Knuckle pitted

I removed the driver side spindle, walked it over to a bunch and pounded out the broken wheel bearing and hub assembly (WBHA). Then I took a careful look at the spindle and started to remove dirt and rust.

The knuckle -- where the lower control arm (LCA) ball-joint fits -- is pitted. I do not recall seeing such pitting on the passenger side knuckle.




Is this a concern. Should I replace the spindle?

Or should I sand, lube and not worry about it?

One more photo:

That tells me that you had some play in that ball joint and moisture got in there. I'd take a steel brush to it and put it back together. It's interesting. But not problematic..

Prime said:

That tells me that you had some play in that ball joint and moisture got in there. I'd take a steel brush to it and put it back together. It's interesting. But not problematic..

Click to expand...

Would there be any reason to use antisieze or a silicone lube in that location ?

General_Tarfun said:

Would there be any reason to use antisieze or a silicone lube in that location ?

Click to expand...

For better or worse, when I reassembled, I put a lot of Lucas Red 'n Tacky grease on that location. It has some anti-seize in it. I also covered the smooth portion of the spindle bolt with Red 'n Tacky. Anti-seize went on the rest.

I should note that I started to drive the LCA ball joint into the knuckle with a rubber mallet and then as I tried to place the knuckle bolt, I simply squeezed it in with one hand. The knuckle was supported by the hydraulic jack.

From what I could determine, the ball joint seemed to move freely in the knuckle.


At any rate, all the bolts and nuts are well covered in anti-seize so removing and replacing the spindle in the future should be easy enough. Plus, I think I am getting the hang of this. The driver side has taken me a tiny fraction of the time I spent on the passenger side. -hehe-


P.S. Thanks Prime for the input. Encouraged me to forge ahead.

I wouldn't put any on the inside of that cone. You want that connection to be solid. No movement. You want the ball joint to move. Not the shaft in the knuckle.

Prime said:

I wouldn't put any on the inside of that cone. You want that connection to be solid. No movement. You want the ball joint to move. Not the shaft in the knuckle.

Click to expand...

Thanks.

Been thinking about this for a couple of days. First, I have read similar advice for other 'cones', e.g., the UCA ball-joint and generally avoid putting anything on the shaft.

In this case, I added the grease to the shaft because I wanted/was hoping that the grease would help keep dirt and water out of the area.

Here is where I do not fully understand your advice Prime. First question: Does not the shaft also move within the knuckle cone? EDIT: No! See below.

The LCA and LCA ball joint is for all purposes stationary. There is some up and down movement but no turning. The spindle is constantly turning on the axis of the LCA ball joint as the vehicle turns in one direction and then another.

Second question: If one applies grease to the LCA ball of the ball joint, will not that grease travel up the shaft part of the ball joint with time and heat?

The shaft pivots in the ball joint. Not in the knuckle.

That fit should be so tight that there is no way for grease to work up the shaft. Also, the boot of the ball joint should prevent any grease from escaping.

Prime said:

The shaft pivots in the ball joint. Not in the knuckle.

That fit should be so tight that there is no way for grease to work up the shaft. Also, the boot of the ball joint should prevent any grease from escaping.

Click to expand...

Yes. Agreed. I thought it through again and that makes perfect sense. The knuckle material is made for holding something tight. The protected and lubricated part of the 'ball-joint' is where one would expect movement.

Sigh.... Thanks for the patient explanations Jay. Much appreciated -Erik.