- Thread starter
- #21
Loss of drive problem. Front axle service?
- Thread starter on3i11s
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #22
- Thread starter
- #23
- Thread starter
- #24
- Thread starter
- #25
Sorry for all the photos - I wanted to document every step/part in the process. A few things I noticed:
1. the hub nuts/locking nuts were chipped to hell by the previous owner. I will probably replace these.
2. The knuckle has a dark brown mark on the top left of it (as seen in the 4th to last picture) - not sure if that is an indicator of anything
3. There is some wear on the inside of the knuckle on the lower portion (as seen in the 3rd to last picture. The top portion of inside the knuckle, which didn't seem to have any wear, is 2nd to last) - I read something about switching knuckles or housings to the other side. Is this what was being referred to or no? Is this type of wear normal?
That is all! Thank you all! Hope you enjoy the photos - I'm falling more in love with this vehicle the more I tinker with it
Last edited:
Looks good so far, you've got some rust on the knuckle ball, clean that up with a scrubbing pad, nothing
too abrasive.
Looks like some spindle wear at the point where the outer bearing rides, others will have to comment on if it's too much.
When folks talk about switching sides, they mean the Birfields themselves. In order to do this you must separate the joint. This procedure is covered in the FAQ write up. It is typically only recommended if the Birfields are clicking.
too abrasive.
Looks like some spindle wear at the point where the outer bearing rides, others will have to comment on if it's too much.
When folks talk about switching sides, they mean the Birfields themselves. In order to do this you must separate the joint. This procedure is covered in the FAQ write up. It is typically only recommended if the Birfields are clicking.
- Thread starter
- #27
Thanks for the reply! I do plan on switching the birfs but right now.... I am stuck on this damn rotor/hub assembly! I cannot separate the rest of the hub from the rotor - how the hell should I keep this thing in place while trying to get the bolts to budge?? I don't have a vice or anything close to it for that matter. Any suggestions? The FAQ only lists the step but not the process. And the guy in the Jonesy's video on youtube makes short work of his bolts using air tools
As far as my problem with the front wheels smoking and the weird loss of power issue, I'm leaning towards something to do with my brakes - whether it involves the caliper pistons, brake pads, or the master cylinder. Time to browse some more threads
It is possible that your flexible section of brake lines are compromised. When they collapse, the rubber line could cause hard pedal or hold fluid pressure against the caliper piston. The heat from dragging brakes or wheel bearings combined with the leaking grease from axle seals are most likely causing the smoke.
You are getting a much needed start on some general PM tasks. Any 80 that still has some rubber hoses that have not been replaced yet will have issues with that system (i.e. brake, PS, heater, vacuum, sunroof drain, etc..)
- Thread starter
- #29
I definitely need to inspect the brake lines - that hasn't been done yet. While the caliper was hanging inside the wheel well, I noticed that the brake line running to the caliper looked old and worn out - there were tiny stress cracks from the way the line was being flexed with the caliper hanging up. Although they don't seem too significant, from the looks of it, I'm sure the brake lines are old and probably need to be replaced.
On a side note, I finally got those darned six 17mm bolts off that hold the hub to the rotor. After several awkward attempts, I finally used the brass hammer and a ratchet to knock them loose. I think that is about it for disassembling everything - with the exception of the birfield/axle. All parts currently soaking in gasoline while we do some yard work
Thanks for the reply Rob!
Dude Holy Smokes.. !!!! That is exactly how my PS knukle was smoking when this happened to me Replace Spindle???
Better get in there and DO NOT DRIVE IT UNTILL YOU CHECK YOUR SPINDLE AND BEARINGS!
Best of luck! If I was in San Diego I'd lend a hand.. Axle rebuild is not that hard.. (Well after you've done it a few times.. ) Just take your time and have plenty of shop towels 54MM Socket.. Torque wrench and some beer. !
Better get in there and DO NOT DRIVE IT UNTILL YOU CHECK YOUR SPINDLE AND BEARINGS!
Best of luck! If I was in San Diego I'd lend a hand.. Axle rebuild is not that hard.. (Well after you've done it a few times.. ) Just take your time and have plenty of shop towels 54MM Socket.. Torque wrench and some beer. !
My first thought was brakes sticking and causing them to overheat. After looking at your pics, I am not thinking that any more. If it was the brakes overheating, then the rotors would be BLUE and very glazed. These are not. It also tends to cook the caliper and all the paint around them.
What I'm thinking is two- or three-fold.
1) The inner axle seals failed. You will be replacing these when you put it back together. I think that because the inner ball has the green oil from 90W gear oil and not the red or grey GREASE that is usually in there.
2) I believe whoever last serviced the truck filled the steering balls with 90W gear oil instead of Moly grease (I use Palladium Moly made by Valvoline) and the oil leaked out of the steering ball seals as well as out into the wheel bearings.
3) The grease got washed out of the wheel bearings by what gear oil made it to the wheel bearings.
4) The grease leaked out of the wheel bearing seal and out onto the rotor, causing the smoke by hitting the rotors.
5) The slowing was due to the wheel bearings tightening up due to heat.
A couple pic requests:
* Take a pic of how much grease was in between the inner and outer wheel bearings inside the hub. It's supposed to be full.
* Take a pic of each wheel bearing and its race. I would bet that the races are blue or at least straw colored and the bearings are also blue or straw colored. The odds of BOTH wheel bearings going out simultaneously like that is actually very low and that;s the only reason I would lean toward the brakes hanging up.
It is possible that the oil from the differential ran to the wheel bearing and leaked out of the wheel bearing seals, then hitting the brakes and smoking. I am thinking this because the backing plates are wet with oil on the wheel side and they should never have that because only grease should be close to that area.
Either way, going thru thee entire front axle like you're doing is excellent. Make sure you take your time putting it back together. Make sure you check the tightness of the studs on the bottom of the steering knuckle housing and you may want to actually remove them, clean the out, dry the holes and studs and install the studs with RED Loctite and then when all assembled, install the nuts with BLUE Loctite. Use the hammer to tap the bottom steering arm on while torquing in order to make sure they get set properly.
Make sure you smear a LIGHT coat of grease on every rubber seal when you install it so it is able to slip on easily and not be dry.
Good Luck!
What I'm thinking is two- or three-fold.
1) The inner axle seals failed. You will be replacing these when you put it back together. I think that because the inner ball has the green oil from 90W gear oil and not the red or grey GREASE that is usually in there.
2) I believe whoever last serviced the truck filled the steering balls with 90W gear oil instead of Moly grease (I use Palladium Moly made by Valvoline) and the oil leaked out of the steering ball seals as well as out into the wheel bearings.
3) The grease got washed out of the wheel bearings by what gear oil made it to the wheel bearings.
4) The grease leaked out of the wheel bearing seal and out onto the rotor, causing the smoke by hitting the rotors.
5) The slowing was due to the wheel bearings tightening up due to heat.
A couple pic requests:
* Take a pic of how much grease was in between the inner and outer wheel bearings inside the hub. It's supposed to be full.
* Take a pic of each wheel bearing and its race. I would bet that the races are blue or at least straw colored and the bearings are also blue or straw colored. The odds of BOTH wheel bearings going out simultaneously like that is actually very low and that;s the only reason I would lean toward the brakes hanging up.
It is possible that the oil from the differential ran to the wheel bearing and leaked out of the wheel bearing seals, then hitting the brakes and smoking. I am thinking this because the backing plates are wet with oil on the wheel side and they should never have that because only grease should be close to that area.
Either way, going thru thee entire front axle like you're doing is excellent. Make sure you take your time putting it back together. Make sure you check the tightness of the studs on the bottom of the steering knuckle housing and you may want to actually remove them, clean the out, dry the holes and studs and install the studs with RED Loctite and then when all assembled, install the nuts with BLUE Loctite. Use the hammer to tap the bottom steering arm on while torquing in order to make sure they get set properly.
Make sure you smear a LIGHT coat of grease on every rubber seal when you install it so it is able to slip on easily and not be dry.
Good Luck!
Can you post up pics of the bearings inner and outer? Mine came out in pieces.. when I melted my spindle..
Ohhh.. And if you are ordering parts Marlin Crawler has everything but DO NOT use their inner oil seal axle to birf.. USE TOYOTA OEM.. Trust me I used their seal and had to go back in there only 20K miles after because it failed.. I put Toyota OEM after that and 30K miles later OEM seals are like new! And once you have rebuilt your front axle.. It's a snap afterwards.. I'm so damn paranoid about it after my spindle melting experience I just open it all up every 30K miles regardless of any issue and repack and inspect everything!
Ohhh.. And if you are ordering parts Marlin Crawler has everything but DO NOT use their inner oil seal axle to birf.. USE TOYOTA OEM.. Trust me I used their seal and had to go back in there only 20K miles after because it failed.. I put Toyota OEM after that and 30K miles later OEM seals are like new! And once you have rebuilt your front axle.. It's a snap afterwards.. I'm so damn paranoid about it after my spindle melting experience I just open it all up every 30K miles regardless of any issue and repack and inspect everything!
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #33
BILt4ME, thank you for the response! To start, I am almost 100% sure that the inner axle seal failed. It was mentioned (I think on the Jonesy's video on youtube) that if you remove the bottom bolts on the dust shield and oil/fluid leaks out, that is a sign of a failed inner axle seal - which is exactly what happened after removing the bottom bolt! (picture will be posted)
As for the wheel bearings, upon initial inspection, I did not see any type of discoloring. They are KOYO bearings and both looked fine.
For the studs on the bottom of the knuckle housing, you are referring to the 4 studs that hold the steering arm - these are the ones that have the cone washers, washers, and nuts ? I ended up taking them out completely by double nutting each one and removing it completely from the housing. This was the only way I could get the steering arm off
One came off with all of the components still attached to it (the cone washer, washer, and the 2 nuts) and I ended up causing a little bit of damage using a pair of channel locks 
(luckily the little indentions/damage were on a non-threaded section)I will definitely incorporate your loctite suggestions when reinstalling! I have already placed most of the components in containers/buckets with gasoline but I still have the knuckle housing, birfield and axle, and the rotor sitting out. I will go snap some more pics/sift through the pics on my phone to upload for you guys!
Thanks a ton for all of your help!
- Thread starter
- #34
Manuelsv, I'm glad someone else has had something similar happen to them to offer their knowledge/experience with my problem, although after checking out your thread, yours seems way worse!
After disassembling everything and removing the joint and axle, my problem is no where close to what you had happen! There are no melted or discolored components, at least not yet. So far (i've only taken apart DS, where the leak was originally noticed) the bearings have all been in tact, the spindle seems to be okay - although someone mentioned some wearing - and the races and most other components seem okay. I will post up a ton of photos for you guys. Thanks for the help and suggestions!
- Thread starter
- #35
damn. Since I'm uploading all these photos, I figured I'd stick them all in an album. Guess I'm not quite to that level yet 
here are the first set of photos per your requests - keep in mind I have only taken apart the DS since I already had noticed that this side had a leak/faulty component.
here are the first set of photos per your requests - keep in mind I have only taken apart the DS since I already had noticed that this side had a leak/faulty component.
- Thread starter
- #36
Not sure if that lightly visible ring around the inside of the rotor is normal or not. As seen in 2nd and 3rd pic. 4th/5th pics are of the hub - it has been sitting half-way submerged in gasoline. Flipped it over after a few hours and gave it a few swirls/shakes.
- Thread starter
- #37
first 2 pics of the front and inside of hub. This was the inner wheel bearing and the seal that holds it in. I tried prying it out using a screw driver and put those indentions in it. Ended up flipping the hub over and using a brass drift/hammer against the bearing to tap out both the seal and bearing. Piece of cake
- Thread starter
- #38
all pics of the spindle after soaking in gas. 1st pic is backside. I did notice a few minor spots of rust/discoloration as seen in the 3rd and 4th pics.
- Thread starter
- #39
Last of the pics. I know....too many pictures! This is the outer bearing and the washer - both of these popped right out when removing the hub and rotor. Finally, the upper trunion (housing??). **Edit - notice the rust or discoloration on the outer bearing. This probably stood out the most from all of the other bearings/race components
I didn't have a picture showing the grease between the inner/outer bearings. There was some grease but not much and it had been mixed with gear oil.
Sorry for all of the posts/pics. Let me know if you guys have any other requests. As always, thank you all!
sorry. one more pic incoming of the caliper line with stress cracks
- Thread starter
- #40
might as well throw in a few more