under the truck, the passenger side birf is covered in what looks like to be grease or gear oil??? The drivers side birf is totally dry. When I make sharp slow turns, I don't hear clicking at all. Is this normal or should I be concerned and take it back to my mechanic. The job was done a year ago. Is this a sign of any other problems that will occur in the future??

 

[ElJefe]

Couple of quick ?'s

...I had my Birfield replaced at 142k miles.
Now at close to 144k miles...

Did you only do one side??? If so, is the one that was replaced the side that is now leaking or the dry side??

...I see that when I look under the truck, the passenger side birf is covered in what looks like to be grease or gear oil??? The drivers side birf is totally dry...

When you say birf here ^^ I am assuming that you are talking about the steering knuckle ball as the actual birfield joint is part of the shafts and cannot be seen without taking the axle apart. Is it grease or gear oil. Excess grease could just be a sign of overpacking the knuckle and the grease pushed out when it heated up. Gear oil is a bad shaft seal and requires dissasembling the kunckles to replace.

...When I make sharp slow turns, I don't hear clicking at all. Is this normal or should I be concerned and take it back to my mechanic.

This is normal. You DO NOT want to hear any clicking under any circumstances. The clicking sound is the intro to a birfield death ceremony.

 

[92FJ]

I replaced both birfield joints. I see what looks to be grease all on the outside of it. Maybe i need some new seals there. I will talk to my mechanic. Thank You for the info.

 

[MaddBaggins]

There is a 2 piece plate on the back that hold on a felt wshr, rubber wshr, metal wshr that butt up to the back of the ball. Is that plate loose? Do not over torque it, the little bolts can break easy(dont' ask me how I know that).
If the plate is loose your grease could be escaping, if not maybe just overfilled and now it is squeezing out.

 

[ElJefe]

If your mechanic has not done any of these front ends in the past, it is likely just grease pushing past the seal. The knuckles are not like a wheel bearing. They should not be completely packed with grease... only pack the joint itself and smear a healthy reserve inside the ball. If they are overpacked, when the grease heats up it will expand and push past the inner and outer seals, onto the knuckle and into the gear oil. Most mechanics mistakenly pack it nearly solid like a wheel bearing. If it's not leaking(dripping gear oil) then I would not worry too much about it. It will eventually puke out all the excess grease. Keep wiping the outer ball down over the next couple fo weeks, and after it's done purging itself, change the diff oil which will also likely be contaminated and you should be good to go.

 

[semlin]

yes except his other steering ball is bone dry. I am not actually sure which knuckle is not normal here. Both should have a light coating of grease on the ball area. there should be nothing liquid about it and you should not see thick grease accumulations, but thin is normal.

I would remove the square topped grease plugs on top of the knuckle housing and dip a piece of coathanger or similar in both sides to see what depth of grease you have in there. I would also visually inspect the wiper seals that surround the knuckle ball. Both should look the same and the screws should be to correct torque. The felt portion of the seal should be a little wet but not covered in grease.

There is a rubber seal forming part of the wiper seal with a ridge in it that is supposed to face outward (toweards the middle of the truck). If you put the rubber seal the wrong way round the felt seal could leak a little.