Neglected Knuckles

[ducky106]

I screwed up. I had the maintenance schedule wrong and thought you only had to grease the knuckles and repack the birfields every 60K. I've only had the car for 30K, and the PO rebuilt the front axle about 50K, I assume he repacked the birfields once a year. Currently there is no clicking or other sounds from the front while driving.

Now I'm looking for knowledge on how bad it might be and advice on any extra steps I should take when I repack them next weekend. I'm going to pick up some grease today to put in the knuckles and minimize driving until then.

Below are pictures of the knuckles. Driver's side is dry to the touch. Passenger side still has some "slickness" on it.


Driver Side

Passenger Side

 

[mct75]

Either take off the square plugs and load em up or rebuild the axle if you want to go through it all

 

[BILT4ME]

Your driver's side needs moly in it for sure. If you're going to drive it for a while, dump a tube in through the square plug hole. The PS could use some also.

Looks like both sides have inner axle seals leaking due to the oil contamination on the backing plate and the inside of the tire.

You can run that way for a while, but make sure you get moly in the knuckles and fill your differential with gear oil.

Make sure your breather and ALL LINES AND FITTINGS are clear. Remove them and run something through them, including the hole in the axle. Mine was clogged bad enough to require a drill bit to clear it.

You can run it like this a LONG time if you keep oil in the diff and moly in the knuckles, as long as you can put up with the mess.

 

[ducky106]

Definitely rebuilding the front axle next weekend. Got all the parts on order from cruiser outfitters. Just trying to see if I might of damaged something. But so far sounds like I might have gotten lucky.

 

[Heckraiser]

You're worrying too much. Most every toyota I've bought looked like that underneath at one point or another (sometimes well after my purchase). It takes really long term neglect to actually damage the axle parts under normal use.

 

[ScubaSteve80]

It needs some love but doesn't look like anything is in "critical" condition. Hard to tell until you get into it but I seriously doubt it. The inner axle seals look like they are leaking but Cruiser Outfitter's kit comes with new seals so no need to worry there. The kit from Cruiser Outfitters will have everything you need to get them looking good.

Have you done a front axle rebuild before?

 

[ducky106]

It needs some love but doesn't look like anything is in "critical" condition. Hard to tell until you get into it but I seriously doubt it. The inner axle seals look like they are leaking but Cruiser Outfitter's kit comes with new seals so no need to worry there. The kit from Cruiser Outfitters will have everything you need to get them looking good.

Have you done a front axle rebuild before?

I haven't done a rebuild before. I've read over the guides in the FAQ and am just planning on taking my time with it. Open to any advice you have about it though.

But I'm glad to hear that I'm just worrying too much.

 

[ScubaSteve80]

This video got me through my first rebuild a month ago. Very helpful.

What took me the longest is having to stop to go buy tools I didn't have. You may already have these but I suggest getting a brass punch, (you don't want to scratch the wheel hub when taking the races out. I tried this with a screw driver and had to use sand paper to smooth everything out.), a pickle fork to knock the tie rods loose, and a good set of snap ring pliers. Everything else is in the video. Good luck. If you get stuck or have any questions just let us know.

 

[ZackR]

Make sure wherever you are parked is wide enough to pull the axles out. I initially thought about doing this job in my one car garage (at the time) but realized that the space was too narrow to pull both axles out. Glad I did it out on the driveway instead.

One thing that is easily underestimated is how much of a mess this job will make. Be sure to have cardboard to put underneath, a bucket for cleaning, gloves, safety glasses, lots of rags/towels brake cleaner, etc etc... I also recommend using a cardboard box with labeled holes in to keep track of bolts and fasteners.

And last, be sure to allocate enough time to complete the job. Depending on your wrenching experience it can take a while. It took me two full days, however now that I've done it before I could likely complete the whole thing in a day, especially if I prepared some items in advance such as installing new bearings to the new rotors, packed the felt seals with grease and laid out all of the tools and parts nicely.

 

[BigAxeJack]

You got this!

Knuckle rebuild is a rite of passage for any self-respecting 80 owner, and it's not hard to do.

Now get out there!

 

[ScubaSteve80]

Make sure wherever you are parked is wide enough to pull the axles out. I initially thought about doing this job in my one car garage (at the time) but realized that the space was too narrow to pull both axles out. Glad I did it out on the driveway instead.

One thing that is easily underestimated is how much of a mess this job will make. Be sure to have cardboard to put underneath, a bucket for cleaning, gloves, safety glasses, lots of rags/towels brake cleaner, etc etc... I also recommend using a cardboard box with labeled holes in to keep track of bolts and fasteners.

And last, be sure to allocate enough time to complete the job. Depending on your wrenching experience it can take a while. It took me two full days, however now that I've done it before I could likely complete the whole thing in a day, especially if I prepared some items in advance such as installing new bearings to the new rotors, packed the felt seals with grease and laid out all of the tools and parts nicely.

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I wasn't aware you needed to pack the felt seals with grease. How do you go about doing that?

 

[ScubaSteve80]

The job took me several evenings to complete. I totally agree with @ZackR on making sure you have enough time to do the job . I have a two car garage and was able to leave the LC in there for a long period of time. If you are attempting to do this job outside, be prepared to not finish it all in a day.

The first Knuckle rebuild is the most time consuming just because its all new. After you do it once it be comes MUCH easier.

 

[ScubaSteve80]

O yeah and get a brass hammer if you don't have one. Harbor Freight has them for cheap. This will come in very handy during the build.
You don't want to damage any threads you might need to bang on.

Just my opinion.

 

[ZackR]

I wasn't aware you needed to pack the felt seals with grease. How do you go about doing that?

Its not required but I saw it done on a how to video and it made sense to me. I just packed the felt seals with wheel bearing grease that I had leftover before installing them. The idea is that if they are full of grease they will repel water, again not sure if needed but I did it anyway.

 

[ducky106]

... I also recommend using a cardboard box with labeled holes in to keep track of bolts and fasteners....

...in advance such as installing new bearings to the new rotors..

I wasn't sure what you meant until I saw your picture. Really clever idea, I like it better than my normal labeled ziplock bags. Packing the rotors in advance also a awesome idea.

I'm gonna give myself plenty of time to do it, planning on just letting the 80 be out of service for a couple days while I do it.

 

[Railwelder93]

Put your bearing races in the freezer that morning , and go get a race driver set from harbor freight.

 

[ZackR]

Put your bearing races in the freezer that morning , and go get a race driver set from harbor freight.

This ^^^^^