Knuckle mess after rebuild (2 Viewers)

[thecapedcapper]

I rebuilt both knuckles completely about a month ago and saw this yesterday on the passenger side, driver's side is relatively fine. I had taken a quick look a couple weeks ago or so and saw that I think the felt at one spot wasn't seated properly and made a mental note to check it out and maybe reseat it but then got busy. I'm thinking as a first step I'll clean this up and try and reseat the felts properly from the back here without replacing anything, but I'm probably in for another knuckle disassembly.

Anyone else have this issue and any advice on getting the felts right? Anyone think I messed up the inner axle seal and that's what's causing this? It was after a good 30-40 minute drive so it should have been warm but idk if the consistency is right here for the grease I used.

 

[Comet]

In addition to going back into the knuckle, Check the breather on top of the axle and make sure it is not clogged. If its clogged, theres your culprit. If it’s clear, make sure the knuckle ball is filled up 2/3 of the way. I think it’s 2/3, heck maybe it’s 3/4. Where are those smarter people I hear so much about?

 

[SucioP]

That looks like birf soup to me…..oil seal.

 

[bhsdriller]

Yeah I agree i'd inspect/replace the oil seal

 

[baldilocks]

That grease definitely has gear oil mixed in because it’s not as close to jet black as it should be. Does the grease smell like gear oil. Sometimes when installing the axle oil seal that tiny spring on the inner side of the oil seal gets knocked off. I’ve done it. Eventually that spring comes out the diff drain plug hole. Did you use a proper seal driver?

 

[thecapedcapper]

That grease definitely has gear oil mixed in because it’s not as close to jet black as it should be. Does the grease smell like gear oil. Sometimes when installing the axle oil seal that tiny spring on the inner side of the oil seal gets knocked off. I’ve done it. Eventually that spring comes out the diff drain plug hole. Did you use a proper seal driver?

Going to check the smell and consistency when I get home but yeah I'm thinking it is in fact axle seat related. This comment jogged my memory and reminded me I think I might have either put the seal in backwards and/or knocked off the spring..... I was using a proper seal driver from my Hazard Fraught kit.

For my own and hopefully others edification which direction does the seal go in?

 

[jpoole]

which direction does the seal go in?

Side of seal with spring exposed goes towards the gear oil / differential on the axle.

You need to pull the axle breather elbow and make sure it's clear followed by making sure the line and other apparatus for the axle breather is all clear. This is all easy/quick work as the pieces come apart easily and the elbow simply threads in/out of the axle housing.

A lot of care needs to be taken to keep the weight of the inner axle off of that gear oil seal during install. You also need to keep the inner axle near the center of the seal during install and avoid over distorting the seal. There's a guide ring inside the axle housing that helps support the inner axle during install but you still want to do your best to not stress that inner seal during axle install on each side as you could damage it or more easily knock the spring loose.

I'd start by cleaning up the knuckle and checking to see if the axle breather is clear or clogged. If the axle breather is clogged I'd see if clearing it fixes the leak before I went in to replace the seal. If the breather is clear and not clogged I'd go ahead and replace the inner seal before driving more.

I'd change the oil in the axle once you the knuckles are sorted as the oil could have some grease contamination and level could be low.

 

[TomH]

You need to check your nuts, looks like they are loose and you caught the problem before complete failure. You'll will likely need to tear down that side, replace the seal and inspect the steering arm studs/cones/nuts.

 

[thecapedcapper]

You need to check your nuts, looks like they are loose and you caught the problem before complete failure. You'll will likely need to tear down that side, replace the seal and inspect the steering are studs/cones/nuts.

View attachment 3533749

That might be a shadow from the headlamp I was using as light to take this, but definitely worth checking.

Side of seal with spring exposed goes towards the gear oil / differential on the axle.

You need to pull the axle breather elbow and make sure it's clear followed by making sure the line and other apparatus for the axle breather is all clear. This is all easy/quick work as the pieces come apart easily and the elbow simply threads in/out of the axle housing.

A lot of care needs to be taken to keep the weight of the inner axle off of that gear oil seal during install. You also need to keep the inner axle near the center of the seal during install and avoid over distorting the seal. There's a guide ring inside the axle housing that helps support the inner axle during install but you still want to do your best to not stress that inner seal during axle install on each side as you could damage it or more easily knock the spring loose.

I'd start by cleaning up the knuckle and checking to see if the axle breather is clear or clogged. If the axle breather is clogged I'd see if clearing it fixes the leak before I went in to replace the seal. If the breather is clear and not clogged I'd go ahead and replace the inner seal before driving more.

I'd change the oil in the axle once you the knuckles are sorted as the oil could have some grease contamination and level could be low.

Worth checking the diff breather as well for sure, but given the issue is only on this side I'm thinking it's not totally blocked at least but might as well check and clean that first. I believe I have an extra axle seal and would rather not have my truck stay like this so if I remain motivated enough I'll probably attack this soon.

 

[BILT4ME]

That might be a shadow from the headlamp I was using as light to take this, but definitely worth checking.


Worth checking the diff breather as well for sure, but given the issue is only on this side I'm thinking it's not totally blocked at least but might as well check and clean that first. I believe I have an extra axle seal and would rather not have my truck stay like this so if I remain motivated enough I'll probably attack this soon.

Check your wheel bearings. What did you torque / set them to?
if they are loose, it will cause the axle shaft to wallow around in there and eat the inner seal.

I had this exact problem with mine and it was the breather that was plugged. I had to drill out the hardened goo in the fitting to get the axle housing to vent. Fixed the problem for another 100K.

And double check those nuts. Something doesn't look right.

 

[thecapedcapper]

I didn't take any uninteresting pictures but got this done... I had in fact put the axle O ring in backwards )=. It was quite the mess... I was however able to take the knuckle / on off with the spindle still attached, wouldn't normally do that but since I had just replaced all of the gaskets I figured I'd try. It was honestly kind of a pain would not totally recommend, but I didn't want to have to line the gaskets/spindle/dust shield up again.

As for the knuckle stud nuts and knuckle they were perfectly tight when I removed them, y'all are all paranoid! The shadows cast by my headlamp made it seem otherwise.