Front Knuckle Grease


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Posted by Clint Dixon on Monday, March 22, 2004 at 1:08PM :

Okay, time to put my $.02 into the ongoing debate over grease vs. 140W lube in the steering knuckles on a WDX-WM300.

Paul in NY makes a good point below where he talks about how the axle tube seals are positioned in such a way as to keep the gear lube from the differentials and axle housings OUT of the steering knuckles. They are not positioned to keep steering knuckle lubricant OUT of the axle housings and differentials. Anything thinner than grease in the steering knuckles will work its way past the axle tube seals and find its way to the differential.

Another important thing to consider, there are no oil seals keeping the contents of the steering knuckles away from the front wheel bearings. From the steering knuckle to the front wheel bearings is basically an unobstructed path for 140w gear oil. Once at the wheel bearings, gear oil quickly dilutes and washes away all of the wheel bearing grease. Unlike the bearings in the differentials, wheel bearings were meant to be packed with, and run in, wheel bearing grease not gear lubricant. Once the wheel bearings are washed clean of grease, there is really not much keeping the gear lube from continuing on to the brake drums as the inner hub seals were designed to retain wheel bearing grease, not gear lube.

The steering knuckles contain Tracta joints in the WDX-WM300 style of trucks. Enough grease should be packed into these to keep them continually running in lubricant. These are packed in much the same manner as wheel bearings. The grease fitting at the top of the knuckle, and the level plug at the underside of the knuckle, are for "topping off" the quantity of grease as it naturally works its way past the felt knuckle wiper seals. This natural leakage, or continual flow of grease past the felt wiper seals, is a requirement to lubricate the wipers and flush away moisture, dirt, and other contaminates. They were not designed to retain gear lubricant. They are down low near the ground and are expected to get a contunual bath in mud and grime.

The steering knuckle Tracta joints were designed to run in grease and do not need gear lubricant to function properly. A properly packed steering knuckle is filled a lot higher than to just the bottom of the "level plug". If using gear lube, you could fill no higher than this plug unless one were to put the plug back in and continue to keep filling. It only was designed to allow grease to excape once the steering knuckle was pumped full, thus keeping the grease from being pumped into the wheel bearings and over packing them, and from being pumped past the axle housing seal.

Clint



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