Knuckle leaking bearing grease (1 Viewer)

[jlhollowx13]

So I have been driving my 40 alot more lately and noticed today that my drivers side knuckle seems to be leaking bearing grease (not differential fluid). The passenger side looks fine.

I am wondering if anyone would know what could be causing this? I am thinking maybe i overpacked it when i rebuilt my front end? Im a little worried that if it is leaking it may go dry and that wouldnt be good. My other thought is i overtightened something, causing excess heat that is thinning the grease and causing it to run, but this wasnt my first front end overhaul and i did it by the book. I also do not notice excess heat at the hubs after driving which I would expect if something is too tight causing too much friction.

Any input is appreciated, I just want to make sure I am not going to screw something up by leaving it alone.

Thanks everyone!

 

[JAFO2014]

Well, thinking of how it all goes together, that grease is probably the grease packed in for the CV joint, so if you are just highway driving in rear wheel drive that grease isn't doing anything. You would have packed your wheel bearings with other grease.

Did you replace the felt pieces and seal that are behind the knuckle when you did the overhaul?

 

[FJ60Seth]

Check the grease level in the hub. Remove the square plug and stick a nylon tie in, like a dipstick.

 

[sadam_husain]

If you only recently rebuilt the front end you may have installed the drivers side seals incorrectly or in the wrong order, if its been a long time since the front end was rebuilt its probably due for another rebuild

either way your going to have to pull it down if you want to fix it

I don't know how much grease is leaking but I don't mind a bit of grease leaching out it keeps the swivel balls lubricated and protects them from surface rust which causes more wear on the wiper seals

 

[JungleBiker]

Just yesterday our shop HZJ 75 came in for what appeared to be wheel bearing trouble--there was a huge amount of grease slung all over the inside of the wheel and everything in the vicinity was red hot. We are still investigating what happened, but it looks like the brake caliper had seized (wasn't floating) and that led to an incredible build-up of heat, which apparently liquified whatever grease was in the hub and caused it to leak out everywhere. It all seems to have happened within the space of a single morning of normal, short distance, sub-50 mph driving, too.

Still, you say you haven't noticed any unusual amount of heat--we certainly did.

 

[jlhollowx13]

Thanks for all the input. I did the rebuild last summer or the summer before, but hardly any miles have been put on since then. During that time i also did a disc brake conversion. I will double check that im not getting intense heat as maybe it is something like that from the conversion that i hadnt noticed, caliper not releasing or the like. The knuckle itself looks normal, a slight amount of lube around the wiper as always. The grease is actually accumulating and dripping from the king pin bolts.

Since there arent many miles on this rebuild im hoping its just flinging the excess I packed in there out. I think i will thoroughly clean it up as well and see if i can track down exactly where its coming from. I will try to post a picture later of it prior to cleaning.

 

[sadam_husain]

Another common cause but may not be the case on your truck if you've had a good check around the knuckle is the studs coming loose on the steering arm on top of the swivel housing, that allows the swivel housing to come loose and move around on the king pin bearings and the seal is no longer a snug fit on the ball

 

[jlhollowx13]

Another common cause but may not be the case on your truck if you've had a good check around the knuckle is the studs coming loose on the steering arm on top of the swivel housing, that allows the swivel housing to come loose and move around on the king pin bearings and the seal is no longer a snug fit on the ball

I will have a look tomorrow, thanks for letting me know to check that. In the meantime here is a photo of it. I have now cleaned it and will watch for any new build up. Felt the hub and caliper for heat after i just drove the 3 miles home from work, at least half of it at 55 mph and they were not hot.

 

[Dianna]

You mean it's not supposed to look like that? Lol. I use the old, "If it's not leaking, it needs filled."

 

[lostmarbles]

If one drip of that gets on that brake disc you'll experience "your steering pulling hard to the other side" next time you hit the brakes (which can of course lead to a very serious accident).

I'd clean that mess up thoroughly until there's no sign of grease on anything other than the wiper seal and chrome ball.

And if it keeps oozing out (after you're sure the knuckle is no longer overfull) I strongly suggest tracking down the cause ASAP and fixing it.