Shiny Balls (Axle Rebuild) (1 Viewer)

[High Lander]

I have serious ball envy. No matter how much I rub them I'll never have as shiny balls as other guys

I have thoroughly degreased and scrubbed but there is significant pitting on the surface

Is this a problem?

 

[graham5david]

I have serious ball envy. No matter how much I rub them I'll never have as shiny balls as other guys

I have thoroughly degreased and scrubbed but there is significant pitting on the surface

Is this a problem?

View attachment 2604864

View attachment 2604865

I would hit it with a wire wheel or paint it with some por15 black enamel to fill the pits. The inside doesn't really need to be smooth. The felt gasket rides on the outside so the pits could make it leak some grease. Others have ran into this issue. Tons of posts on here about it.

 

[LINUS]

Big picture......nope.

If you want to pretty them up, and if the pitting is real severe, hit ‘em with navel jelly to de-rust them & smear some JB Weld in the bad spots / block sand them down.

 

[graham5david]

Crusty Knuckles: Best Way to Polish?

When I purchased my FZJ80 a few years ago the engine was removed. I have no idea how long it sat. She's finally getting refreshed and engine swapped and of course I'm finding all kind of ass-hattery from the PO... The front axle was "re-done" to some extent by the PO. This was obvious by...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[High Lander]

Big picture......nope.

If you want to pretty them up, and if the pitting is real severe, hit ‘em with navel jelly to de-rust them & smear some JB Weld in the bad spots / block sand them down.

Okay thanks - sounds like a ball ache

We salt our roads in the winter - it eats cars - I think I'll accept a bit of grease loss and just top it up once a year.

Just have to come to terms with the fact that my rough old balls will never be as good looking as other guys'

 

[LINUS]

If it’s a big deal to you, you could clean them, finish the axle rebuild & smear some grease on them immediately rather than letting the grease get out there on its’ own.

But that’s only if it really matters to you - at least the pitting wouldn’t get deeper if you keep the grease film semi-regular where the felt swipers don’t always protect the shell.

 

[High Lander]

Hit it with my buddy Mak for some rotational abrasive goodness. Looks bit better but yeah that's some pretty heavy pitting. And the damage inside is kind of interesting - not sure what that's about - my Birf looked okay

I think I'll do the epoxy painting thing. I intend to keep this thing indefinitely. Difficult to know when to stop though when you start digging into things.

The ABS brackets are all rotten and the sensor broke off in my hand, so have to decide whether to bodge it with a 2nd hand part or put in £400 of hardware to sort it properly. It's all turning into a bit of an epic.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Like the ladies always tell me. It doesn't matter how your balls look. What matters is how well they perform.