Bumps on my 78’s rear tub/fenders?

[Gusb]

Hate cleaning parts - more bags of grease ready go out.
Jim - I'm good tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday, Feb 25th) if you want to stop by. Everything is more or less taken apart but not cleaned up/inspected for reassembly yet - seals are not in. We can just kick around, have a beer and look at stuff as you impart your wisdom, no need to get dirty. Eddy - you're welcome to drop by the house too (or we can maybe meetup somewhere around San Carlos, etc. - I'll PM you my address/cell number when I hear from Jim. If tomorrow won't work you two may want to come up with a new date? I may still have an old email for you somewhere.

 

[Gusb]

For the curious mechanic, here is the reason the Marlin Eco-seals are so good. Simply put, they have a inner sealing lip that has tons more flex than the stock seals. This allows you to have your axles not quite perfectly centered in the bore and still have a good seal. Stock seals don't do that, you have to be spot-on. The other thing the Eco-seal does is provide a nice neoprene ring on the outer surface of the seal. Pop the seal in squarely with your seal driver, and the work is done! No silicon or FIPG to screw with on that outer lip, it is sealed. Last thing is the nice metal lip that prevents you from pounding the seal in crooked or too far, the lip aligns the seal perfectly to the bore...easy peasy!

That's what I like about them, but I am only a shade tree mechanic. Things that save me time and hassle are greatly appreciated, I pass this along simply as an endorsement to a great product. I have no affiliation with marlin...(wish I could change that!!) Of course others opinions may vary!

Cheers!

I put a set in last year when I rebuilt the front axle and did the cut/turn . They are top quality seals , no doubt and excellent design . If the rubber part is of any decent quality I can see them lasting the rest of the truck's life , which is probably longer than I'll be here ....
Sarge

Thanks for the feedback on the Marlin seals - decisions, decisions...

 

[Gusb]

Ed - sent you a PM.

 

[Gusb]

Went with the stock seal (Kurt's kit). Custom seal driving tool, machining by Kiwidog - a perfect fit. Jim also suggested "pulling" the trunnion races in the housing instead of banging them in. We devised a puller - piece of 1/2-13 all thread, 2 discs from the seal tool with 2 big hold down nuts and carefully wrenched the races in. Few taps with the hammer to make sure they seated and they seemed good. Also made 2 custom brass drifts

 

[Gusb]

When I removed the main knuckle housing i removed the top (knuckle arm) bearing assembly first and then just tilted the housing off. The bottom bearing caps were then pulled on the work bench. To go back together I did the same, bottom bearings in first, tilted the housing back on over the top bearing and then install the top arm. Using finger pressure on the 17mm nuts with the top plate seem to help align the bearing arm cap. Put all nuts in place with just washers (no cone bushings) first, in case I needed to pull everything back apart. After an initial check on the preload, added the cone bushings and started to torque everything down. With all original shims back in original orientation, everything torqued to 43 ft-lb and wipers not back on preload/movement seems good. Even my high tech fish scale seems to measure right in the spec middle.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Nice. Glad I got to come by and hang out for a bit. I get the name @kiwidog now. I'm a little slow on the uptake. Thanks again for the libations.

 

[miker]

When I removed the main knuckle housing i removed the top (knuckle arm) bearing assembly first and then just tilted the housing off. The bottom bearing caps were then pulled on the work bench. To go back together I did the same, bottom bearings in first, tilted the housing back on over the top bearing and then install the top arm. Using finger pressure on the 17mm nuts with the top plate seem to help align the bearing arm cap. Put all nuts in place with just washers (no cone bushings) first, in case I needed to pull everything back apart. After an initial check on the preload, added the cone bushings and started to torque everything down. With all original shims back in original orientation, everything torqued to 43 ft-lb and wipers not back on preload/movement seems good. Even my high tech fish scale seems to measure right in the spec middle.

Amazing write-up and pictures as always Gus.

With all original shims back in original orientation, everything torqued to 43 ft-lb and wipers not back on preload/movement seems good.

I recall knuckle stud/nut torque to be somewhere in the 65ft-lb area. I also like to torque a little extra but then I am running oversized tires and hi-steer.

 

[Gusb]

Amazing write-up and pictures as always Gus.

I recall knuckle stud/nut torque to be somewhere in the 65ft-lb area. I also like to torque a little extra but then I am running oversized tires and hi-steer.

Thanks Mike, always good to hear from you - glad you caught this. Funny, my old manual (original printing, copyright 1978) which I had opened for some reason, shows the torque 43-54.3 ft-lb. Looked in my Toyota reprint (which has a 1980 copyright but is probably a combo of publications) and it shows 62-79 ft-lb? Also strange (or not considering torque), the preload is different - old manual 3.9-5.0 lb, reprint 4.0-8.4 lb)? So... I'll be increasing it to something...

On a side note, an old friend of mine always said a used lock washer is like no lock washer. So new lock washers from Toyota might also be a consideration if really worried about these nuts staying in place? I've got the old ones back on right now...

 

[Gusb]

FSM inconsistencies...

 

[Gusb]

knuckle rebuild stew...

 

[Gusb]

Wasn't planning on using any RTV, etc. on gaskets for reassembly, but this surface that closes off the moly (wheel bearing spindle) had some black rubber sealant on the gasket, and it looks like factory?

 

[Gusb]

Torqued the bearing caps/arms to 60 ft-lb and left it at that.

 

[antFJ]

Gus where did you get the mineral spirits? I went to lowes and they only carry "mineral spirits substitute"

The guy said it was a California thing

 

[miker]

Torqued the bearing caps/arms to 60 ft-lb and left it at that.

I go for about 75ft-lbs. 60 is probably ok but on the light side. After driving for a hundred miles or so, go ahead and torque them again and see if they move. If they do, do this again in another hundred miles. Keep doing that until there's no movement on any of the nuts.

I reuse the locks. I don't think its necessary to replace unless they have visible distortion.

 

[Gusb]

Gus where did you get the mineral spirits? I went to lowes and they only carry "mineral spirits substitute"

The guy said it was a California thing

Not a Bay Area CA thing ant, the stuff is everywhere around here, Home Depot, etc.

 

[Gusb]

I go for about 75ft-lbs. 60 is probably ok but on the light side. After driving for a hundred miles or so, go ahead and torque them again and see if they move. If they do, do this again in another hundred miles. Keep doing that until there's no movement on any of the nuts.

Thanks Mike - I figure I'm over-torqued in one FSM and right at the bottom of spec in the other - those people out there that never use a torque wrench may have a point

 

[Gusb]

Axles back in - no RTV on anything (paper gaskets, etc.). Got a piece of 5/8 x 7 for a short/heavier drift and a longer 1/2 x 10 piece (both brass). The 5/8 seems perfect for driving the wheel bearing races, just need a bigger hammer, 12 oz seems too light (Kiwidog complained earlier about my small hammer ) - 16 oz or bigger would probably be better.

 

[subzali]

Have you checked out your rotor thickness to make sure they're in spec? Might as well since you're there

 

[Fast Eddy]

Have you checked out your rotor thickness to make sure they're in spec? Might as well since you're there

Uh-oh. Busted.

IMO, spec is for lawyers. If they're close? They're monstrously overbuilt compared to almost any other application. Run 'em.

 

[Gusb]

Have you checked out your rotor thickness to make sure they're in spec? Might as well since you're there

Uh-oh. Busted.

Hey - this is a knuckle rebuild project - not a brake job .

One of the first things I checked was the rotor thickness. Driver's side was within spec (.755) and passenger side was way under (.728). I would think some "brake guy" did a half-donkey turn job at some point in the past. I replaced the brake master (Toyota stock) on the truck when I got it and the brakes have been pretty good - even recently with the passenger side pads soaked in gear oil and grease. Toyota has the rotors and Kiwidog pointed me to Mountain brand rotors on Amazon he says are the same. But right now the whole brake thing seems like a snowball. If I change the rotors now I'll want new pads and then I'll start thinking about a rebuild on the calipers, etc. So for now I think I'll run all the same stuff and do a complete brake thing at some point down the road. I do need to replace the worn and original 78 rubber brake lines to the calipers soon .