OK here is the deal, i have spent all winter restoring a 85' that was mangled in an accident. I have her ALL done and she looks 100% percent better except...

As i was doing the work i noticed that over time two small drips of red fluid would build on the bottom axle bolts of the knuckle (passenger side). It didn't seem to be bad, because it would take a week or two for the drips to form and they were not 'huge'. But i assumed i would need to rebuild the axle with a knuckle kit from wabfab or marlin. but what i didn't expect is as I turn the wheel i hear a knocking noise resonating from the front passenger side. It happens pretty much every time i turn and it gets worse as i lock out the wheel (does matter if i am turning left or right).

other info:
The truck was struck on the passenger side, and it is in need of an alignment. The stock tie rod was bent upon purchase.
Happens in two wheel drive.
No problems driving down the road at 60 miles per hour.


So what could the noise be? Wheel bearing? no lube?
I have until the end of the month to have this fixed and would like to do it asap, any info you can give me would be awesome.

I think this is a perfect question for Wabbit or 4crawler!

Thanks all i appreciate you help!

 

does the knocking occur at all speeds? does the noise speed up as the truck speeds up? just checking that we are not talking about wheel rub.

hopefully your problem will go away when you rebuild the knuckles. i used marlin crawler for my kit, very happy with the quality and speed. i also sprung for the bearing kit while i was at it just for good measure. clean your birfields up real good for inspection, pack everything tight with high quality grease, and then if your problem is not solved, at least you will know that your knuckles are done right... good luck!

 

I don't know if it increases, I'll check that this week. there is no wheel rub so it isn't that. (it's only on one side). I'm thinking it is the wheel bearing, and the truck was hit on that side so i imagine the bearing got toasted. Yeah I'm going to order Marlin's rebuild kit, w/ bearings and just to both sides for good measure. Plus my felts are kinda torn on that side. I'll most likely follow the FSM and 4crawler's walk through. What did you use when you went through this? How long did it take you, did you use the knuckle puller scale to set the knuckle? What about marlin's the weld bead trick? What is a good brand of grease? This will be my first axle rebuild looking forward to having it done in the next two weeks, can't wait to have her on the road with my new bikini top! Thanks Brian!

Matt

 

Did you check the housing? Im betting its bent. The housing will bend before the bearing gives out.

 

The knuckle housing? which the ball or the hub part? Under all the grease it looks pretty good... didnt looked deformed, i'll go inspect super close comparing it to the other side this week.

Maybe i'll take to a shop to have them diagnose it for me...

here are some pictures... maybe someone would notice something...








And some for fun

Before:


After

 

im talking about the axle housing. If the housing is bent, it may be causing the problem you are describing

 

i used mobile 1 synthetic grease, but you can use any high quality grease. i packed the F out the bearings, and shoved a lot into the knuckle. 1 pint per side is about right.

obviously clean the hell out of everything. that will give you the opportunity to inspect everything. i dont know anything about bending the axle housing like cougar says, but you should be able to see it. i used 4x4wire write up, and a friends advise to complete the job. 4crawler has a great writeup too. you will need a 54 mm socket to do the job (thin wall, marlin has it) and a seal puller is helpful.

my axles were pretty bad, and it took me a day to disassemble and a day to reassemble. i was slow and thorough, and it can be a real mess to clean up. i dont know if this will resolve your problem, but its due anyhow... have fun!

 

Well it is my lucky day. I found a guy locally who has a 84 solid axle that he rebuild 200 Miles ago and will sell it to me for the price of the knuckle w/wheel bearing kit. Solid deal.

I'll post up final results, if anyone cares.

Thanks for your help.

Anyone need anything specific for a 84/85 4runnner? the guy is parting it out and i have free reign on all parts.

Let me know.

 

broken birf and 1 hub not unlocking causing the axle shafts to turn.

with t case in 2wd...... have someone drive it forward slowly and see if the front driveshaft turns.

 

Update to thread:

NO the Birf is fine, the truck will lock and unlock no problem and the drive shaft only rotates when locked.

After i have cleaned the off the knuckle it has not leaked since. It does knock consitantly at full turn and over bumps. It has seemed to be getting worse.

my solution is to swap the axle out and sell it to someone who wants to trouble shoot it. I picked up a recently rebuild 84' front axle for the same price as the rebuild costs. (4.10 gears? was SR5) Which is this weekends project.

 

OK. so the issue was blown out of proportion a little. After spending about two hours on tuesday trying to deduce the problem with no luck, it took about 15 min last night to figure out it was the....

BODY MOUNT.

That's right the body mount was loose.

Thanks for your opinon! Next time i will make sure i properly deduce the problem before i go and by a new axle.

PM if anyone is interested in a 84 solid axle with 4.10 gears.