Steering knuckle - diff seals 80's Cruiser 1996

my very limited mechanical know how but personal experience tells me you have blown axle seals. the diff oil seems to be leaking into your knuckle joint and flowing out. if that is the case you obviously need new oil seals. while replacing those you might as well replace the knuckle joint bearings. there is a bearing kit with all the bearing and oils seals you need. to get a mechanic to do it you would be looking at around $600, labour included. well that is what it has cost me and mates to get it done for toyos and nissans of all ages. while your doing that if you have some money left may i suggest you get the wheel bearing replaced if need be. will save you the added labour cost later on if you have to get them done separately.

Seanny, Would agree with Peter that you may have an axle seal worn, but you say that the ball is clean? Is it shiny with oil, or is the grease only on the seal that runs on the ball?

Suggest you get them to fix it before you buy, or knock some dollars off purchase price. Sounds like a private sale, if there's that stuff on it.

The job to repair the king pin bearings is long and messy, the first time youdo it, and I'd recommend a workshop manual to assist you. The Landcruiser site had a detailed explanation of whats involved, including photos.

http://reality.sgi.com/80_series/tech/birfield_repack/repack.html

Hooroo...

Hi Seanny, if you are only getting grease & not a mixture of oil & grease over you steering knuckles, then it is the steering knuckle rubber sealing rings & felt dust covers that are worn & need replacing.
These are not all that difficult to replace although most repairs require you to dissassemble the front hub assemble to get the seals over the steering knuckle. In this case you renew the axle seals as well.
However I have successfully replaced them without going to that trouble by splitting the seal rings & fitting them over the knuckle & gluing them together with Loctite rubber glue. This saves the labour of removing the hub from the steering knuckle.
Make sure you top up the knuckle internal cavity with the right grease after repairs. I use Castrol LMM grease & put a tub full in each hub.Cheers.Have Wheels Will Travel

Thanks for the information. It will be a private sale and I will more than likely get a mechanic to do the work if I decide to buy. The independent vehicle inspection is the first step - not the RACQ though.

Thanks again and drive carefully over Easter - I do not want to read about you in the Courier Mail.

Seanny

Seanny,

Dad just had his rubber seals replaced last week. Both side done for $700, this on a 1991 80 series. He had his replaced because the 'lip' was actually hanging out by about a centimeter on one side and half on the other. Had it doen at a local suspension place in Wangaratta. If you are in the city, then I guess it would be more around Peter's price of $600. The guy said what he found was that the last person to install them had done so incorrectly (not sure of specifics). He said once installed correctly, they should never give any problems.Cheers,
Wazza
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i have fitted many swivel kits cost me about $100 per kit.what usually happens is the axle seal wears out allowing diif oil to get into wheel bearings then leaking throu swivel wipers.would be easy to just replace swivel seal as said above cut and glue.but that isnt stopping the usuall problem.a couple of things i usaully check before doing the job for someone is wheel alignment as most 4wd have a tendancy to pull left while i have it all apart i can replace swivel bearing with camber/caster adjustment.saves doing it later.same again with wheel bearings if there showing any sign of wear change them while im going.if alignment ok and wheel bearing ok usually costs about $700.just use this as a reason to try to reduce your bying pricelooking foward to easter at jamieson

if the axle seals are leaking this would be a roadworthy item and so the seller would need to fix it before he hands the car over to you.if you do decide to do it yourself it is a pretty easy thing to do.just time consuming and very messy.just make sure you drop the tie rod ends so you can set the pivot bearing shims correctly and smear a small amount of rubber grease on the axle seal for lubrication so the seal doesn't wear out as quick
regards
jason