Does my knuckle need centering?

[RPN]

I overfilled my front diff and had soup getting out via the felt seals so pulled my knuckle apart to replace the axle seal.

While in there I noticed scoring on the birf, and corresponding gouges on the top of the knuckle housing.

I guess this means the knuckle height is incorrect.
Can I reset it without the Toyota tool, or is it a must have? Or, have I misread what I'm seeing?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Malleus]

If that were the case, your inner seal ID would look like a sat–on doughnut. That looks more like fat fingered installation than poor operating position.

Aside from that very, very far away observation, if the Birfield were contacting the inner knuckle surface during rotation, it'd sound like gravel in a concrete mixer. There wouldn't be any doubt there was something wrong there. It may have made a few turns when it was installed, and then someone, somewhere, corrected the problem, but I don't think that it was spinning like that.

 

[Malleus]

FWIW, that tool is only necessary if you're completely rebuilding the knuckles, with new bearings, shims, etc. It's not needed for routine maintenance like removing the driveshaft and reinstalling it.

 

[Malleus]

Yes, but that's not what he described...

 

[RPN]

The birf had been replaced by me early on in my ownership, and the damage to the inside of the knuckle was already there - so I know when the birf went in it was new and undamaged. It's been in there maybe 150,000 Km (almost 100k miles), and I'm pretty deaf so I wouldn't have heard a small amount of scratching I don't think - also it's a 1HDT with a 3" pipe, so noisy anyway....

There didn't appear to be any metal in the grease, but I wasn't looking for it either - plus there was diff oil in the mix through the buggered seal. I was just scooping the mess out, not looking for debris. Something to add to the inspection next time.