what a busy day and a quick question

[LandCruiser1978]

Started the day with the idea of JUST fitting ny new suspension
But as all good ideas go it didn't happen like that ..

When i jacked it up felt some play in the front wheel bearing

so ended up stripping both hubs and repacking the bearings and then tightening the bearings up the best i could without a torque wrench
while i had it stripped fitted new front discs (nothing wrong with old ones just had brand new toyota discs in shed )
and new pads .
While i had the back end in pieces i stripped all the brakes down to adjust up the handbrake
I HAVE A GOOD WORKING HANDBRAKE ON AN 80
also fitted new rear pads

Now my question is when i was doing the front hubs i noticed on the top of the hub 2 x 12mm bolts holding a cover plate .
Whats in there?
also is there anywhere else on the front axle that i can regrease/repack ( other than grease nipples on props )

 

[Nick Shepherd]

That's the trunion bearing cover, you can get at the shims through there, if needed. Toyota calls it the 'cap, steering knuckle bearing'.

 

[LandCruiser1978]

That's the trunion bearing cover, you can get at the shims through there, if needed. Toyota calls it the 'cap, steering knuckle bearing'.

can i remove and force grease in?

not really sure what a trunion bearing is

 

[Nick Shepherd]

No need to, it goes:

Cap
Shim
Shim
Bearing
Steering ball

If you greased it at the bottom then that's all that needs to be done. If the steering knuckle was loose then you'd take that cover off to put in a couple more shims.

The square drive nut near it is where you can top up grease and also check on the depth and state of what's in there.

The filler is the wee lump just in front of the bearing/shim cap in this pic:

 

[Bat21]

can i remove and force grease in?

not really sure what a trunion bearing is

step away from the spanners now.... please

 

[Chris]

Unless you forced in so much grease that the hub was actually packed solid, there is little point trying to get grease in there. CV grease isn't very mobile ie it doesn't work it way around the inside of the hub very much. If you squirted a dollop in, it would most likely just plop into the hub and sit there. OK it would not harm anything at all, but you might think you are doing something utterly brilliant when in truth, you aren't really. The way to grease the swivel housing and all the bits and bobs in there is to take it to bits and do it properly.

The hub has to turn so that the car can steer. To allow this, the hub has a bearing at the top and the bottom on which it pivots. These are the trunion bearings. The bottom one isn't adjustable. It just sits there, so to make sure it's tight enough but not too tight to turn there are shims or oval wafer thing washers that make the top bearing looser or tighter. Under that cap is where the shims go in - as has been said.

There are better ways to set the bearing pre load in my view than with a torque wrench. On these vehicles I have found that you can get a tight nut which gives a false reading on the wrench - as the torque figure isn't really very high. I find it better to use scales to set rotational torque at the wheel stud. OK you can do both if you like, but it's certainly worth checking the rotational torque. As the bearings wear it's possible to lean on the wrench and still not actually get the hub tight on the shaft. You won't know that unless you spin the wheel hub and check it.

Sounds all complicated like, but it's pretty basic. Thing is, it actually really quite important as all this holds yer wheels on

Chris

 

[Roger Fairclough]

No need to, it goes:

Cap
Shim
Shim
Bearing
Steering ball

If you greased it at the bottom then that's all that needs to be done. If the steering knuckle was loose then you'd take that cover off to put in a couple more shims.

The square drive nut near it is where you can top up grease and also check on the depth and state of what's in there.

The filler is the wee lump just in front of the bearing/shim cap in this pic:

Other way round. More shims i.e. a greater thickness of shims will increase the clearance, not reduce it. Either way, if you need to re-set the steering knuckles, you need to be more scientific about it as there are pre-loads to be set.

Roger

 

[Nick Shepherd]

Fair enough Roger, thanks for the correction.

My post was really just to say that the shim cover is not where you'd want to start putting grease in

 

[Roger Fairclough]

Unless you forced in so much grease that the hub was actually packed solid, there is little point trying to get grease in there. CV grease isn't very mobile ie it doesn't work it way around the inside of the hub very much. If you squirted a dollop in, it would most likely just plop into the hub and sit there. OK it would not harm anything at all, but you might think you are doing something utterly brilliant when in truth, you aren't really. The way to grease the swivel housing and all the bits and bobs in there is to take it to bits and do it properly.

The hub has to turn so that the car can steer. To allow this, the hub has a bearing at the top and the bottom on which it pivots. These are the trunion bearings. The bottom one isn't adjustable. It just sits there, so to make sure it's tight enough but not too tight to turn there are shims or oval wafer thing washers that make the top bearing looser or tighter. Under that cap is where the shims go in - as has been said.

There are better ways to set the bearing pre load in my view than with a torque wrench. On these vehicles I have found that you can get a tight nut which gives a false reading on the wrench - as the torque figure isn't really very high. I find it better to use scales to set rotational torque at the wheel stud. OK you can do both if you like, but it's certainly worth checking the rotational torque. As the bearings wear it's possible to lean on the wrench and still not actually get the hub tight on the shaft. You won't know that unless you spin the wheel hub and check it.

Sounds all complicated like, but it's pretty basic. Thing is, it actually really quite important as all this holds yer wheels on

Chris

What Chris has said is very true, but as I have suffered with water ingress into the steering hub, with the rusting of the bottom trunnion bearing as a consequence, I have taken to adding an EP oil through that tapered plug. The oil will thin out the grease and reduce the chances of any water that gets past the seals from attacking the bearings. I use about 100ml of oil. The thinner grease may ooze past the seals a little, but it shouldn't drip, and it helps to lube the seals as it does so.

Roger

 

[Roger Fairclough]

Fair enough Roger, thanks for the correction.

My post was really just to say that the shim cover is not where you'd want to start putting grease in

No problem Nick. As Chris said, once there is play in the trunnion bearings, it,s time to strip the hub and re-do everything. I have never been happy with the Toyota outer seal set-up, and I am looking to buy a different seal from Trail-Gear in the states.

Roger

 

[Chris]

Agreed Roger. It's a bit of a flaw really. Water can sometimes get in but not out and it sits in the bottom bearing. I have to say that given what I put my truck through, I see them as a consumable item. I have done all my felt seals , bearings, CVs etc and have to say that in really good trim, it doesn't seem to be a problem, but as soon as one component wears there is a domino effect in the all the others. I am just resigned to taking the front axle apart fairly regulalry. Milner stock genuine seal kits for the cannon balls and they seem to do a pretty good job of keeping the crap out. I make sure that I squeeze CV grease into all the crevices in the swivel. Much easier to grease it up whilst it's in bits than once the swivel is mounted. Dropping oil in is n interesting idea. That will certainly find its way to the bottom bearing.

Chris

 

[BobMurphy]

Dropping oil in is n interesting idea. That will certainly find its way to the bottom bearing.

Errr . . Just remember that oil floats on water so any water getting in will end up at the bottom, eventually .





Bob.

 

[Chris]

Sorry Bob - not a point that I was making. Oil will find it's way into the bearing. End of story. But what happens after that when water gets in is a different story. But it's not me putting oil in there. I pack my bearings with grease. When I open my hubs, I often find water sitting in a puddle on top of the grease. When things start to wear and the grease slowly migrates out of the swivel, that water then sits on the bearing. But as I said, I strip mine about twice a year.

 

[LandCruiser1978]

can i remove and force grease in?

not really sure what a trunion bearing is

step away from the spanners now.... please

So the truinion bearing is basically a steering bearing .
Not good with names of things

I can say that ive done 25miles today and the cruiser feels so much better on the road
feels smoother and quieter

Gonna jack up front end later on in the week after they have settled and check for any play in the bearings

 

[Chris]

Pretty much, yes Steering bearing. It'll do.

Chris

 

[BobMurphy]

Sorry Bob - not a point that I was making. Oil will find it's way into the bearing. End of story. But what happens after that when water gets in is a different story.

Sorry Chris, my comment wasn't aimed at you, it was a general observation about using oil as a water repellant.

Bob.

 

[Chris]

 

[Roger Fairclough]

Agreed Roger. It's a bit of a flaw really. Water can sometimes get in but not out and it sits in the bottom bearing. I have to say that given what I put my truck through, I see them as a consumable item. I have done all my felt seals , bearings, CVs etc and have to say that in really good trim, it doesn't seem to be a problem, but as soon as one component wears there is a domino effect in the all the others. I am just resigned to taking the front axle apart fairly regulalry. Milner stock genuine seal kits for the cannon balls and they seem to do a pretty good job of keeping the crap out. I make sure that I squeeze CV grease into all the crevices in the swivel. Much easier to grease it up whilst it's in bits than once the swivel is mounted. Dropping oil in is n interesting idea. That will certainly find its way to the bottom bearing.

Chris

Another problem is the damage that the swivel surfaces incur. If yours are pitted, try removing any rust---a circular wire brush in an angle grinder works well---and then filler for the pitting. When set, sand down and spray paint. I did mine some years ago and the paint is still there.

Roger

 

[Roger Fairclough]

Sorry Bob - not a point that I was making. Oil will find it's way into the bearing. End of story. But what happens after that when water gets in is a different story. But it's not me putting oil in there. I pack my bearings with grease. When I open my hubs, I often find water sitting in a puddle on top of the grease. When things start to wear and the grease slowly migrates out of the swivel, that water then sits on the bearing. But as I said, I strip mine about twice a year.

The oil thins out the grease, not by much, but enough to stem the water from breaking past the lube film. I do a lot of ford crossings and I haven't had a rusty trunnion bearings for some years.

Roger