front axle tear down question

[cruiser ken]

So I've had both '76 and '82 FJ40s front axles apart before, but this weekend I was working on a front axle from an FJ60 (not sure of the year). I tried to seperate the seal (circled in the pick) from the rotor rock shields (backing plates). It looks like the metal part of the seal is spot welded to the shield, is this correct? Those of you've that have rebuilt your front ends, do you just drill the spot welds and replace the seal?

 

[lovetoski]

It looks like the metal part of the seal is spot welded to the shield, is this correct?

No spot weld on my 87 fj60.

 

[soggy60]

Not spot welded, probably galvanically joined ( that is, 'corroded' to gether)

 

[cruiser ken]

Maybe, I bent the crap out of them trying to get them apart and then noticed a couple places that look spot welded. Never had any issues separating them before. I'll run them through the parts cleaner and get a better look. Thanks for the replies.

 

[2mbb]

Since there's a paper seal that goes between the dust seal and the brake dust cover, there shouldn't be any spot welds.

 

[cruiser ken]

Yeah, I figured it out, there was so much dirt, oil, and crud built up I missed the ring that is spot welded to the rock shield and got my screwdriver under that instead of under the lip of the seal. Once I figured that out it came off pretty easy.