Failing Seal ? (1 Viewer)

[dpeshkin]

Hi guys-
I’ve notice this slow leak from my front driver’s side knuckle. Does this mean time for a replacement? The bolts on the perimeter were not very tight, which I tightened.
I am wondering if it is time for new seals? The front end was rebuilt less than 5k miles ago .
Thank you in advance for tour help.
Dan

 

[ppc]

That is the beginnings of birfield soup where the inner axle seal is allowing the mixture of gear oil to contaminate the grease in the knuckle cavity. The bolts you tightened have nothing to do with the problem.

The inner axle seal may have failed
The axle shaft may have a significant groove worn into it allowing the gear oil to pass through
The spindle bushing wear could have allowed excess movement of the birfield/axle shaft destroying the seal

 

[Rusty Marlin]

Yup, time to start saving for the kit.

 

[dpeshkin]

Yup, time to start saving for the kit.

Damn it. The front end was rebuilt just 5k miles ago!
I knew I should have waited till Monday to post this now my weekend is messed up.
I don’t have the tools for this type of job. What’s a ballpark on this? And should I do both sides? The front end was just rebuilt. Damn

 

[Rusty Marlin]

The tools themselves for this job aren't overly expensive or specialized. You can get them all at HF. An impact driver with the fancy wobble bits helps, but isn't required.
The skill set needed is mostly attention to detail and patience.
This job is as messy as they come, but not killer difficult; the parts are large and robust.
The brass rod for knocking out the kingpin bearings (top and bottom of knuckle) will give your wallet a shock for such a simple piece of rod stock.
The seal pusher can be rented at O'Riely's (I bought the brand new one, still in the wrapper, they were going to rent me).
There are a couple of excellent videos to watch to give you multiple perspectives on this job.
DIY you'll be in it for $500-$700 with full kit including wheel bearings and your new tool sets.
If you find the spindles need replacing you'll be in another $250ish/side.

Its a 12hr job, for the experienced, so hourly rate times 12---around here that's ~$100/hour on top of parts and whatever mark up they put on them.
Just my opinion... Take that $1200 bucks you'd pay someone else and put it toward tools and your own education and experience.
Your Ego will love you for it.

 

[gummycarbs]

If it was done 5k miles ago, you don't need to replace parts. Just take it apart, seat the seal deeper, clean everything out, pack with new grease, and put it back together.

The only specialized tools you need are an axle nut socket (~20) and something to seat the seal deeper (Wit's End or you could probably make your own).

 

[Rusty Marlin]

If it was done 5k miles ago, you don't need to replace parts. Just take it apart, seat the seal deeper, clean everything out, pack with new grease, and put it back together.

The only specialized tools you need are an axle nut socket (~20) and something to seat the seal deeper (Wit's End or you could probably make your own).

Would you trust it was done correctly?
Still need all the gaskets as they will most likely be toast removing them, never seen a gasket that didn't stick somewhere around its perimeter and tear.

 

[gummycarbs]

Would you trust it was done correctly?

I would have no reason to believe that it wasn't. I wouldn't expect someone to take it upon themselves to install a seal deeper.

Still need all the gaskets as they will most likely be toast removing them, never seen a gasket that didn't stick somewhere around its perimeter and tear.

Gaskets are cheap. Also, I dismantled and reassembled mine several times a year or two ago while chasing a noise. The gaskets came off cleanly and I was able to reuse them. But yeah, everyone should have a spare gasket set, some nuts, studs, and lock washers, especially if they weren't the last one to open it up.

 

[Rusty Marlin]

Also, I dismantled and reassembled mine several times ... The gaskets came off cleanly and I was able to reuse them.

I wish I could get that lucky once in a while... LOL

 

[gummycarbs]

I wish I could get that lucky once in a while... LOL

Yeah, it's a crapshoot. Or it's evidence that I'm not properly cleaning the mating surfaces. Either way, I got lucky and haven't had any leaks.

 

[sogafarm]

I just did mine a couple of weeks ago. It's a messy job, but, if it was recently done, you won't have all the years of grime to clean up. The cleaning was the most time consuming of the job, so you can probably bang it out in a couple of days or one really long one if everything else is re-usable(I.E. the bearings). Price for a complete kit with koyo bearings and the 54mm socket runs around $250. Then you will need one can of red bearing grease and three cans of grey moly grease, plus lots of paper towels.
Brass hammer, torq wrench, and brass punch come in handy. Anyone who owns a solid axle LC needs to know how to do this job as it will have to be done several times in the vehicles life. It's maticulous, but not complicated, just follow the instructions thoroughly.

 

[shocktower]

5K is a short life , for that job, I would ask the guy who did it, offer you a discount on it failing that soon, the drivers side is the tougher ones because the longer axle some times damages the seal. JMHO

 

[dpeshkin]

Hi guys-
I’ve notice this slow leak from my front driver’s side knuckle. Does this mean time for a replacement? The bolts on the perimeter were not very tight, which I tightened.
I am wondering if it is time for new seals? The front end was rebuilt less than 5k miles ago at tourfab.
Thank you in advance for tour help.
Dan

View attachment 2751803

View attachment 2751805

Apparently the well known shop that rebuilt my front end used aftermarket seals which explains why it was leaking after 5k miles.

 

[audi2nr]

Oh boy.. so are you actually located in SF and you brought the rig to washington to get fixed? Or do you live in Washington now. Or did was the work done and you bought rig from washington? The job isn't bad just messy. Need a little more context to figure out the story.

 

[2000cruiser]

Deleted - misread the original post.

 

[dpeshkin]

No. It was not fixed there. I hear they do good work.

 

[manofthewoods]

Damn it. The front end was rebuilt just 5k miles ago!
I knew I should have waited till Monday to post this now my weekend is messed up.
I don’t have the tools for this type of job. What’s a ballpark on this? And should I do both sides? The front end was just rebuilt. Damn

Lots of good advice on this thread and other threads here on MUD. I just finished mine this morning. Otramm video & FSM are "must haves"
My lesson learned is to use the same grease on the bearings above and below the Birfield as you'll use in the Birfield. I used red wheel bearing grease. Not the end of the world, but I won't do that again.
As others have indicated, doing this yourself is a excellent way to REALLY understand how a key component works (or doesn't!)
Enjoy the journey

 

[audi2nr]

I understand that, but was this a situation where you just bought the truck and the previous owner had the front axle rebuilt there? Like why were crappy seals used?

 

[Rwhat]

Wipe the paper gaskets down with a thin coating of grease. In my experience they are removable and reusable when taking apart.

 

[BILT4ME]

No. It was not fixed there. I hear they do good work.

So this was NOT done at Torfab.

Please correct that note in your first post.

Whomever did rebuild your front axle may not have properly adjusted the wheel bearings.

Use of other seals can also be of issue. Any records as to who the REAL rebuilder was?