This is what I think it is right, the axle tube seals failed already and I have to tear it all down again?
Did my front axle job in November, did I do it wrong? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Girl und Panzer
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Man, a bunch people viewing and typing most likely, but two concerns with that image - apart from the obvious rust on the bare metal where the felt wipes - are this;
Which looks like BIRF-SOUP (when axle grease and diff oil mix, thinning out the Birfield joint lubrication, and running out the bottom), and this;
Which looks to me like these weren't torqued down adequately, as there seems to be space between the lock washer and the arm, and there shouldn't be. There are cone washers inside the arm that seal it all up, and those nuts should be torqued to 71ft-lbs. If they're not, they can cause all kinds of problems more severe than losing your BIRF grease.
Have you removed the grease check bolt at the top and run a wire or plastic zip tie end down in there to see if there's any grease at all? If thinned by diff oil, it may have all run out over time and you're running dry. These should be roughly 3/4 full with moly enriched grease. Others will be posting shortly, I'm sure.
Which looks like BIRF-SOUP (when axle grease and diff oil mix, thinning out the Birfield joint lubrication, and running out the bottom), and this;
Which looks to me like these weren't torqued down adequately, as there seems to be space between the lock washer and the arm, and there shouldn't be. There are cone washers inside the arm that seal it all up, and those nuts should be torqued to 71ft-lbs. If they're not, they can cause all kinds of problems more severe than losing your BIRF grease.
Have you removed the grease check bolt at the top and run a wire or plastic zip tie end down in there to see if there's any grease at all? If thinned by diff oil, it may have all run out over time and you're running dry. These should be roughly 3/4 full with moly enriched grease. Others will be posting shortly, I'm sure.
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I just did mine last week.
Prior to the rebuild, to the best of my ability I cleaned 30 years of accumulated grime off and checked the torque on all the trunnion bearing nuts/bolts and grease levels. No issues. Two weeks later with things clean I saw a rod of oil much like yours as was told not to stress. Grease under pressure releases oil, so unless it smells like diff oil don't assume it is.
I took our on a 120 mile drive yesterday and the next time it is at my place, those trunnion nuts/bolts will be check and I use paint for witness marks.
Prior to the rebuild, to the best of my ability I cleaned 30 years of accumulated grime off and checked the torque on all the trunnion bearing nuts/bolts and grease levels. No issues. Two weeks later with things clean I saw a rod of oil much like yours as was told not to stress. Grease under pressure releases oil, so unless it smells like diff oil don't assume it is.
I took our on a 120 mile drive yesterday and the next time it is at my place, those trunnion nuts/bolts will be check and I use paint for witness marks.
Looks fine. Oils separates from the moly grease and get on the studs.
NeverFinis
SILVER Star
Grease can oil bleed.
I personally like a skim coating of grease on the knuckle ball itself to prevent rust and pitting.
I personally like a skim coating of grease on the knuckle ball itself to prevent rust and pitting.
The balls look dry, hard to tell but you should have a slight film on the knuckles from turning, it should run about three quarters up the ball. Make sure knuckles are full of moly, open the square plug and dip a screw driver or zip tie in. On the one stud, oil can separate out of the moly when sitting for periods of time, when mine went last time it was literally puking moly and oil mix out the ball ends going everywhere. I would do the following check torque on knuckle studs, make sure everything is seated, make sure arm is tight to knuckle, check fluid level.
Also f you rebuild take some scotch brite or something and clean all that rust off and repaint black. Also I replace hardware new studs cones washers and nuts, cheap insurance
Also f you rebuild take some scotch brite or something and clean all that rust off and repaint black. Also I replace hardware new studs cones washers and nuts, cheap insurance
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@Girl und Panzer : The swivel balls and felts appear totally dry; was grease packed into the knuckles 2/3-3/4 full when the front axle service was done?
The only problem I see is your balls are drier than a popcorn fart. They should be greasey.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
I also think the knuckles are too dry. Not enough grease in and around the birf inside the knuckle.
Each knuckle should have close to a full 14oz grease gun cartridge, or 3/4 of a 1lb tub of grease packed in around the birf.
A little bit of oil dripping from the studs at the bottom is normal.
If it's oil that's separated out of the grease, it will look kind of clearish. It will also smell like the grease.
If you have birf soup, oil dripping from the knuckle will be dirty, soupy, green/grey and will stink of gear oil. Gear oil has is own special un-holy stench that is unmistakeable.
The cropped pic above, the grease looks clean, not birf soup, but a sniff test can tell you a lot.
Each knuckle should have close to a full 14oz grease gun cartridge, or 3/4 of a 1lb tub of grease packed in around the birf.
A little bit of oil dripping from the studs at the bottom is normal.
If it's oil that's separated out of the grease, it will look kind of clearish. It will also smell like the grease.
If you have birf soup, oil dripping from the knuckle will be dirty, soupy, green/grey and will stink of gear oil. Gear oil has is own special un-holy stench that is unmistakeable.
The cropped pic above, the grease looks clean, not birf soup, but a sniff test can tell you a lot.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
Smear a little on the balls when you install the seals so they aren't rubbing on a dry surface. Also keeps the surface rust at bay.
If the knuckle is well packed, every time you steer it's gonna push grease back and forth and the balls should stay lightly greased. The felt is designed to become saturated with grease
If you have big globs of grease in the knuckle balls, the felt is probably done
- Thread starter
- #12
Thanks for the answers everyone! So when I did the rebuild last october, I used new hardware and the torquing technique from the walkthrough in the 80 FAQs - but I will verify it when I can lift it up. It passed safety in December and they always caught my loose bearings so hopefully that's a good sign. The rust is because it's been sitting all winter and after a recent snow my building got crazy aggressive about salting, so I think that's just splashed on brine - I'll take a scotchbrite to it then too. And good call on the smell test. If it means anything, it's not pouring out, it was like this after driving it maybe 10 miles since my last wheeling trip in November, sitting for over a month since the last drive. I put about 1k miles driving home from GA to VA after I finished the job but I only started to see grease in January or so. I'll also check the level too - I did fill them about 3/4 full of grease and pack the birfields and the brass spindles but didn't see the bit about smearing grease on the balls. I'll do that too!
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- Thread starter
- #13
Really good to know, ty. Hopefully 1 or both are that case and not birf soup again
- Thread starter
- #14
Ty for the zip tie trick. About how high should that read?
After you stick the zip tie into the grease port, keep it pinched in your fingers in the same place and then hold it outside the ball to see how much grease is in there. As others stated it should be 2/3+, but I usually run 3/4 full. This ends up being about 2-3" lower than the top of the grease port.
Adding more moly during every oil change helps to keep it topped up,
Adding more moly during every oil change helps to keep it topped up,
- Thread starter
- #17
Super helpful both of you, thanks!
- Thread starter
- #19
OK, finally got around to inspecting! I couldn't smell anything, even when I stuck my nose right in it - so I don't think it's dif fluid. Didn't smell like moly either oddly. Dipstick test was fine and showed probably even more than your example. I think at least half to 3/4 depending how I measured (it was hard to feel the bottom). Didn't look like the right spot your brake fluid and no peeling paint from the dust shields I repainted at the same time last year, so I guess it's all much better than it looked! Thanks everyone!
