Steering Knuckle Lubrication

Yesterday we began the upgrade to disk brakes on the front Dana 27. We figured since everything was pretty much a part to go ahead and replace the bearing, kingpins and Spindles. When we opened up the knuckles we were expecting to have gear oil to come out. Looking in the knuckle it was packed full of grease. This puzzled me because there is a fill plug on each knuckle so I thought it would be gear oil. We opened the differential cover and drained the oil. I inspected the axel's and housings and from what I can see the axel's from the differential towards the knuckles are lubricated with gear oil, the ends of the axle going into the knuckles are packed with grease 6 to 8 inches into the housing. Looking through my manual I have not been able to find anything difinitive about what lubrication you are to use in the knuckles nor have I found anything saying the differential and knuckle lubrication are the same and lubricate the axel shafts. The only information I came across late last night was on an International restoration site and someone said to use a mix of grease and gear oil with a consistancie of thick pudding, a slurry mix.


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jeep toss

 

This topic has been covered ad infininitum. search for knuckle pudding.

Personally, if i had new sealed universal joints on my axle shafts that were lubricated with grease like any other universal in an open knuckle assembly, I would just pack the king pin bearings with wheel bearing grease and forget about knuckle pudding. I am sure this is a bad idea from someones perspective. In that case go directly to knuckle pudding. You will need to replace your bell seals or your pudding well leak. it might do that anyway.

 

Thank you for the quick responses. I will look up the "knuckle pudding" topic to learn more and hopefully the mix of both the gear oil and grease. As always, I do appreciate all the help and assistance I can get. Thank You!!!

 

Lookingaat the two open knuckles, I seriously doubt the grease and or fluid has ever been changed. I found a few options to use to lubricate the knuckles, first there is Lucus Hub Oil and from what I have read it prevents leaks and if there is a loss of fluid it allow you to run on a minimum amount of oil. Second, there is John Deere Corn Head Grease #00 which is thick but thins out as friction and heat builds up. Looking for a good product to use that is going to protect and reduce wear on my Hubs and Bearings.

 

This subject has been covered, but it doesn't hurt to rehash it as new info and ideas appear.

I use JD cornhead grease. The felt seal is designed to leak a bit. It'll do it more in hot weather or hot climate. Remember, these rigs require consistent maintenance; they're not an appliance like a Toyota Camry.

 

Thanks, that's what I'll use. I appreciate everyone's thoughts on this particular subject.

 

I used the corn head grease on my last overhaul....IMO it's a little too thick for this application.
Difficult to get it into the knuckle. I wound up thinning it with some gear oil, so I could have just as well made my own knuckle pudding anyway.