Lou Bell could be right. Is the knuckle ball always greasy? If it smells like gearlube, your knuckle bearings are either worn or not shimmed properly if they were recently replaced. The reason for the greasy knuckle ball is that the axleshaft is offset as a result and the diff fluid is leaking past the inner seal.
Toughguy <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/coolg.gif" alt="" />
I disagree with this, if you rebuild the axle the way the FSM says the Birfs will be greasy, real greasy, if they are oily then the seals are leaking.
What do you have the Pre-load set to on the Trunion (knuckle) bearing- factory calls for 6-13 pull pounds
The knuckle could not be centered right on the housing, the lower shims are used for centering the knuckle, the upper are then used for setting the pre-load
The housing could be bent a bit, the DS is the side that bends most often
The bell on the birf could be expanded a bit.
a. Did you have any trouble getting the birf out and back in-If yes either the housing is bent, or the bell on the birf is expanded and more then likely the ball cage is cracked
b. When you put the other birf in did it slip right in or did you have to force it a bit-If you had to force it, then housing is slighty bent
I do not use all the grease they say to use in the FSM, I pack the inside of the birf where the balls are until it is ozzing out all the way around then I coat the outside with about 1/8 inch coating of grease
Birfields are wierd, the first one I blew, I was backing up in camp, ARB off, turning and going up a slight grade and about 1 mph and it broke. It expanded the bell somuch it took two pry bars and a slide hammer to get it out of the housing!!!
I learned to set these frontends up from a Lead Toyota Tech who has been on the job for over twenty-five years. When I told him I would like his help, he brought copies of the front-end rebuild out of the factory FSM and told me to study it and read it over, then he showed me how to do it.
