what does a damaged spindle look like? i think i got one. (1 Viewer)

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Mar 9, 2004
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Imperial Valley, CA
i've got the whole thing apart right now and when i saw the back of the spindle, my heart sank. there was a lot of play in the wheel so i decided to replace the wheel bearings. once i got it pulled apart, i noticed some flaking metal at the back of the spindle. i'm going to take a picture of this in a few minutes and post it. i wanted to get the ball rolling with this initial post though. man... i hope this isn't what i think it is. talk about a depressing saturday after noon.
for what it's worth, this is not the first time someone has been in there. the outer most nut had very bad marks on it and the lock washer is hammered. i want to track down the P.O. and smack him soooo hard right now. ok, ok, make that the monkey who was in there last. i'm so hot right now... i think i'm going to walk away for a few minutes.
 
Gimme a photo.
 
hope this looks good enough to tell...
 
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It looks like the bearing inner race has been spinning on the spindle. Have you removed the inner bearing from the hub yet?
 
Can you tell where the wear is coming from? That area is pretty much sealed, so I'd think it'd be from either the spindle or bearings. What'd the bearings look like?
 
My spindle showed some slight evidence of wear, I think there'd have to be more damage than that to cause a problem with new bearings. The new bearing is a slip-fit on the spindle when cold, I assume it gets looser as it warms, so how critical can it be?
 
the bearings (both rollers and races) show some wear but i've seen worse. given the condition of the 54mm nuts, i would guess that the last one in there had no idea what they were doing let alone happen to have a 54mm socket.
at this point, i'm guessing the P.O. (POS) took it to some backwater/shadetree hack and said; 'hey, i can't aford to have this done right, so... do what you can.'
<\miked> boiles steam out his ears.
can you guys help me decide something....
should i just put it all back together and order new spindles? or use up the brand new bearings and hope for the best.
in all my years of used vehicles, only once have i been so disgusted at a prev owner. and that was simply an electrical/wire issue.

i don't know what to do...
a.) bundle it back up and order the parts for a complete service.
b.) knock out the races and replace. (seems like a waste)
c.) (insert mad ih8mud cleaverness/wisdome here)
 
cruiserdan said:
It looks like the bearing inner race has been spinning on the spindle. Have you removed the inner bearing from the hub yet?

thats what i thought. (inner race has been spinning)

i have not removed the inner from the hub yet. when i turn it by hand, with down force, i feel no dead spots but that doesn't mean much i guess. given the amount of play before i broke it down, i could see how it might bind up.
i'm going to replace the whole bearing set and monitor the play.

i've got everything i need and have read just about every post here about wheel bearings.

wish me luck folks. it's going to be a long afternoon.

cdan, i think i might be asking for a full set of birf job parts from ya soon. i can already tell that my seals are shot due to the fact i've just found grease in my diff lube.

ya know, this is the only truck i can see where it's worth putting up with this.
because once i do it right, it should last long enough to make it worth it.
 
btw, how much does a front spindle cost?
i'm not going to check the reply to this untill i'm done.
only because i get depressed easily.
 
I really can't see how deep those marks are, but they don't look too bad. I'd put the new bearings in with a new inner bearing seal (obviously) and use Mobil 1 grease. Then set up the bearing nuts slightly on the tight side. Once you go through the old bearings, you'll likely see if there are any other issues, but I doubt it. Fresh bearings and races and let 'er rip. As for the birfs - your call but unrelated to this spindle wear. Mine were slightly grooved top and bottom due to spinning races and all's been well for 60,000 miles. Don't get your panties in a wad - these are tough components.

DougM
 
miked said:
btw, how much does a front spindle cost?
i'm not going to check the reply to this untill i'm done.
only because i get depressed easily.

The spindle lists for $255.50. How do I know? Some geniuses at a well known southeastern "Cruiser" specialty shop didn't know to how to use the lock washers.
 
I had a similar issue when I bought my 94. I didn't replace the spindle and it's been fine for 30k miles, but I did replace bearings etc. and put it back together properly.
 
ok, now i feel better.
i put in all new bearings and races w/ seals.
i used the mobil 1
it felt nice and smooth after i got the preload just right. i think.
ya see, i didn't have a spring scale so i improvised a bit. you gun owners will like this part. the german handgun i have has a DA/SA trigger. the first DA pull is right around 12 pounds. so i put my trigger finger at the right angle and fiddled untill it was about the same pull as the first pull on my gun. i couldn't stop snickering to myself every time i tried it. course, the neighbors were wondering why i kept shooting in the garage.




JUST KIDDING! just kidding.

thanks for the info about the looks of the spindle. the other side wasn't nearly as bad so the day lightened up after all.
 
Apart from just tightening up the bearings, have any of you any bright ideas for reducing the inner races from spinning on the shaft?

On my rear axle the bearings on one side have obviously been too loose for too long and have worn a bit of a groove on the lower side of the axle (I noticed this a month after buying it).

I have fitted new bearings, but was wondering if any of you had tried any sort of locking compound to prevent the race spinning.

Thed last thing I want to have to do is spring for a new axle.

Cheers,

Julian
 
jvoelcker said:
I have fitted new bearings, but was wondering if any of you had tried any sort of locking compound to prevent the race spinning.
I installed a few hundred precision bearings this week with bearing retaining compound. These were press-fit bearings, though some were a bit loose, the bearing retaining compound helps keep them tight. We CNC the holes, sometimes shavings load up on the cutter and the hole gets slightly oversize. I've had good luck with bearing retainer and Locktite for holding non-critical parts together in those cases. They also make high-temp bearing retaining compound and high-temp thread locker. That might be just the thing for this application, depending on how big a gap it needs to fill. For bigger gaps, Locktite makes 660 Quick Metal® Retaining compound Press Fit Repair, for fixing fits that are too loose for press fit, I might order some this week to have on hand. I'm not sure if it'd work for our spindles, depends how hot the bearings get, and I don't see a high-temp version. At home, I'd try the thread-locking locktite I have on hand, after cleaning the spindle and bearing race as well as I could. If you suspect you have a problem, or have the time after discovering a problem, it might be worth buying high-temp threadlocker or bearing retainer.
 
Oh man I got a bad feeling. I actually greased the spindle where the race would sit. This was about 20,000 miles ago. About 5,000 miles after birf service I noticed a slight vibration while accellerating from 40 to 43 mph then it goes away. Do you think this could be the race slippin at that moment?

Thnx, Vince
 
arn't the spindles supossed to have grease?
i hope so, cuz i goobed mine up good.
 
the results

i took it for a spin last night and noticed that the PS had loosened up after three blocks. i called it a night and went back in this morning to snug it back up. following the FSM except for the part where it calls for inch pounds, i bundled it all back up and went for a ten mile test ride. everything stayed tight but....
i think i might have snuged up the PS side a bit too much as the hub is running a bit hotter than the DS. maybe i'll put my new fancy infared thermo on it later today.
maybe i'll just let it go and replace the bearings again when i do the birfs. which i think will be soon.
 

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