I'm diving into my front suspension work this weekend, and I'm trying to diagnose the wear im seeing on my spindle. I've read this can be caused by galling (fretting), or perhaps water intrusion. There's also a very very fine, but perceptible step on the underside of each spindle. I can feel it when I fun my nail across it, but barely when I'm wearing a thick rubber glove. I understand this is usually due to loose preload. Is this passable wear? Should I just resurface with emory and add new bearings, or are we looking at a new spindle?


driver side spindle.

passenger side spindle


I'm also seeing some unusual wear on the brass bushing in the driver side spindle. Kind of looks like someone man-handled the bushing to get it in, but I want to make sure this isn't due to mechanical wear. Should this be replaced?


Note the teeth/indents on the brass bushing.


Thanks for taking a look!

 

It's probably not ideal, but I've successfully continued to use many spindles on different cars and trucks, over time; that were worn in the belly like this;

I've always understood that this wear was from running the tapered roller bearings loose.

As to the brass bushings, if there's any question, change them out. They're not too pricy, and easy to replace.

This spindle is IFS, right???? What is your location??

 

Sounds good. Always coming in with the knowledge drops, thanks Millball!

This is IFS, that's correct yeah. 4x4 without ABS. Solid advice on the bushings. I'm already replacing the balljoints, tierods, bearings, rotors and pads, plus adding shocks so while I'm in this deep I'm included to do the job right and set myself up to be solid for a while.

I'm in the Joshua Tree area, SE California.

 

Another thing, tapered roller bearings are tough.

They should never be replaced, 'just because'.

A good solvent or kerosene wash and compressed air will most often reveal that repacking and adjustment are all that is necessary.

Always use new seals, though.

 

1st time I did bronze bushing I hammered it in using a block of wood. Then had to clearance for axle to pass through. Bushing got deformed on install, I suspect. Using a press made next install a breeze with no fitment issues. Also it’s a good time to inspect spindle/wheel hub seal beds. I was plagued with water intrusion and this was one of many possible leaks.

 

Good to know, thanks guys. I did notice a small amount of rust inside the spindle yesterday. There must have been some intrusion at some point. It was isolated to the tip/outside of the spindle, so not sure if that indicates intrusion through a front seal, or whether it just settled there. There did appear to be some scaling on the spindle body where the dust shield/dust seal seats, but it doesn't appear that the intent was for that area to be entirely water tight, given that there's actually a metal channel in the bottom of the spindle plate to allow (i assume) moisture to escape.

Here's the spindle inside. The oxide that's in there seems like it's mixed with grease, and should be easy to wipe away. Largely superficial.



Luckily the spindle doesnt appear to be rusty inside, and the CV axle rod seems fine. Maybe a little dry of grease if anything.

So I guess the main follow-up question I have is this:

I pulled this apart initially because of a grinding noise coming from this wheel well. I assumed it was the wheel bearings but those dont look too bad, maybe just a bit light on pre-load. Could worn bushings be the cause?

How much play should there be between the CV axle and spindle? I have very little in the back, maybe a bit more in front. Should there be zero play whatsoever?

Thanks!

 

search IFS lubricator on this site. Grinding noise could be bearing but is common especially when weather cools in 4wd to get a grinding on IFS from dry bushing. Assuming that is when you heard noise.

play of CV at end of spindle is common as the hub gears hold it more or less in place when in 4wd and not turning in 2wd.

also inspect all mating surfaces before re-assemble. I found that locking hub mating surface was “boogered” when a previous smacked side of hub with a hammer, guessing beating cone washers free. Filed flush, had several intrusion point. Was changing bearing 1-2 times a year from water, I Offroaded a lot in wet environment then.

yes, outer seal is not truly water tight but prevents mud from being building up and pressing past inner seal.

 

Oof, sounds like a pain. Yeah, I'm think gonna give the surfaces some serious tlc before reassembly. Never had this apart since buying last year, so it would be good to have a good baseline to work from.

I bet you're right, btw. I've seen several other threads mention the same thing about the dry bushings. The grease that had accumulated into the back of the spindle by the seal looked old and was starting to crack, so I imagine it's been a while since anyone's bothered to lube the axles. I'll take the chance that the bushings are still usable and see if re-greasing does the trick.

EDIT: Checked the spindle greaser! Awesome little hack there. I guess i'll be hanging n to those mangled 54mm nuts that the PO chiseled on.

 

also look into pressing studs on dif side of CV out, replace with 10.9 metric bolts makes changing CVs a 30min job. Several sites have 54mm nuts. I replaced those and star washer with cool TG set-up that uses set screws. In true trailgear form took abit of attention with a file to fit proper. Anyways good look, I need to get motivated to do same job to my IFS rig, well and tons of other things.

 

Thanks Muddpigg, yeah it feels good to get things cleaned up and to know what state everything's in. No more guessing at the state of my front axles. They definitely needed the attention. I'll look into the bolt replacement you mentioned. I do have what looks like an older boot on the passenger side CV, so I may have to get in there again at some point.

I pulled out the bearings, and thought I'd post it here in the name of science. It helped me a ton when people posted their follow up pics. The rollers and racers themselves actually seemed ok, what really needed attention appeared to be the bearing inner ring (you call that a race as well?) which sits directly on the spindle.

Seems to be a combination of corrosion etching and galling on the outer bearings, and the passenger inner bearing had some axial grooving.

From the research I've done, the causes are as follows:
Corrosion etching: Water intrusion into the assembly. Make sure seals aren't worn and clean, add grease before assembly. Replace if necessary. Use anarobic sealant on flanges where water could penetrate (like rear CV seal and end cap)
Galling(fretting): Metal fuses due to inadequate lubrication. Make sure assembly is properly greased, and re-grease at regular intervals. High % moly assembly paste can also help, just make sure it's compatible with your grease. Moly infused EP grease can help.
Axial grooves: Foreign matter intrusion, like grit, dust and sand. Similar to Corrosion etching. Make sure CV seal is in tact. I had a dent in the metal flange on my seal that may have contributed to this.


Corrosion etching and galling

more of the same on the other side

Inner bearing has axial grooves

 

Just a short note: Yes, the inner ring is also called a race. The inner race, strangely enough.
Pat☺