Holy Christ. Nearly lost the front wheel.

[midfat]

So my passenger front axle seal has been dripping for the last two weeks. Put the truck up on the lift today to top off the birf. Discovered two of the four bolts that hold the steering arm onto the outer housing sheared off. Gone. The two that remained were most of the way out and easily rotated with two fingers. The steering arm was gapped a full 1/2" from the housing, exposing the lower trunion bearing seat by the same amount. Jesus. I was about to drive my 50 mile freeway commute home. Safe to say I probably would have lost the steering and likely the entire wheel, on the freeway, on my drive home. My heart is still beating...

 

[missouriman]

WOW, that is scary.
What kind of bolts were those... I don't want any..

 

[canman]

Good catch. Wouldn't want to even think about the possibilities of that coming off on the highway.

 

[midfat]

WOW, that is scary.
What kind of bolts were those... I don't want any..

Not sure, but there don't appear to be OEM. I picked up the truck a few months ago, so I've been working through the baseline. I noted that at least one of the two broken studs has reverse torx spline in the base. This doesn't match any of the other bolts. Unless TOYOTA is using a revised stud, it appears to be aftermarket. Either way, I'm going all new OEM studs for the rebuilt. Can't imagine the torque load the two remaining bolts went through.

 

[Rivman1243]

These look like oem replacements

 

[Douglas S]

I bought OEM replacements and they were not yellow zinc plated like the stud pictured.

Regardless, I would not blame this on the fastener. I'm guessing it was loose.

 

[DARKNESS]

You got 3 other wheels, what's the problem?

 

[midfat]

I bought OEM replacements and they were not yellow zinc plated like the stud pictured.

Regardless, I would not blame this on the fastener. I'm guessing it was loose.

@Douglas S , Did you replace all the upper and lower studs on both sides? After this scare, I'm considering replacing all the studs as well.

 

[nuclearlemon]

probably toyota bolts. it's a common issue. many have had their knuckles come loose.

 

[richardlillard1]

They are OEM replacement. Odds are good that you never checked the torque of 71 ft lbs on the nuts.

Uppers aren't an issue, it's the lower ones that hole the steering arm on.

 

[Douglas S]

@Douglas S , Did you replace all the upper and lower studs on both sides? After this scare, I'm considering replacing all the studs as well.

I didn't replace any of them. Bought a new set for both steering arms and stuck them with my other spares. Might replace on the next front axle service, but probably not. I keep a few in the truck with me on trips.

 

[baldilocks]

Grandpa always said, "keep your nuts torqued son"!

 

[duggy]

Even if they are torqued, the most common issue is the lower arm not seating fully into the bearing and therefore leaving a small gap. This eventually will work the bolt loose and cause havoc. If the arm is not seated correctly, the torque wrench will supply a false reading

 

[baldilocks]

Even if they are torqued, the most common issue is the lower arm not seating fully into the bearing and therefore leaving a small gap. This eventually will work the bolt loose and cause havoc. If the arm is not seated correctly, the torque wrench will supply a false reading

Two 40's and three 80's, wheeled them on the rocks and never had this problem.

 

[duggy]

Just because it didn't happen to you doesn't mean it can't happen to others.

I usually pound the lower arm in with a brass hammer and then torque the bolts instead of seating the arm with the bolts.

 

[Tools R Us]

It's good to check your nuts.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

This is a common problem, and why you should check those periodically, and after every day wheeling.

The passenger knuckle seems to get the worst of it due to both the drag link and the tie rod attaching there on opposite sides of the steering arm.

Those are replacement, upgraded, Toyota studs. The ones with the torx drive on the top. And because they are replacements, I suspect this has happened to that truck before. Rather than just put it back together, I would check the threads in the knuckle very carefully. You may need a new knuckle, or a threaded insert to repair the threads.

 

[890man]

I check my nuts often. I will check the ones on the cruiser this weekend. I have seen this happen often enough to freak me out.

 

[midfat]

I think there are a few lessons here. First, check these studs for torque at every oil change. Next, NEVER underestimate the consequence of a dripping axle seal. Lastly, make goddam sure that you clean the threads of any oil residue during the axle overhaul - and use locktite!

 

[Tools R Us]

... and use locktite!

There are good places for loc-tite, this isn't one of them. In this application, most often when the fastener tension is lost, it doesn't turn, it's from; stack settle, fastener over load, stretching, etc. When the fasteners are glued together, torque recheck is useless. Some of the biggest failures that I have seen were on glued units. No need to worry, my nuts are glued, then the wheel is at a funny angle, steering arm on the ground...

Best plan is to, assemble correctly, clean, smooth, surfaces, no burrs, rust, paint, etc, between. Drive a bit, few days and recheck, shouldn't move, if so only slightly. Then periodically recheck, if a fastener continues to move it has a problem and needs to be replaced. This allows for watching fastener health, have caught several that would have been fails, much easier to replace stud(s) at home, than have stuff fall apart on the trail? If the stud is glued in, good luck changing it without a full disassembly. If you do have a failure on the trail, with the studs glued in, good luck getting the broken stubs out of the knuckle. Or is the plan to carry spare knuckles?