first knuckle tear down complete...now what? (1 Viewer)

[DustyFJ]

I got the first knuckle apart but

1. Whats the easiest way to slean all this crap? paper towel, brake cleaner, wire brush?

2. Did you do anything different when painting the knuckle? or just self etching priner and paint?

3. is there an easy way to remove the seal between the axle and the knuckle?

4. Will these races bea easy to get out? Or is it okay to drop the new bearings into the old races?

 

[mwalls54]

1. box lined with trashbag, lots of brake cleaner and papertowels and rubber gloves really helps.
2. no different.
3. Which seal? the inner seal? a screwdriver works good.
4. what do your bearings look like? if the races are smooth they are good, I would just clean them and repack with grease. Because if not you will have to use a knuckle centering tool and a 12" caliper to measure shim thickness and so on. You wouldn't be ready by the weekend.

 

[cruiser88]

I think Matt nailed it

other than the centering tool

 

[toy4xfun]

yea i would not worry about the bearings, unless they are bad, all but one of them on my 84 were good.

 

[mwalls54]

I think Matt nailed it

other than the centering tool

what you just put in bearings and call it good?

 

[cruiser88]

yep...........been doing it fer 20 years now

what you just put in bearings and call it good?

 

[DustyFJ]

so its a bad idea to drop new bearings in the old races???

 

[toy4xfun]

yes it is, clean and pack them, pm directions to your place, i will look at your bearings and races!

 

[mwalls54]

yep...........been doing it fer 20 years now

uh yeah remind me not to let you rebuild my knuckles or anything else on my truck

 

[toy4xfun]

paul, the bearings and races where together, Toyota used some great s*** when they built your truck, so first question i would ask is who made your bearings. where did you get them from.

 

[mwalls54]

So how did it turn out.

 

[DustyFJ]

my friend Scotty came over friday night and helped me finish rebuilding the knuckles. We finished round 1:30, took a nap then out of bed at 4:30 and off to rausch.

Smooth drive up, no heat or wobble issues the truck was pulling a little to the right. Not sure if thats beacuse of different knuckle preloads or an alignment issue. But either way it wasnt too bad.

I managed to break the drivers side motor mount. I think I bounced over the top of oone of those hill climbs too fast. on any steep incline or heavy rev the fan would hit the shroud and sound terrible.

The truck had a good vibration going on the way home, I checked several times for heat around the knuckles and didnt feel anything. The vibration seemed to worse depending on if I was climbing or desending hills. I had to drive back limiting my speed to about 55ish

good times

 

[mwalls54]

jack it up like we did at fall crawl and see if the wheels move from top to bottom. Some times the wheel bearings will losen up. I usually torque the 54mm bolt then spin it a few times then loosen it up and retorque it. also check and see if the steering it tight. There are some threads on how to do alingment your self.