First Time Front Knuckle Rebuild (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 28, 2017
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29
Location
TN
Hey guys, got my Wits' End 54mm socket in yesterday and started the process of tearing down my front knuckles. I had posted previously asking if I should get or not to get new locking nuts/adjusting nuts because it looks like whoever was in here last forgot to put the adjusting nut on one side and the others had bad gouges from a screwdriver. Ended up buying 4 new ones and I am glad I did!

The driver side single nut they had put on seems to have been cross-threaded on the spindle and by the time I got it backed off the nut is basically smooth on the inside. I have cleaned the spindle off and the threads look decent on that but now my concern is the spindle itself. The passenger side looks clean and shiny and the outer bearing still had some blue grease in it, but the driver side spindle is pretty rusty and looks kind of pitted in some areas as seen below. Just seeing if anyone has run into this issue before and if just a good cleaning is all I need or if there may be some worse problems hiding. Also, the outer bearing of the driver side was rusty as could be and fell apart in my hands. Looking it over it has 0 markings as to the brand so I assume the last person to rebuild this went as cheap as they could (also missing that lock washer, adjusting nut, and a cone washer).

PS: if you're wondering why it looks like a gooey grey mixture on the driver side it turns out the brake caliper has been leaking on that side. Not to worry though got some Napa remans waiting to go on!
Sprindle 2.jpg
Spindle 1.jpg
 
You may try some emery cloth, high grit sandpaper or scotch pad to gently try to work off that rust. I'd definitely replace those bearings and if you can swing it I'd probably replace the spindle anyway.
 
You may try some emery cloth, high grit sandpaper or scotch pad to gently try to work off that rust. I'd definitely replace those bearings and if you can swing it I'd probably replace the spindle anyway.
These are Land Cruisers! cut off wheel and 80 grit flap disc is all you need!

J/K..... Scotch pads are my first go to. :) :cheers:
 
Why is the inner wheel bearing and rear seal still on the spindle and not in the hub?
Thank you. I could figure out why they didn't look right! Really WTF?
 
You may try some emery cloth, high grit sandpaper or scotch pad to gently try to work off that rust. I'd definitely replace those bearings and if you can swing it I'd probably replace the spindle anyway.

I'll definitely give that a try. The wheel bearings are a definite since I can't even tell what brand they put in here...

These are Land Cruisers! cut off wheel and 80 grit flap disc is all you need!

J/K..... Scotch pads are my first go to. :) :cheers:

Looks like I'll be picking up some at work tomorrow to see how good looking I can get it.

Why is the inner wheel bearing and rear seal still on the spindle and not in the hub?

HAHA honestly couldn't tell ya why they didn't come out with the hub, however when I pulled the hub off they stayed behind. The bearing was easy to take off but I had to use a small pry bar to get the seal off....

Inner seals are definitely shot though, as soon as I took the bolts off the dust seal the bottom began oozing out diff fluid...there was also no gasket between the seal and dust cover....
 
I'll definitely give that a try. The wheel bearings are a definite since I can't even tell what brand they put in here...



Looks like I'll be picking up some at work tomorrow to see how good looking I can get it.



HAHA honestly couldn't tell ya why they didn't come out with the hub, however when I pulled the hub off they stayed behind. The bearing was easy to take off but I had to use a small pry bar to get the seal off....

Inner seals are definitely shot though, as soon as I took the bolts off the dust seal the bottom began oozing out diff fluid...there was also no gasket between the seal and dust cover....
It shouldn't be able to stay behind because there should be a seal there to prevent it.
 
It shouldn't be able to stay behind because there should be a seal there to prevent it.

Well the seal was there...but was not sealing and it and the bearing stayed on the spindle...the further I’ve gotten into this thing the worse it is seeming to be.
 
Well the seal was there...but was not sealing and it and the bearing stayed on the spindle...the further I’ve gotten into this thing the worse it is seeming to be.
The seal should prevent it from coming out of the hub. Maybe I am missing something.
 
The seal should prevent it from coming out of the hub. Maybe I am missing something.

No you're definitely correct...I just think it was so bad in there the seal had come loose from the hub and stuck on the spindle rather than the hub when I pulled it off.
 
This is why I decided to do my own work. I can do half assed. Rather not pay someone else to do it.
 
It shouldn't be able to stay behind because there should be a seal there to prevent it.
It can do that when water gets in and rusts the inner wheel bearing race to the spindle.
 
The hub may be damaged to the point a new inner bearing seal will not stay in the hub.
 
It can do that when water gets in and rusts the inner wheel bearing race to the spindle.
Ok, I see the seal is still on the spindle. Oh that can't be good.
 
That spindle is trashed anyway. The last few threads are ground off, presumably by the nut spinning/rattling around.
 

I recognized it because I had the same thing when I first bought my 80. :) New spindle, wheel bearings, and all the other stuffs on that one side came from Cruiser Outfitters and fixed me right up. :) (along with knuckle rebuild parts)
 

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