alright guys, as a few of you have seen, i have been tearing apart my front end for the last couple of days. a son of a bitch job, but i replaced the hubs, bearings, u-joints, and drivers side axle seal.

good news is my brakes are ok. i thought i might have been leaking fluid because it was low and the brakes fell to the floor a few times while it was damaged, but i got the hubs and everything in, and i tested the brakes while still on stands, and they seem to work ok. i'll have to test it when i get the tires back on.

also replaced the u-joints, my old ones were toast! 3 of the 4 bearing caps in each joint were bone dry. i guess thats what 160,000 miles and a ton of offroading will do to them. new one feel very smooth.

but here's what sucks! i was turning the steering wheel (with the motor off) back a forth a few times so i could put the hub bolts in. the tires were off so there was no heavy load on it. well i did one side, was going over to the other side, and i see a big puddle of red fluid in the middle! so i follow it up and there was fluid that was apparently leaking from one of the lines going to the back of the power steering pump.
so i started the truck and tried the steering. it worked fine, no leaks. plus, i didn't actually see it leaking. so is it possible that there was a lot of pressure or something with the engine off that forced the fluid out?
please, any advice or opinions are appreciated

 

That's normal...well, not normal...but that's what happens when you turn the steering without the motor being on. It pushes back towards the reservoir but has nowhere to go..so it blows out the cap. Not a good thing to do

 

THANK YOU!!
thats what i needed to hear. one less thing for me to fix. hopefully if i get up early enough i'll be driving my truck to work...but here's another question for anyone checkin this out...

i had to take the steering link off of the drivers side knuckle so i could get to the diff. i was a little pissed at that point for whatever reason, so i smacked the link out of the knuckle with a hammer. guess the threads got a little beat, but as i was trying to put the castle nut back on, the joint keeps spinning. what to do?! there is not really anything to grab onto to keep it from spinning. i guess i'll just retap the thread on the link...

ah yes, one other question... when i pulled the CAD cover off, the gasket looked like crap, so i replaced it with the same sealant i used on the diff cover. this should be ok right? that cover doesn't hold any vacuum correct?

 

Retapping the threads on the link sounds like a good idea...and for the cover, it does not hold any vacuum. You can silicone it up just like the diff. cover.

 

before you drive anywhere make sure you've got the proper amount of power steering fluid.....

yeah they call me captain obvious...

 

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