Knuckle rebuild question

[Dingadong]

I am going through the front end on my sprung over 76 FJ40. I have read too many conflicting figures about setting the knuckle drag, hopefully I can get some clarification. I will be running 35 or 36" tires. The steering rods are off, and the wiper seals are not on. With the larger tires, using the fish scale, what would be the ideal break free point. I have read 3-5 lbs, and I have read 7-13 lbs, obviously a big difference.

Also, any help on the appropriate numbers for the wheel bearing break free points would be a great help too.

Thanks guys.

 

[Poser]

I set them up tighter than factory (3-5 pounds) when the end user will be running larger tires.

10-13 pounds on the fish scale would be fine for your application.


Yes you want to test the knuckle bearing pre load WITHOUT the wiper seals installed.


I set wheel bearings up by feel.

 

[Dingadong]

Thank you for the info Poser. So, at the time I posted this, I had actually already reassembled the passenger knuckle and reused the shims that were already in place, and came up with 5 lbs. I will probably now adjust this a bit. I went ahead and bolted the new longfield wiper seals to the back of the knuckle, and was impressed that the break free then measured 27 lbs! I have never rebuilt knuckles before, and therefore have not used the OEM wiper seals and felts ever, but I cant imagine that they would increase the drag on the knuckle this much.

Does this amount of drag sound correct? Seems like it defeats the purpose of setting the knuckle drag to a specified amount in the first place.....

 

[Dingadong]

Looking at things closer, I dont think the seal is fully seated correctly, creating more drag than I should have. I think once I adjust this a bit, it will be fine.

 

[Dingadong]

So, I might be just posting to myself here, but here goes

the seal is definetly seated in the machined relief, and the drag is still about 27 lbs. I will assume that this is normal and not translated negatively to the knuckle bearing.

I have these 2 greases on hand, and have heard and read that anything "moly" is acceptable. So, I plan to use one of these to repack the birfs as well, unless someone chimes in and tells me I'm a retard. Thanks again guys.

 

[Splangy]

Not only is moly OK for your knuckles, it's recommended by Toyota.

 

[Jeffrey Davis]

I did mine last weekend and used the Valvoline DuraBlend as shown in the photo. I choose the wide mouth can type because it was easier to apply by hand. I used a whole can of grease in each side and it appeared to fill the knuckle 2/3 full per the specification. Not sure if I used enough grease, but I can always add more through the grease plug on the front of the knuckle.

 

[Rockets2000]

I did mine last weekend and used the Valvoline DuraBlend as shown in the photo. I choose the wide mouth can type because it was easier to apply by hand. I used a whole can of grease in each side and it appeared to fill the knuckle 2/3 full per the specification. Not sure if I used enough grease, but I can always add more through the grease plug on the front of the knuckle.

That's what I did in July - same type and amount of grease. Drove the rig from Houston to CO and back, through the sand, rocks, mountains, interstates, and mud, and she hasn't given me any trouble. At least not with the steering......

 

[Dingadong]

Great, good to hear first hand accounts. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[subzali]

Still here, lurking. The felts and wipers will have no effect on your knuckle bearings, if you set them up correctly without having the felts and wipers on you're good to go. I think you're on the right track with the grease.