Improving sealing on steering knuckle felt seals

[White Stripe]

When doing birfields all the grease should be on the inside of the knuckle ball. No Need to put any grease on the inside of the knuckle housing or on the outside of the knuckle ball. Just put some grease on the trunion bearings. If water gets in their, toyota has drains on the gasket surfaces for the spindle. I guess a little grease on the outside of the knuckle ball would help limit how much water gets in their. But it would be a little messy which isn't a big deal. Another way you could try to keep moisture out is drill the knuckle plug to put a vacuum port through it and then run a hose up to the air filter housing which would help pull moisture out and dry it out better in their. You could even have a air/water seperator in line if you wanted.

 

[nukegoat]

I had the "lifetime" UHMW wiper seals. They sorta worked. I don't really think the OEM seals are that bad of a design - worst case you can always install new ones without removing the whole knuckle by cutting a slit in the felt. Regardless, though, the camo method can get you into the knuckle pretty quickly if you want to go that route.

 

[serenity]

When doing birfields all the grease should be on the inside of the knuckle ball. No Need to put any grease on the inside of the knuckle housing or on the outside of the knuckle ball. Just put some grease on the trunion bearings. If water gets in their, toyota has drains on the gasket surfaces for the spindle. I guess a little grease on the outside of the knuckle ball would help limit how much water gets in their. But it would be a little messy which isn't a big deal. Another way you could try to keep moisture out is drill the knuckle plug to put a vacuum port through it and then run a hose up to the air filter housing which would help pull moisture out and dry it out better in their. You could even have a air/water seperator in line if you wanted.

There is a drain for the spindle to drain away water from the back of the hub seal but no drain for the knuckle.

I had the "lifetime" UHMW wiper seals. They sorta worked. I don't really think the OEM seals are that bad of a design - worst case you can always install new ones without removing the whole knuckle by cutting a slit in the felt. Regardless, though, the camo method can get you into the knuckle pretty quickly if you want to go that route.

The design of the trail gear seals requires a good smooth surface, so if you don't do something like jb weld and paint I can't see them sealing well or lasting long.

A combination of the trail gear seal and a rubber boot would probably give the best results.

 

[jkdowty]

I would never, ever never, put a boot like that on. Gonna trap moisture and rust, plus you can't see what's going on in there. You get a leaking inner seal, goop in your boot and you will never see it till your front axle is fuxxored. Bad concept - bad design - looks cool.

They use them in mines to prevent egress of things into the housing, and most underground mines in my experience have very regular service schedules... So I'm sure they are on and off quite often...

 

[Hornd]

When I re did mine I put all purpose grease on the felt. Hopefully that will keep water out and grease in.

I did the same. Should last another 200K, which is acceptable for my low standards.

 

[jvazquez53]

If you do a birf job correctly, and use good grease, you should have no problems. Besides, that ball needs lubrication.

 

[SNLC]

I watched a 70-series build on an Aussie forum some years ago. The guys truck was an ex-mine truck and had rusty pitted knuckle balls. They guy had the knuckle balls on the axle chromed, it looked to do a wonderful job of smoothing out the sealing surface and giving it some protection. I have considered doing this myself, I think nickle plating would work too, maybe even ceramic.

I have smoothed out old knuckle balls by hand sanding. I start with whatever grit I need depending on how bad the ball is, like if it has a lot of pits and grooves I start with a 180 or 220 grit. I then work my way up with sand paper, finishing at 800 or higher with a wet sand. You can get all but the deepest pits out this way as well as light groves and it will be polished in the end. I then have painted the balls, after paint I have wet sanded again with a high grit. Works well but these are restoration projects for trucks that won't be seeing a lot of off-road use. Painting it is all good until the first time you get the truck stuck in anything abrasive, ie sand, mud, silt, ect ect.

Here is a couple of pics of the sanding and painting, on this particular truck the factory used a rubber seal, no felt like 80's have, it seals very well actually.

Cheers

 

[Dave 2000]

I watched a 70-series build on an Aussie forum some years ago. The guys truck was an ex-mine truck and had rusty pitted knuckle balls. They guy had the knuckle balls on the axle chromed, it looked to do a wonderful job of smoothing out the sealing surface and giving it some protection. I have considered doing this myself, I think nickle plating would work too, maybe even ceramic.

I have smoothed out old knuckle balls by hand sanding. I start with whatever grit I need depending on how bad the ball is, like if it has a lot of pits and grooves I start with a 180 or 220 grit. I then work my way up with sand paper, finishing at 800 or higher with a wet sand. You can get all but the deepest pits out this way as well as light groves and it will be polished in the end. I then have painted the balls, after paint I have wet sanded again with a high grit. Works well but these are restoration projects for trucks that won't be seeing a lot of off-road use. Painting it is all good until the first time you get the truck stuck in anything abrasive, ie sand, mud, silt, ect ect.

Here is a couple of pics of the sanding and painting, on this particular truck the factory used a rubber seal, no felt like 80's have, it seals very well actually.

View attachment 1233330
View attachment 1233331
View attachment 1233332
View attachment 1233334
View attachment 1233333

Cheers

Nice work, when you get five minutes, perhaps you could pop over and do mine¿

regards

Dave

 

[sunrk]

The felt axle ball wipers attached to the back of each swivel hub are not seals and the swivel hubs are not meant to be sealed.

When I rebuilt my front axle about 2 yrs ago, I completely restored the axle balls by removing all rust/pitting, very carefully smoothing them as much as possible by hand (no power tools) then they got a triple coat of POR-15. They've been great since. I keep topping up the grease via the square plug every now and then.

I don't drive on beaches or in salt water though. And I try to avoid deep water crossings if I can.

I took the time and did it properly to get a reliable outcome - it is possible to get the axle balls re-chromed but the cost-expense to do it! Especially as there are only two ways - completely strip down and clean out the whole axle housing and send it away, or remove the axle ball ends, send them away, then re-attach to the rest of the axle housing.

Unless it's a really, really high spec 80 with a really, really high current market value, not worth it. POR-15 is affordable (comparitively) and yields an excellent result when applied properly in multiple coats.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

The OEM felt is really a dirt/dust wiper. The OEM rubber seal located behind the felt is actually a combination wiper/seal.

Here's a copy/paste from Trail Gear:
Product Details:

• Double sided seal
• Eliminates the use of the OEM felt and rubber
• Made from seal-grade polyurethane, not UHMW
• Comes with all necessary bolts for installation

I still think the felt is helpful in removing dirt/dust before it touches the wiper, whether it be rubber or urethane. I've seen the best results with the black metal seal covers installed with the ridges facing outward. This really tightens up the seal against the knuckle and helps in not allowing the crud/dirt in and the moly grease out.