[Short 3/4]

Well now you guys have me (over?) thinking about this whole seal or no seal thing. While I still stand by my original thought that it probably doesn’t matter either way, Jeff brought up a really interesting theory. It all made sense until I realized that the knuckle fill hole is about at the center of the axle shaft, so the analogy would be more like constantly dipping the paint brush into a can of paint, not spinning it dry. This would force grease in with every rotation.

While I don’t have access to part numbers to prove it, I’m thinking that the same u joint is used for both open and closed knuckles and you simply leave the seal on for open (to retain grease) and remove it for closed (to replenish the grease). It makes sense to me, but if not the case, please let me know as I’m here to learn, not preach.

On another subject, I hope you know to replace the oil seals just outboard of the pumpkin. It’s a real PITA but needs to be done while you’re in there, as they are probably original and will cause no end of problems if they start leaking.

Keep up the great work
Tom