Slow leak near drivers side wheel

[Pighead]

Excited but really nervous to start my first real project with this truck.

A knuckle job is often the first real project for new owners, for obvious reasons. It's a dirty job, the PO kept putting it off. There are probably a hundred threads about it and fifty ways to do different parts of it. have you checked the FAQs yet? Inside jokes date back before 'Mud to the LCML (you'll need more paper towels, NO, more than that!). Big tub of kerosene, stiff-bristle parts brushes and more paper towels is a good start.

 

[pb4ugo]

You might checkout the clubhouse section. Maybe there's members that are close to you. Someone might have centering tool and large calipers. I think @RWBeringer4x4 is in MD. Clean and scrape the parts. Maybe a little paint on the outside surfaces.

 

[sggoat]

That's the kit I used. I added Marlin axle seals too, but I think they are on backorder. I wonder what the wheel bearings look like. You might want to consider borrowing a centering tool too. Do you have FSM?

Make sure you do use the marlin seals when available--I have 15 yrs on my rebuild--no leaks---fix everything in there while it's open-new koyo brgs and wheel brgs

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

You might checkout the clubhouse section. Maybe there's members that are close to you. Someone might have centering tool and large calipers. I think @RWBeringer4x4 is in MD. Clean and scrape the parts. Maybe a little paint on the outside surfaces.

This.

The clubhouse in DC had a great group of guys when I was around, there's some solid tech knowledge in the group as well. You might even get lucky and be able to borrow the tools you're gonna need from the club.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

VA/DC/MD- Capital Land Cruiser Club

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Pighead]

I’m thinking I just following along the disassembly process in the Haynes repair manual, and simply replace every seal/component I remove with its newer replacement provided in the rebuild kit. Any other tutorials you recommend?

One of the nice things about a knuckle kit from Kurt (cruiser outfitters) is the instructions that they send with...I keep mine tucked into the Hayne's manual I carry. I did my last knuckle job 2/22, Here's a pic 4 years later. I do not baby my rig. I got some solid grease sneaking out the bottom, but I don't see the slimey stuff that happens when the diff oil contaminates the knuckle grease. It's not an emergency, your diffs probably not gonna run dry and it won't matter anyway if you stay out of 4wd and that probably doesn't matter either if you don't do it for days. Take your time and prepare yourself, take 2 days. invite friends over. Invite local clubmembers over, have beer.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

I am, indeed, in MD. What part of MD are you in? I’m as far Northeast as you can get so if you’re closer to the DC area, I’d definitely connect with the Capital Land Cruiser Club guys - there is a huge wealth of knowledge in that crew and they’re awesome people. Feel free to drop me a PM with some details, happy to talk you through it.

As other have said, your inner axle seals are toast, leaking gear oil into your axles which is mixing with knuckle grease and seeping past the wipers.

It’s a messy job, and it’s a little time consuming, but not a super hard job, and you’ll be very familiar with how 4WD works when you’re done. You just have to be methodical about it.

What I don’t have is the centering tool others have mentioned, you’ll need to borrow (or buy) one (or trust that your shims are in the right place).

Happy to help, if I can!

Edit to add - page 15-27 of my build thread (linked in the signature) goes through a lot of the process. The real meat of what you’ll be getting into starts on page 20. I cleaned and painted everything and did a disc brake conversion at the same time, so not ALL of it applies, you definitely don’t need to pull the whole axle off the truck like I did, but the fundamentals are there (with pictures).

 

[talibraza101]

Thanks for your thorough message. I am in Brookeville, MD. I will be sure to read up on the thread you linked and will definitely be reaching out to you all for more questions. Thanks again!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Thanks for your thorough message. I am in Brookeville, MD. I will be sure to read up on the thread you linked and will definitely be reaching out to you all for more questions. Thanks again!

Ah, bit of a hike, but I'm down at Ft. Meade for work quite a bit so if something comes up I might be able to pop over some afternoon. Regardless, happy to answer questions as they come up!

 

[talibraza101]

I’d like to update you all on my progress! The knuckle teardown is going great so far. Thank you so much for all of your assistance, it really helped me through the process! I just pulled the inner axles and do have a question for you all:

According to the photos, are my inner axles in good shape to reuse again? Is the scoring normal? How about the pitting and discoloration? Would this be alright to reuse in my 40?

Thank you!

 

[pb4ugo]

You have the really old ball and claw axles. I'm pretty sure the discoloration is a result of heat treating. In my opinion I don't see any issues where the seals ride. As a matter of fact, I don't think they actually used axle seals. Does it have brass bushing in the axle tube? I'm not that familiar with the ball and claw. I think these axles were used in the 60's. You might want to touch base with cruiser outfitters or whoever you purchased the kit from, and see if your rebuild kit works for this front end.