Drive with Leaking Front Axle

[Von Hayek]

Hey folks, I am looking to buy an FJ62 here soon, and I know the front axle is leaking. Is this safe to drive around for a while before I get around to rebuilding?

Thanks for the help from a great community here.


Best,

Bart
Bristow, Va.

 

[lehiguy]

Most likely the answer is yes. What happens is the diff lube gets past what is called the inner axle seal or trunion seal and leaks out the bottom on the steering knuckle after turning all the grease into goo. If your hubs are unlocked, it won't matter, but check the diff level when you can. When the time comes to rebuild the steering knuckles (not hard to do) use the seal available from Marlin Crawler, it is ten times better than the OEM seal.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

lehiguy is correct. You can drive around wth it leaking for awhile but I would not do it for an extended period of time. The bearings on top and bottom of the knuckle that hold the load for steering need thick moly grease and differential oil will not lubricate them correctly. If you drive for a long time your steering "may" feel loser but other than that I see no immediate danger of wrecking your front axle as those bearings can be replaced when you do a knuckle rebuild.
-Randy

 

[Mace]

How bad is it leaking?

 

[Von Hayek]

How bad is it leaking?

Really don't know. I have only been told by the owner that it is leaking and needs to be repaired. I've seen the thread on rebuilding the knuckles and it is my intention to do so, but I have a beach trip in two weeks and would like to drive it.

 

[jeverich]

Depends on how bad the leak is....If you've got a slow leak I don't see what the problem would be to drive on it - I drove on a leaking seal for about a month.

But, you've got a beach trip coming up. Ask yourself, do you really want to unscrewing your diff cap to check/add fluid and risk getting sand in your gears?

I guess it depends on how bad the leak is and how long the trip is...

Need more info.

- jake

 

[rusty_tlc]

How bad is it leaking?

Really don't know. I have only been told by the owner that it is leaking and needs to be repaired. I've seen the thread on rebuilding the knuckles and it is my intention to do so, but I have a beach trip in two weeks and would like to drive it.

Top it up and re-check it in a week. A little bit of gear lube goes a long way when it comes to making a mess so don't go by how bad it looks.


FWIW I wouldn't drive a truck I just got on a road trip until I knew it better than you will after two weeks.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

..The bearings on top and bottom of the knuckle that hold the load for steering need thick moly grease and differential oil will not lubricate them correctly. If you drive for a long time your steering "may" feel loser..

Nice explanation. That said, I've seen sold axle Toyotas go for years, really indefinitely, with leaky knuckles. But be nice to your truck, and replace those bearings along with the seals.

 

[Von Hayek]

Nice explanation. That said, I've seen sold axle Toyotas go for years, really indefinitely, with leaky knuckles. But be nice to your truck, and replace those bearings along with the seals.

That's the plan. I'm already looking at knuckle rebuild kits. I want to do the brakes at the same time as well--new hoses, new rotors, and either rebuild or new calipers.

 

[Tofudebeest]

Heed this advice:

Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters sells the best front knuckle and axle rebuild kits at the lowest price with best customer service. Also, he sells Marlin inner axle seals, which are not just better than OEM, but so much better that it is amazing that the stock ones get sold at all.

 

[Von Hayek]

Heed this advice:

Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters sells the best front knuckle and axle rebuild kits at the lowest price with best customer service. Also, he sells Marlin inner axle seals, which are not just better than OEM, but so much better that it is amazing that the stock ones get sold at all.

Thanks for the advice. I was just on his site, and I see that he offers kits with and without wheel bearings. With 180k, is it given that the wheel bearings are shot? I can't imagine that is always the case and I would love to keep $100 in my wallet.

 

[Tofudebeest]

We all understand the cash flow issue, but listen, if you are going in there, do the full job. It is a dirty, dirty job and you want to do it as few times as possible. With 180k on those, they MUST be more than half-worn, simple physics. If you get in there and find pristine, excellent-condition bearings (a minor miracle or the result of a previous rebuild, with a poor job on the seals resulting in your leak...and there's a good chance that is what happened), you could always just re-use them and return the ones you bought... Kurt would be cool with that.

Make sure you use the right grease! https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/291050-knuckle-grease-source-help.html

 

[Von Hayek]

We all understand the cash flow issue, but listen, if you are going in there, do the full job. It is a dirty, dirty job and you want to do it as few times as possible. With 180k on those, they MUST be more than half-worn, simple physics. If you get in there and find pristine, excellent-condition bearings (a minor miracle or the result of a previous rebuild, with a poor job on the seals resulting in your leak...and there's a good chance that is what happened), you could always just re-use them and return the ones you bought... Kurt would be cool with that.

Make sure you use the right grease! https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/291050-knuckle-grease-source-help.html

Excellent...thanks. One more thing to the list - Molybdenum Disulphide Lithium Base Grease.

 

[lehiguy]

We all understand the cash flow issue, but listen, if you are going in there, do the full job. It is a dirty, dirty job and you want to do it as few times as possible. With 180k on those, they MUST be more than half-worn, simple physics. If you get in there and find pristine, excellent-condition bearings (a minor miracle or the result of a previous rebuild, with a poor job on the seals resulting in your leak...and there's a good chance that is what happened), you could always just re-use them and return the ones you bought... Kurt would be cool with that.

Make sure you use the right grease! https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/291050-knuckle-grease-source-help.html

My front wheel bearings have 362,000 miles on them and they are fine.

 

[Tofudebeest]

That's absurd. Is there friction on your planet?

 

[Mace]

That's absurd. Is there friction on your planet?

Not it's not. Commonly those bearings can last a very long time with proper maintenance.

 

[lehiguy]

That's absurd. Is there friction on your planet?

Yes. But we routinely fight against it with grease!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...If you get in there and find pristine, excellent-condition bearings (a minor miracle or the result of a previous rebuild, with a poor job on the seals resulting in your leak...and there's a good chance that is what happened), you could always just re-use them and return the ones you bought... Kurt would be cool with that...

Yup, buy the complete kit and end up not needing the bearings, I'll gladly take them back, you just pay the ride back to me and I'll credit you accordingly.

 

[Mace]

Yup, buy the complete kit and end up not needing the bearings, I'll gladly take them back, you just pay the ride back to me and I'll credit you accordingly.

Problem solved