I am in the middle of rebuilding my birfields, and I am in way over my head. I had to double nut and back out the studs to get out the 6 cone washers for the hubs on nearly every stud. Now that I am trying to remove the steering arms I think I might be out of luck. The flat washers are rusted into one piece with the stud and arm. Even if I got them off, I don't think I'd have a prayer at getting the cone washers out, soooo, I'm thinking of just calling it quits and just replacing the inner axle seal, which was the big problem in the first place, and putting a zerk fitting in so I can keep the birfs full of grease. Any opinions?




This is the inner axle seal right?

 

Liberal amounts of PB Blaster on rusted parts, a brass drift and a 3 lb sledge will get the cone washers loose.

With one that is rusted/old, you have gone that far, why not r/r it all and do it right. Perhaps even strip the whole axle and sandblast and repaint.

What you don't fix now will just be a problem later IMO.

 

mispost....

 

 

Wabbit has it right.

I didn't do the knuckles when I did mine & should have.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f115...ll-pics-90607/

 

OK can I back those studs out the same way as the other ones?

 

New idea and question, can I replace the felt seal on the back side without removing the whole knuckle assembly? Looks like the ring comes off in two pieces, and if i cut the felt ring then I could get it on. opinions?

 

you really need to disassemble it completely and rebuild it.

The felts could PROBABLY be cut and made to fit...but your wipers and gaskets probably need to be replaced too.....

If (when) you break on the trail its gonna be a lot easier to tear it down if you've done it before

I would replace those steering arms studs too if it was my truck....

oh and apply lots of anti-seize on those cone washers upon re-assembly

 

Mine are both cut, haven't leaked yet. A tip for those things though, when you're assembling, put a dab of silicone on the felt, rubber and seal in a couple places to hold them together. Stops the feeling you need 3 hands to put them together.

 

OK thanks, that's what I'm going to have to do that. I am putting a zerk fitting in to keep the grease topped off if it does lose any grease over time. I can't even find any place to buy a brass drift, I checked all my hardware stores, auto stores and farm stores in several cities.

My right front caliper was leaking, I looked at the price of a rebuild kit, $20, and a new caliper, $40, and decided screw it, I'll get two new calipers, considering the inside of the old ones was probably all rusted and pitted. Looking at getting new rotors too, mine are sooooo pitted, I should get pictures, it's hilarious, except for the fact that I've been driving it that way for over a year, and I plan to drive the vehicle across the country and back soon.

 

I ordered my brass drifts off ebay....yes, they are hard to find.


There is a square fitting on your knuckle to fill with grease...I dont really see the point of putting a zerk on

 

The felt, rubber and metal on the backside of the knuckle are a sweep and keep dirt out of the grease in the knuckle. If you have a leak it is because your axle seal is bad. If you need 3 hands then you shouldnt have cut them. and no need for silicone or whaveter to hold them on. Cutting them kinda defeats the purpose of them in the first place. I have put dozens of these on and it is simple. No need to change them in the first place if you are not removing the knuckle and doing it all at the same time. Waste of time. Rebuild the whole knuckle once and be done with it and do it right.

The knuckle has a grease fitting already. I would suggest finding a FSM and studying it and knowing what you are doing before something gets fubared.

Good luck.

 

I went to my local O'Reilly auto parts after searching everywhere else and they had a set of brass drifts. Here's a link below if you want to order them online.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/EW3/Displ...ycleCount=2000

 

Because a grease gun pumps grease in easier, cleaner and just better than any other way I can think of.

 

I understand that......but a properly rebuilt knuckle should NEVER need extra grease.....I'm not quite sure why toyota put that square plug on there other than for EXTREME, EXTREME conditions