So one thing led to another

[PetrolPatrol]

What is the tank for on the inner fender well?

Radiator overflow tank, but my welding skills are about as good as a cow's ability to lay eggs, so not my work.

[PetrolPatrol]

Been a long time since I got to work on my truck. Between life and the other vehicles in the stable it's been hard to find time. Got more of the electrical system on my GF's truck going, new jets in the Weber DCOE on the Sprite along with some other bits, fixed the rear brakes on the CT70 and replaced some things so I could post it up for sale, so finally after all that I got a bit of time to work on the Patrol. Sadly I didn't make it very far before things started looking pretty grim and I ran out of time again.

Step one of course was brakes and front sway bar off.

Brakes Off.jpg

Front Diff and Bump.jpg

Lots of cleanup and new parts in the future.

Good news is the truck cleans up nicely

Brake Hose Connector.jpg

Most of what I was seeing was pretty normal fare, but then this showed up

Knuckle Flange Bearing.jpg

This was as good a stopping point as any so now I need to order all new bearings (this was expected, but I had no idea they'd be falling apart in my hand). The knuckle flange bearing was literally being held together by hope, dreams, and grease.

If anyone has the part numbers of the things I'll need I'd of course be appreciative. Checking the parts list and some things seem to be missing.

[Esteban]

Knuckle flange bearings

30304 Nachi Tapered Roller Bearing (I purchased from VXB Bearings Amazon)

[PetrolPatrol]

Very minor progress. Had some time and got the locking hubs off. Ran into trouble when I realized just how massive the lock nuts are on these things.

Wheel Bearing Lock Nut.jpg

Also, are these parts unobtanium or are replacements actually available?

Snap Rings and Shims.jpg

Locking Hub Shim.jpg

The shim is for the locking hub but only one side had anything. The snap rings I assume I can still get but any leads would be appreciated since three of the four have no holes for the pliers to go in.

[RiverPatrol]

Pretty sure the ones without the plier holes are intended to be that way.

[PetrolPatrol]

Pretty sure the ones without the plier holes are intended to be that way.

Interesting, but good to know! Discovered the 52mm nut is the same one used on older Land Rovers so boxed spanners, while not common, aren't hard to find. So more new parts ordered and hopefully I can make more progress in a few weeks after the funeral and court stuff. Progress is slower than molasses but this truck is so different than anything else I've ever owned and I'm diving deeper than I have with any other vehicle so learning all kinds of things, just glad others have gone before.

[PetrolPatrol]

Box spanner came in and the gf went out with friends, so took some time to get some more work done. Noticed something interesting though.

In the book it shows the wheel bearing tool as being a 53mm spanner

Wheel Bearing Tool.jpg

Mine is clearly a 52mm nut.

Wheel Bearing Nut.jpg

Not a huge deal but just a curiosity. Had to get a little clever but it all worked.

Box Spanner.jpg

This tool was deep enough to reach both wheel bearing nuts and got me to the next step.

Birfield Joint.jpg

Question - just how greased is everything supposed to be? The passenger side was packed with grease while the drivers side seemed to have a more reasonable amount. Both sides have survived this long so it doesn't seem to matter too much but if I can do it right when reassembling then I'd like to.

Got it 50% cleaned up before I ran out of cleaner for the ultrasonic.

Hub Assembly.jpg

So I moved on to tearing the front steering down.

Drag Link.jpg

Had to make a tool to get this apart. Looks ghetto, but it worked like a charm.

Drag Link Tool.jpg

Steering out.

Steering and Drag.jpg

At this point it was pretty early in the morning and I went and screwed up.

Well crap.jpg

While disassembling the knuckle flange I completely fubar'd the threads on one of the cap studs. If anyone has a spare or two they'd be willing to part with I'd of course pay and it would be a HUGE help.

Figured this was as good a point as any to stop for the night. Next up is removing the front suspension and getting the springs checked and re-arched. Still need to remove the engine/transmission from the frame to finish that up but I have enough cleaning and building to last me a while till I'm 100% ready. I also need to verify that all of the new bearings, seals, and gaskets I got are correct and that I'm not still missing any. I think I'm OK but I especially want to check the Front Hub grease seal before I get too far into it.

[Esteban]

Excellent report and good pictures.

One note, you have a Tracta joint, not a Birfield (this last one typical of modern drive axles). The Tracta joint is also a constant velocity joint, not like the universal joints found in many other 4x4 which are not. These Tracta joints will last forever!

You have one grease point at the end of the axle housing, and another one on top of one of the bearings of the knuckle flange. The first one is to lubricate the bushing were the axle sits, so it will need some periodical greasing depending on the use, and if you have free-wheeling hubs. With free-wheeling hubs the greasing of this one can be extended. The grease point on top of the knuckle bearing requires grease every 2000 miles according to the Owner's Manual. The problem is the use of automatic or air driven grease guns that you don't know when to stop, and that will explain the huge amounts of grease that you found.

So going back to your question about how much to put during assembly, the Tracta joints will require a good amount (nothing in the Service Manuals about it!). After that, periodically greasing the two points mentioned above with about 10 pumps of a manual type grease gun will be plenty. The good thing is that there's no harm in over-greasing these. If you do, grease will overflow to the inside of axle housing, and/or will bypass the big grease seal of the knuckle flange.

[RiverPatrol]

Great progress!

It looks like you're using the later service manual that came out of Australia. Keep in mind that the later Patrols were switched to metric, but your Patrol is still all SAE standard.

[rdarnell]

the stud should be available at local parts stores.