Knuckle leak question

[patrickk]

NOPE!! Sell the truck... Leaking knuckles I can deal with... Spiders though...

 

[ocinataS]

You want to fill the trunnion box (what the square head plug taps into) with the appropriate moly fortified grease. It will keep leaking out until ithe axle is rebuilt with new parts. It's probably birf soup in there, what's left of it anyway, but you need to keep it topped up until it gets fixed. Most likely, the failiure of the inner axle seal allows the moly to contaminate the lube in the pumpkin and axle. Best to use some cheap lube and run it a little then change it, in order to get most of the moly from inside where it contaminates things and may cause issues with premature wear in some bearings.

That stuck plug can be a PITA. If not too chewed up already try to tighten it a little, as that can help break them lose. Also, if you can keep an impact socket on the plug, use it to bang away on the plug. Juicing it with PBBlaster may help, too. You need to get in there, as you'll likely find the diff low on gear lube due tio its mixing with things out toward the hubs.

Finally got the fill plug off. Tried all the tips I read about except grinding. Ended up welding on a nut. A little bit of molly grease came out when I drained it. And the knuckles were very low also. Probably been running that way for a while. An axle rebuild sounds right. I’ll look at the faq for that.

Is there anything else that would potentially need fixing/replaced? Not clear on what an axle rebuild covers. Would any additional gearing need to be rebuilt from running low on gear oil?

 

[greentruck]

Finally got the fill plug off. Tried all the tips I read about except grinding. Ended up welding on a nut. A little bit of molly grease came out when I drained it. And the knuckles were very low also. Probably been running that way for a while. An axle rebuild sounds right. I’ll look at the faq for that.

Is there anything else that would potentially need fixing/replaced? Not clear on what an axle rebuild covers. Would any additional gearing need to be rebuilt from running low on gear oil?

At this point, before you start disaasembling anything, fill the diff and knuckles with their respective lubes (gear oil for the diff, moly for the knuckles. Drive it to see what happens. If everything seems normal after putting some miles on it (be sure and monitor fluid levels if this turns into a longer time until you get around to the axle rebuild.)

You want to listen for noise that shows signs of issue. With the knuckles, when you're turning sharply in a parking lot, etc, issues with the birfields will show up as clicking noises when near full lock.

The diff would tend to grumble more and make grinding or other noises if bad. Hopefully, neither shows as an issue. The birfilelds would be the additional parts you may need for doing the knuckles if they are clicking. If the diff has isses, that's beyond your (and my own) shadetree mechanic certifications. Get the axle bearings accomplished then see how it goes before diving into the diff by taking it to a pro unless you run across an obvious showstopper.

 

[on3i11s]

When I did my rebuild at 240K miles, I did not need to swap my birfs. Not hard to do but hopefully you won’t need to. A knuckle rebuild kit from cruiser outfitters covers all the bearings, seals, and gaskets you would need.

Front brakes are one thing to consider during the rebuild since you’ll already be in there. Calipers, brake hoses, pads, and rotors...mine were shot so I knocked those out during the rebuild.

one last thing to check is your knuckle studs (there are four of them on the bottom that hold the steering arm to the knuckle, each with their own cone washer, regular washer, and nut). If any of these are missing on either knuckle then buy replacements for sure. There are stories of people’s tires falling off when these studs have loosened and fallen out. I know I have had to replace several since my rebuild...you have to check these occasionally because they do like to fall out every once in a while.

Good luck!

 

[ocinataS]

UPDATE: since I was gonna regear and install lockers at some point, I went ahead and took care of it now. 4.88 regear, ARB front and rear lockers, knuckle rebuild, brakes/rotors, extended brake lines, and new front pinion seal.

 

[on3i11s]

Damn I’m extremely jealous of your undercarriage, that is CLEAN!! Those are caster correcting bushings, correct? Keep an eye on them since word on the street is that they’ll break down considerably faster than standard rubber bushings.

 

[ocinataS]

Damn I’m extremely jealous of your undercarriage, that is CLEAN!! Those are caster correcting bushings, correct? Keep an eye on them since word on the street is that they’ll break down considerably faster than standard rubber bushings.

Thanks, yeah, it cleaned up pretty good. I’ll keep an eye on the caster bushings