Noticed right hand wheel bearings loose, when I took apart there was clumps of metal in the wheel bearings, the inner wheel bearing was a dark colour and partially seized up. Removed the spindle and found the needle roller bearing gone. Has anyone ever come across this problem before? I cant find any metal particles in the cv joint, but the bearing that failed has ruined the cv axle shaft. The bearings and spindle were replaced 10 000km ago.
Spindle bearing failure
- Thread starter pm5112
- Start date
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That's all because there was no grease in it. You can tell by the rust bloom on the spindle and the birf there was no grease. The inner bearing is dry as a bone.
- Thread starter
- #3
There was grease on it. I just cleaned it up in the parts washer. The birf had a nice grease soup mixture in it. The vehicle does a lot of river crossings and gets used on the beach sometimes.
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- #4
Here is a photo of the new spindle showing the needle roller bearing, what I am trying to figure out is what caused the bearing to disintegrate and munch up
I would have said lack of grease too, or inappropriate grease type. What type of grease are you using?
The wheel bearing definitely looks like it's been run without lubrication, and without are preload on the bearings
Or water contamination.
Either way it's a lack of proper maintenance.
If you do a lot of water crossings, you should increase the frequency of inspection of your hubs.
The wheel bearing definitely looks like it's been run without lubrication, and without are preload on the bearings
Or water contamination.
Either way it's a lack of proper maintenance.
If you do a lot of water crossings, you should increase the frequency of inspection of your hubs.
Yep not enough grease.
If you do that many river crossings you need to get the water out and get fresh grease in.
This was lack of maintenance that caused the failure.
If you do that many river crossings you need to get the water out and get fresh grease in.
This was lack of maintenance that caused the failure.
One related comment might be who did the spindle bearing replacement and did they properly put any upper and lower spacers in EXACTLY as they were from the factory. Unlike the 40s which can be adjusted, on the 80 the spacers have been set at the factory to account for production variations and are supposed to stay in place. Making the comment as if someone messed up the spacers then the shaft could be turning very hard against the roller bearings, vs a light touch all around.
And I agree on the appearance of the WB's looking like a water contamination issue. Especially beach water = salt. I'd be ensuring the zirk fittings on the driveshaft are getting hit also - as noted in the factory manual when water crossings are done.
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- #9
The spindle was replaced with a new one with the bearing already in place like the photo of the new spindle I have shown
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- #10
I used crc marine grease designed for 4wd- boat trailer-marine equipment
So, the upper and lower trunion bearings and the spacers they did or did not come with from the factory determine whether the axle is properly centered in the spindle. Whether it is a new spindle or not, if that spacer mistake is made, it will eat spindle bearings from then on as the entire housing is no longer properly centered. I'm definitely NOT saying that is/was your problem, just making the observation if this happens again and the wheel bearings in that future scenario are fine because they were properly maintained.
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- #12
Ok but what would cause complete failure of the spindle bearing, has that failed first and killed the other bearing?
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- #14
So basically what you are saying is that the problem could be the knuckle swivel bearings causing the failure of the spindle bearing
It's failed due to lack of suitable or clean grease.
Whether it failed before the wheel bearing wear occurred no one knows.
For that spindle bearing to be complete ground up and "gone" , that didn't happen in five minutes.
When was the last time the hubs were opened up and serviced?
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- #16
You would hope so made in the USA not from China
I just googled this.
Is an aluminium base grease. I have no experience of this type of grease. I always use lithium based grease rather than old school clay based grease.
On the face of it, it looks like it should be ok, but what ever grease you use, if you're getting water in hubs from river crossings, you needed to do more frequent maintenance.
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- #18
The last time was over 2 years ago or 10 000kms, maybe I should check and repack yearly, or stay away from rivers
There is no grease conspiracy here. Look at the tapered roller bearings and that spindle! The amount of rust on them tells a very clear story that there wasn’t enough grease. Water got inside and then the truck sat and everything rusted.
if it was some weird mismatched grease it still wouldn’t be all rusted to s***. It would be clean metal with scorched or flat spotted bearings.
if it was some weird mismatched grease it still wouldn’t be all rusted to s***. It would be clean metal with scorched or flat spotted bearings.
- Thread starter
- #20
What would be the recommended time interval for checking the bearings