Corrosion on swivel hub ball

[jbrizz]

Hello, I'm new here. I'm an NZ member and just bought a 91 GQ swb.

It's a pretty tidy wagon but it needed a wee bit of mechanical work to get it going good. I've already fixed up some steering and suspension bushes, fitted new shocks, adjusted up some of the wheel bearings and replaced the thermostat, water pump and all the gaskets on the thermostat housing. Last on the list to do before I can go out and enjoy it is a swivel hub rebuild.

I was just about to start the project today but I've realised the swivel ball that's part of the diff/axle housing has quite bad corrosion.

I'm thinking it will probably be OK with a good going over with the wire bush and some 200 grit.

Is anything usually done to prepare these surfaces for the swivel hub seals, like painting? My Dad mentioned that in his 4wding days with Landrovers they used to get them chromed but that doesn't seem to be a common thing anymore. It looks like it was painted from the factory.

Is this corrosion likely to be a problem for the seals?

Cheers

[GQtdauto]

Geez that is bad was it sitting somewhere near the coast for a few years ? You may be able to smooth it out but I don't like your chances of getting it to seal properly .
Probably just repack with grease and drive the bugger .

Welcome to the forum by the way .

[jbrizz]

Thanks. I know the history of the truck. It's an import and I'm the second NZ owner, I don't think the previous owner ever lived near the coast, the rest of the truck has no rust. I wire wheeled it back a bit and it looks like in places the paint has had moisture under it which has caused the severe pitting.

With a bit more research I think I've narrowed my options to electroplating (nickel maybe?) or finding a better diff housing. Either way the truck is going to be off the road for a while so I might find a better housing and seeing as it will be stripped already I'll get it electroplated.

[Winnie]

Thanks. I know the history of the truck. It's an import and I'm the second NZ owner, I don't think the previous owner ever lived near the coast, the rest of the truck has no rust. I wire wheeled it back a bit and it looks like in places the paint has had moisture under it which has caused the severe pitting.

With a bit more research I think I've narrowed my options to electroplating (nickel maybe?) or finding a better diff housing. Either way the truck is going to be off the road for a while so I might find a better housing and seeing as it will be stripped already I'll get it electroplated.

If you can mate grab a GU diff housing. They are a but stronger and also gives you a massive brake upgrade.

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[jbrizz]

Is the track width the same? I understood they were about 40mm wider, so I'd have to swap the rear as well, or use spacers (which aren't legal here without a certificate/engineering).

[Winnie]

Yeah correct they are wider. GU rear diffs are usually cheap to buy though.
If you need to do a diff swap it's worth thinking about for sure.

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[jbrizz]

I'm not too hardcore and my truck is a TD42 non turbo, I can't imagine having too many problems with the front diff. I've got a factory rear locker which helps me crawl instead of charging through obstacles. I think I might stick with the GQ diff for now, I can always go to cromo axles and CVs later. Thanks for the suggestion though, I'd be keen if it weren't for the track width difference.

[jbrizz]

I've spoken to a local electroplating company and they sand these down smooth and hard chrome them, $345 for both ends all done including polishing. And regarding the severity of the pitting they said they've never had one they weren't able to fix.

I've found a good second hand axle I'm going to whack in the truck and I'll strip my old one to fully repair and rebuild (and reinforce while I'm at it) and then resell the replacement I got when my old one is ready to go.