Reverse/leaky birfield (1 Viewer)

[dlee300z]

Okay, help me diagnose this problem before I pull my hair out.

I did the knuckle rebuild a couple months back and couldn't be happier. Everything was running great until a couple days ago. I put my car in reverse and even without stepping on the brakes, I could hear a clunking noise. Almost like ABS was coming on. When I go forward, no sound at all. Only when I put it in reverse and to top things off, I took off my wheel to see if my pads were worn, I saw grease. Not a lot but enough to know it probably leaked again.

I'm so frustrated. Could the leaky knuckle somewhow knocked the ABS sensor out of whack or grounding up my wheel bearings?

What could it be? Reverse clunk only.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Always good to know what vehicle we're talking about here.......

DougM

 

[Cj80cruiser]

When you took your wheel off and saw grease, where exactly did you see it? Was it just grease or grease mixed with diff oil?

 

[Tools R Us]

My first check would be the nuts that hold the steering arm to the knuckle, are they properly torqued?

 

[dlee300z]

Sorry guys. My 94' Landcruiser.

I'll check the steering arms. The grease was on the shiny bald head birfield. It got some on the lower steering knuckle too. Not alot but enough to know that something is leaking again.

 

[jonheld]

The grease was on the shiny bald head birfield.

To be clear, the birfield joint lives inside the steering knuckle housing. The steering knuckle housing mounts to the axle tube and pivots via the kingpins and kingpin bearings.

By "bald head" I assume you mean the bell of the axle tube behind the steering knuckle? Did you replace the felt, rubber, and steel seals?

How much grease? It is normal for a bit of grease to be visible on the bell of the axle. The seals are never 100% IME.

 

[dlee300z]

What do you guys think could cause the clunking noise in reverse? I hope its something simple like a loose caliper only. I"ll check it out later again. Arghhhhhhh.

 

[dlee300z]

Found the culprit. Top caliper bolt came off. Missing. Could not believe it. I found a bolt at the local junkyard off of a 94 previa. Seemed to fit fine w/ only a few cm's off. CHECK THOSE BOLTS!! MAKE SURE THEY ARE PROPERLY TORQUED!!

THANKS GUYS!!!!!

 

[Tools R Us]

Found the culprit. Top caliper bolt came off. Missing. Could not believe it. I found a bolt at the local junkyard off of a 94 previa. Seemed to fit fine w/ only a few cm's off. CHECK THOSE BOLTS!! MAKE SURE THEY ARE PROPERLY TORQUED!!

THANKS GUYS!!!!!

Good that you found it! But that problem wouldn't cause the grease leakage?

 

[IdahoDoug]

On the grease, my question would be did the inner seal get replaced? That's the tiny one the dealers don't know about and often overlook when they sell you parts. 'Cept for Cdan's repack kits.

DougM

 

[Cj80cruiser]

On the grease, my question would be did the inner seal get replaced? That's the tiny one the dealers don't know about and often overlook when they sell you parts. 'Cept for Cdan's repack kits.

DougM

I haven't seen C-dans kit but I've been told the factory one's on the front passenger side are more prone to fail since that is the short axle side. When it moves, it moves at a steeper angle because it's shorter. Iron Piggs has a little more lip to help with this problem.

 

[IdahoDoug]

CJ,

I think you've been told wrong on the R/L difference. The left (longer) side inner seals get more abuse because the longer unsupported shaft moves more. In my experience, these fail first and worst. The factory seals seem to wear longer than any others. I'd be interested in seeing an Iron Pigg model tho...got a pic? Or a website? Thanks.

DougM

 

[Cj80cruiser]

CJ,

I think you've been told wrong on the R/L difference. The left (longer) side inner seals get more abuse because the longer unsupported shaft moves more. In my experience, these fail first and worst. The factory seals seem to wear longer than any others. I'd be interested in seeing an Iron Pigg model tho...got a pic? Or a website? Thanks.

DougM

The website doesn't have a clear pic of the seal and neither do I since these are already installed. Sorry Doug.

 

[Cj80cruiser]

View attachment 224456There was a misspelling on my post. It's Iron Pig, the vendor on MUD. Here's the pic from there website even though you can barely see the seals.