First car, lx450! (2 Viewers)

[tug123]

Perfect, was just looking at their site. Only thing is I see some people replace the birf too - seems unnecessary unless you really know? I heard a little clicking when it was really low, but adding moly makes the clicks go away.

Well, they're $500/piece if I do OEM so really just leaning towards not doing that and forgetting I heard a click once or twice. I'll probably just swap them.

 

[tug123]

Per all projects, thought maybe I'd do front reman'ed calipers too, then might as well do front soft brake lines. No point in doing calipers and not doing the brake lines, right? This adds up quick.

 

[ppc]

Nope, but looks like I will soon. Better to do sooner rather than later right? Guess I could just keep filling it up every week or two and cleaning it off, but seems like a pain.

Knuckles only need to be 2/3rds filled at the time of an axle service so if you are adding more than that it's going to be overfilled. Overfilling is going to push grease past the axle seals into the diff and past the felt/rubber wipers on the back of ball.

At the start the start of your ownership knuckles ma,y or may not have required service but now that you've overfilled it needs a knuckle job in the near future and possibly multiple diff oil changes to get the grease out.

What you show is common and what you are seeing is really only a relatively small amount of grease so don't get your panties in a bunch. If I lived in a cold winter climate like you I would either fix it before it gets colder or wait until spring.

The only thing you need to do now is to clean out the axle breather making sure it is not blocking any air movement.

Depending on mileage, most of us check grease level during engine oil changes, only adding if below the magic 2/3rds level . Adding weekly is just insane. Only exception to all this is you are doing a lot of water crossing then you should be repacking wheel bearings if you suspect water ingress.

 

[ZackR]

Per all projects, thought maybe I'd do front reman'ed calipers too, then might as well do front soft brake lines. No point in doing calipers and not doing the brake lines, right? This adds up quick.

At some point you have to make the call on $$ vs effort vs what you want to accomplish you are in there.

If the soft brake lines and calipers are ok those are easy enough to do later on and it would make sense to do all of them at once. New brake pads make sense with new rotors and new rotors make sense because they will be removed for the knuckle service and wheel bearing replacement.

If it were me I'd focus on the knuckle service, resealing the front diff (a common leak point only accessible with the axles out) and I'd reuse the axles if they are still in good shape, which you will find out once they are out (mine were). As @ppc mentioned the gear oil in the front differential will take a few changes to get cleaned up and having a clear breather is key.

 

[tug123]

Knuckles only need to be 2/3rds filled at the time of an axle service so if you are adding more than that it's going to be overfilled. Overfilling is going to push grease past the axle seals into the diff and past the felt/rubber wipers on the back of ball.

At the start the start of your ownership knuckles ma,y or may not have required service but now that you've overfilled it needs a knuckle job in the near future and possibly multiple diff oil changes to get the grease out.

What you show is common and what you are seeing is really only a relatively small amount of grease so don't get your panties in a bunch. If I lived in a cold winter climate like you I would either fix it before it gets colder or wait until spring.

The only thing you need to do now is to clean out the axle breather making sure it is not blocking any air movement.

Depending on mileage, most of us check grease level during engine oil changes, only adding if below the magic 2/3rds level . Adding weekly is just insane. Only exception to all this is you are doing a lot of water crossing then you should be repacking wheel bearings if you suspect water ingress.

I probably overfilled it once the first time I did it, but about once a month I start to hear clicking, check it, and somehow it's well below half. I've only filled it three times since I've gotten the car but that alone is still far more than I should be needing to.

At some point you have to make the call on $$ vs effort vs what you want to accomplish you are in there.

If the soft brake lines and calipers are ok those are easy enough to do later on and it would make sense to do all of them at once. New brake pads make sense with new rotors and new rotors make sense because they will be removed for the knuckle service and wheel bearing replacement.

If it were me I'd focus on the knuckle service, resealing the front diff (a common leak point only accessible with the axles out) and I'd reuse the axles if they are still in good shape, which you will find out once they are out (mine were). As @ppc mentioned the gear oil in the front differential will take a few changes to get cleaned up and having a clear breather is key.

Yeah it's easy for me to make this far more involved than it needs to be, i'll push off calipers to a later date. To be clear, when you say resealing the front diff, you're talking about that paper gasket in between the actual diff (and I think many people replace that with FIPG)? I think I remember people saying new bolts or studs too.

 

[banjo1981]

I probably overfilled it once the first time I did it, but about once a month I start to hear clicking, check it, and somehow it's well below half. I've only filled it three times since I've gotten the car but that alone is still far more than I should be needing to.


Yeah it's easy for me to make this far more involved than it needs to be, i'll push off calipers to a later date. To be clear, when you say resealing the front diff, you're talking about that paper gasket in between the actual diff (and I think many people replace that with FIPG)? I think I remember people saying new bolts or studs too.

He’s probably talking about the axle seals as opposed to the diff seals. Since you’re seeing soupy gear oil type discharge.

 

[ZackR]

To be clear, when you say resealing the front diff, you're talking about that paper gasket in between the actual diff (and I think many people replace that with FIPG)? I think I remember people saying new bolts or studs too.

Correct - where the front differential attaches to the axle housing is common leak point and can only be serviced when the front axles are removed. Tightening it up helps slow the leak but it's not fully solved until it's resealed.

 

[tug123]

Correct - where the front differential attaches to the axle housing is common leak point and can only be serviced when the front axles are removed. Tightening it up helps slow the leak but it's not fully solved until it's resealed.

Yep I understand, that's not a bad idea I've stumbled on those threads before

 

[60 toy ota]

I know this goes back to the whole effort discussion but if you're gonna FIPG your diff gasket I'd recommend pulling the axle out from under the truck. First time i didn't and the diff was basically puking oil. With it out, you can ensure I nicely cleaned and smoothed sealing surface, and it's easy to just set the diff down on top without crushing your head or squishing out the FIPG unevenly. and THEN you're only 2 bolts away from having your control arms out to push in new bushings, and....

 

[tug123]

I know this goes back to the whole effort discussion but if you're gonna FIPG your diff gasket I'd recommend pulling the axle out from under the truck. First time i didn't and the diff was basically puking oil. With it out, you can ensure I nicely cleaned and smoothed sealing surface, and it's easy to just set the diff down on top without crushing your head or squishing out the FIPG unevenly. and THEN you're only 2 bolts away from having your control arms out to push in new bushings, and....

Might as well do the head gasket at that point too huh.

We'll see, at that point honestly I'm more inclined to just use the OEM gasket and not worry about it for another 100k miles. I'd love to do this in my garage but if I'm pulling the front axle I'd probably have to use my friend's shop again.

 

[ZackR]

Might as well do the head gasket at that point too huh.

We'll see, at that point honestly I'm more inclined to just use the OEM gasket and not worry about it for another 100k miles. I'd love to do this in my garage but if I'm pulling the front axle I'd probably have to use my friend's shop again.

Mostly I wanted to point it out as an opportunity - if yours is not leaking you can always call it good for now.

 

[tug123]

Mostly I wanted to point it out as an opportunity - if yours is not leaking you can always call it good for now.

For sure, I did check the gasket a few months ago and nothing was popping out at all. But it could be a good thing to do while the axles are out.

 

[tug123]

Should do the knuckle rebuild this weekend.

Finally got my CDL working and CDL switch installed before the knuckle rebuild, but one thing I'm noticing is on tight turns (>45 degrees) there's a horrible creaking/slipping sound from the front wheels. Almost sounds like it's coming from the knuckles, I can actually feel the movement when it "creaks" in the floor on DS when it happens. Sounds kind of like knuckle clicking, kind of like a gear slipping.

I know CDL makes turning very hard, just noticed this as I tested the switch install. Anything to be concerned about, or just normal behavior? Likely the CDL hasn't been used in years, took a lot of time to fix the CDL sensor.

 

[ZackR]

Should do the knuckle rebuild this weekend.

Finally got my CDL working and CDL switch installed before the knuckle rebuild, but one thing I'm noticing is on tight turns (>45 degrees) there's a horrible creaking/slipping sound from the front wheels. Almost sounds like it's coming from the knuckles, I can actually feel the movement when it "creaks" in the floor on DS when it happens. Sounds kind of like knuckle clicking, kind of like a gear slipping.

I know CDL makes turning very hard, just noticed this as I tested the switch install. Anything to be concerned about, or just normal behavior? Likely the CDL hasn't been used in years, took a lot of time to fix the CDL sensor.

Are you trying this on pavement or dirt?

 

[tug123]

Are you trying this on pavement or dirt?

........... pavement

 

[ZackR]

........... pavement

Definitely stop using the CDL on dry pavement - it's going to end up badly.

Anytime you engage the CDL on dry pavement the driveline is going to bind up when turning. With the center differential locked both the front and rear axles are forced to turn at the same speed and there has to be slippage somewhere for this to work. Either the tires will slip or something in the drivetrain will break.

For that reason avoid engaging the CDL on any surface that doesn't allow the tires to slip. Try it again in the dirt, it can still bind up when turning in the dirt but at least the tires have a chance to slip.

 

[tug123]

Definitely stop using the CDL on dry pavement - it's going to end up badly.

Anytime you engage the CDL on dry pavement the driveline is going to bind up when turning. With the center differential locked both the front and rear axles are forced to turn at the same speed and there has to be slippage somewhere for this to work. Either the tires will slip or something in the drivetrain will break.

For that reason avoid engaging the CDL on any surface that doesn't allow the tires to slip. Try it again in the dirt, it can still bind up when turning in the dirt but at least the tires have a chance to slip.

This makes a lot of sense, I knew for front and rear lockers but I didn't know it was that bad for center as well. Only did it for a solid 30 seconds so not too worried, but also checks out for why snow is okay too.

 

[ZackR]

This makes a lot of sense, I knew for front and rear lockers but I didn't know it was that bad for center as well. Only did it for a solid 30 seconds so not too worried, but also checks out for why snow is okay too.

If you were going straight on the pavement for a short distance it would probably be fine, it's when you turn that the front and rear wheels travel different distances and things bind up.

With the CDL switch you can engage it while driving so it's super convenient offroad. I'll "exercise" mine regularly when driving on dirt roads so it engages quickly when needed. I'll often turn it off when doing a U turn (offroad) to keep things from binding up.

 

[Brindleboxer]

Paper towels, did someone say paper towels!

I've posted this video before but I like how Ryan goes through the steps. It will also let you know what to have on hand when starting a knuckle rebuild. There is also a chart/poster that shows the front knuckle parts breakout and the torque values, located in this thread Front End Rebuild and Torque Specs - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/front-end-rebuild-and-torque-specs.1346931

Hope this helps.

 

[tug123]

Paper towels, did someone say paper towels!

I've posted this video before but I like how Ryan goes through the steps. It will also let you know what to have on hand when starting a knuckle rebuild. There is also a chart/poster that shows the front knuckle parts breakout and the torque values, will add later once I can find.

Hope this helps.

Awesome, yeah the one on cruiserteq's site for the kit is super helpful as well because he has a pretty explicit parts list (outside of the kit) that's definitely overkill on some stuff. Just gotta get two small jack stands for the diff plus all the grease but other than that just waiting on my new rotors.

Think I'm not gonna do the diff gasket, mine is pretty fine and I'll probably regret it later but I don't have it in me right now haha.