Knuckle Rebuild/71 FJ40/ Re-Assembly/ Upper and Lower Bearing Retainers Extremely Tight (1 Viewer)

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Mar 30, 2016
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Camarillo, CA
Thought I was finally going to finish my knuckle rebuild today... I was wrong...
Having trouble installing the upper steering arm and lower bearing retainer into the knuckle housing after placing it on the ball. Both are so tight that I can't even get them started (so that I can install the cone washers and use the post nuts to set the retainers into the housing). I am reluctant to use a brass drift to force them on... will this damage the bearings? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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They generally are not that tight....during painting, did you get any paint up there that could causing some resistance? I lube the surfaces really well prior to assembly and they usually slide together fairly well. You can gently use a brass drift but make sure that the bearing and caps are lined up properly. Again, normally a drift isn't necessary.
 
Kind of hard to tell from the pic but do you have enough threads showing to place just a flat washer and nut on the end of the studs? Leave the cone washers out initially and then very gently start tightening the nuts down. Don't let it bind on any one side and add the cone washers after you've snugged it down some.
 
Yes, I wire brushed the bearing studs prior to assembly to make sure they didn't have any overspray, etc. I took the knuckle off the ball and used the brass drift just to test fit the retainers... gentle strikes did nothing. I had to knock the snot out of them. They were a bear to remove when I first took them off!
 
90% of the job is prep. In this case, since you're so close to disassembling anyways, just take it back apart.

While disassembled, Check the tip of the knuckle arm to see that it slip fits the knuckle bearing. Check the larger face of the knuckle arm to see that it slip fits the knuckle housing. Do the same for the bottom. As @4x4veteran suggests, take some Emory paper to them if they don't.

I guarantee reassembly will be a breeze.
 
What a pain... I throughly cleaned both the top and bottom of the knuckle housing and the corresponding posts with emory paper. Got them nice and shiny, and even polished them up with a small cloth polishing drum. However, I still could not get them to fit. Fortunately, my 14 year-old son suggested coloring the posts with a marker, attempting to insert them, and then noting where the marker ink was scuffed off. Once the high spots were identified on the housing, my son carefully took them down with a fine round file before smoothing it out with the emory paper and polish. Finally got them to fit. I am baffled as to why this happened, as they were the same parts I removed. The only explanation I can think of is that the four studs on the top and bottom of the housing were torqued more than before, resulting in the top and bottom post holes in the housing being slightly reduced in size... don't know if that is even possible... Oh well, at least I can now continue on with the job. I got the axle back in, but I'm not sure if it is in all the way or the splines are aligned. (See attached photos). It feels like it is all the way in, but I don't know if the driveshaft should turn when I spin the axle (it does not). Forgive me for the elementary question, but I haven't done this before and am learning as I go...

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That’s in all the way. No doubt about it.
 
That’s awesome you got your son involved. I’m sure you both were proud he helped find a solution. He’ll never forget that.

32 years ago, my grandmother bought an octagonal gazeebo. It was to be a garden shed, so my grandfather(heavy diesel mechanic) was tasked to build octagonal shelving. I could see he was a irritated and wasn’t quite sure how to figure the angled cuts. When the moment was right, I carefully told him I just learned about angles in Geometry. So I went and got my compass and protractor. I remember the look on his face as I layed out the pattern on the plywood. It felt good and fit like a glove. Lasting memories are formed helping dad or grandpa work on stuff.
 
That’s awesome you got your son involved. I’m sure you both were proud he helped find a solution. He’ll never forget that.

32 years ago, my grandmother bought an octagonal gazeebo. It was to be a garden shed, so my grandfather(heavy diesel mechanic) was tasked to build octagonal shelving. I could see he was a irritated and wasn’t quite sure how to figure the angled cuts. When the moment was right, I carefully told him I just learned about angles in Geometry. So I went and got my compass and protractor. I remember the look on his face as I layed out the pattern on the plywood. It felt good and fit like a glove. Lasting memories are formed helping dad or grandpa work on stuff.
When my Grandfather came to visit he'd help us build things using the wood from grocery boxes (yes, they were made of wood, nailed together, back in the late '50s and early '60s). He'd show us how to tear them down, measure and cut the slats, and straighten the nails. Still straighten old nails that way when I'm throwing together a quick project now and then. When my Mother was young he built their house, by himself, by the lake in a small town NW of Chicago. Fond memories.
 
When my Grandfather came to visit he'd help us build things using the wood from grocery boxes (yes, they were made of wood, nailed together, back in the late '50s and early '60s). He'd show us how to tear them down, measure and cut the slats, and straighten the nails. Still straighten old nails that way when I'm throwing together a quick project now and then. When my Mother was young he built their house, by himself, by the lake in a small town NW of Chicago. Fond memories.

Talk about a thread hijack! Me too!

I got my first set of hand tools when I was 5. Just the tools. I walked down to the main street and dragged back pallets for my early boyhood projects. Permanently damaged the nailbeds of both thumbs getting the coordination between hammer and nail, especially the re-straightened ones! There was a furniture shop a couple of blocks further where I dumpster dived for used sandpaper. Good memories.
 
Two more questions:

1. Since it appears to be all the way in, does that mean the splines are lined up?

2. If the axle is in all the way and the splines are lined up, when you manually turn the driveshaft, shouldn't the axle turn?
 
The differential 'chooses' which one to turn, until you remove the choice. Block one side from turning and the other will turn.
 
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Two more questions:

1. Since it appears to be all the way in, does that mean the splines are lined up?

2. If the axle is in all the way and the splines are lined up, when you manually turn the driveshaft, shouldn't the axle turn?
1. Yes.
 
Yeap. Locked the hub on the opposite wheel, turned the driveshaft by hand, and the axle spun perfectly... Thanks to all for the assistance!
 
Finally got around to the passenger side knuckle. After prepping and painting the knuckle housing, I test fitted the upper and lower bearing retainers. Both retainer posts slipped nicely into the knuckle housing. However, when I torqued the original four studs back into the top of the knuckle housing, the upper retainer post no longer slipped into the housing. Upon examining the hole on the top of the knuckle housing (in the middle of the four studs), it appears an though it is slightly out of round. In other words, it looks as though the studs ever so slightly caused the hole to get out of round. Maybe it's my eyes... but it would explain what happened on the driver side, and why it slipped into place moments before the studs were inserted... can't imagine others haven't had this happen... thoughts?

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