permission to cruise on a blown bearing?

[nicacruiser]

Have found myself pretty deep in the sticks in Nicaragua with what appears to be a blown axle bearing. There is grayinsh sludge all over the ball joint, inside of the wheel and tire. People even tell my i smell bad cause it sprays up on the manifold. This just happened, but i'll have to travel approx. 80-100 miles to Managua to get parts and find a mechanic to repair. Should I attempt this or try and get the beast towed to prevent further damage? Any advice greatly appreciated.



Nicacruiser

 

[80jay]

I might be that the seal is bad and that dosent really mean that the bering is bad but defineatly will need a service soon.... Jack the vehicle up and move the wheel at 12 and 6 oclock to see if its lose

 

[nakman]

so what happened? I agree with 80Jay, lift that tire and see if it's loose. If it still feels snug, drive out! You can replace that axle seal in Managua..

 

[IdahoDoug]

Agree you can drive out - using 2wd as much as possible if by chance your Cruiser is a part time system. However, I'd be sure to check the front differential oil level and the birfield's grease level as both will steadily be seeping out that seal. Definitely worth having a few tubes of grease and a few liters of gear oil to finish up the trip. And don't loosen the drain plug on the diffy by accident!!

DougM

PS - impressed that Nicaragua now has internet access in the sticks!

 

[Tentsontop]

You can drive on a bad seal. Take a look at the lower trunion studs/nuts while you're checking out the wheel. You might have one or two loose, missing or broken. When mine started spitting grease on the exhaust I only had one nut and one stud down there.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Ooh, good call on checking the 4 nuts on the bottom of the knuckle.

DougM

 

[nicacruiser]

TY from NICA! (My friend Lance runs a surf charter biz here and gets cellular internet service when the skies are clear).

Think i'll jack her up to check for looseness and for broken/loose nuts. Wish I had grease (good thing to put in the toolbox), but i don't, so hopefully there's enough to prevent metal on metal.

By the way, this place is cruiser heaven. I think i've seen every diesel model ever made. Does anyone know if you can import these to the states?

 

[Lka1988]

Does anyone know if you can import these to the states?

If it's 25 years or older!