[sinerasis]

I just got my FJ back from the dealer! No more Yaris!

They said one of the bolts to the knuckle arm broke and took a bunch of stuff with it. I asked them to save all the parts for me because I was so interested in this bolt.

Well... they didn't save the bolt or the knuckle arm for me! :flame:

I'm no pro mechanic, but I can't see anything obviously wrong here, so I'm hoping you're trained eyes can lead me in the right direction. Please speak up!

The spindle, unless it's bent I don't see any stripped threads, hogged out holes, or really even any marks on it:

Bearing:

Bearing assembly, again no stripped threads, marks from suddenly hitting other metal parts or anything obvious:

Let me know if I can get a pic from a different angle or something. The seal on the bearing might be messed up a little, but that's about all I can figure, and it doesn't look bad either.

Any help appreciated! :cheers:

 

[sandbox]

Did you pay for it, or was it under warranty?

 

[Capt Sensible]

I'm assuming he payed for it.

 

[Wikid]

First of all . It is literally impossible to tell if the spindle is bent unless you compare it to a unbent one. Unless of course it's bent to a really big pretzel.
The bearing you show in the picture should not be apart like it is, It's a sealed bearing. I would assume that is toast. The hub may be ok . It would need a new bearing press fitted into it. unless it bent under severe side load when the spindle bolt let loose
I would go to a Toyota parts department and see if they have a spindle on the shelf and compare the height laying on a flat surface

 

[sinerasis]

Yes I paid for parts.

That's kinda what I'm getting at wikid, the bearing is a separate part and the dealer should certainly have the means to press it in. They made me buy the entire assembly.

 

[sinerasis]

Oh and I think knuckle arm and spindle are the same thing to the dealer...

 

[amaintaylor]

Something is fishy with all that. The dealer should ALWAYS supply the damaged parts that you paid for. I can see if it was warranty but if you had to buy them...? From what I can see the bearing needed replacement or they split it apart during dis-assembly. At least you will have your rig for next weeks run.

 

[sinerasis]

Well, I think I got the big parts back, but not the broken bolt. Spindle = knuckle arm.

To me the bearing seal looks like it has one spot that doesn't look right, which makes me think it was pryed apart with a screwdriver. If it failed while driving wouldn't there be all sorts of strange scuff marks in the assembly?

 

[amaintaylor]

I noticed on mine the seal was damaged during assembly when I replaced my front drive shaft. The seal should be replaced when removing the assembly anyways and they would most likely mark up the spot where they pop it out. I would have wanted to see the bolt that caused all your issues and would want to know why it happened. They should at least be able to show you a photo during the tear down you would think.

 

[Wikid]

I want to give you an example of what a bent spindle or knuckle may look like.

Here's the story
The spindle on the left is the good spindle
The spindle on the right is the bent spindle

If you'll notice, the right spindle is gusseted. So now I will explain why the bent spindle is gusseted .

I bought front end parts from a wrecked FJ and thoouth these were good.
The passenger side was the first spindle I gusseted and it turned out fine. I installed it and move on to the drivers side . I thought I may have a bent spindle on my truck, so I took the existing spindle off my truck and compared the other one on the bench, Like shown in the picture . After I saw the difference, I thought my assessment was correct and I proceeded to weld the new spindle . All went well and I installed it. Immediately I realized there was something wrong. The tire was rubbing
Then I took the right spindle removed from my truck and put it up on the bench for a height comparison. After I realize that was also, a different height, I decided to get a little tech help from Demello. I called them and asked if both left and right spindle, were exactly the same height. they confirmed that was correct. Then I knew I gusseted, a bent spindle.
No harm, no foul, I called Total Chaos and they sold me just the left side spindle gusset and I welded it on the original spindle off my truck . After I installed it I realigned the front and and realized that was the problem, not a bent spindle.
I just thought I would show you my mess up.
Spindles can be tricky, that's why it's hard to tell if it's bent without a comparison.
The good news is, I got more practice welding spindle gussets. I still made out well with all the parts I got from the front end of the wrecked FJ. I have used the hub assemblies, one spindle, and have a slew of other spare parts like rotors, calipers, coilovers, lower control arms, wheel sensors, and wires and 2 good cv axles. So the extra 30 bucks I spent on my goof up really didn't matter.
Sometimes the best lessons are from mistakes.

Just another picture with a slightly different view.

 

[sinerasis]

Nice pics/explanation Wikid. Just to get it out there, I'm ok with them replacing the parts if they're messed up... but true to form I didn't get to talk to a service tech, just a service rep who knows next to nothing about anything. I couldn't get a 'why' just a this is broken and this is how much money we'll be seeing to fix it.

Any chance there are measurements that can be taken to get the correct dimensions? Like a triangle of mounting holes or something? They had to special order the spindle they replaced, so I doubt many parts counters are going to have one laying around.

...and with how the hub looks to me, it appears they just are being lazy and ordered the entire assembly, costing me more money, and doing less work. If that's the case, I'm suspicious about the spindle too because it looks good (I never said I could tell if it was bent or not).

I can understand having the whole assembly available for order, if I were doing the work in my driveway it'd be a lot easier than having to mess with pressing bearings, but a dealership service dept should be a completely different story than me in the driveway with a case a beer and a big hammer.

 

[Wikid]

I can take a measurement (height like I had on the pictures) and then you can check that one.
If it's bent another way, besides what you saw in the pictures, then all bets are off.
I will check it tomorrow
As far as the hub, that is a Toyota procedure. They will not just replace the bearing. It's just the way they do it. I think some have had issues with replacing the bearing alone. Something about it seating in the hub correctly, but I cannot confirm that for sure.
thanks
Don

 

[sinerasis]

I just looked at the receipt a little closer, the bearing and hub were ordered separately... so either they had a reason to replace that hub, or someone at the service desk realized they could save the boss a few bucks by ordering them separately or something.

They also charged me a few bucks for oil... so they did pack the new bearings themselves.

I would appreciate any measurement you'd be willing to take. I'm going to call the dealer I would have rather gone too and see if I can have a meeting with a tech there to check out the parts for me.

 

[sinerasis]

Thanks Wikid

If you might measure this triangle for your good spindle and let me know each side (diag front, diag rear and base) I think that would be a good indication along with the height of the top most mounting hole when laid on a flat surface.

 

[sinerasis]

Here's what I got on my 'bad' spindle with my measuring tape, I tried to measure from the center of holes.

base of triangle: 7-5/8''
front diag: 12''
rear diag: 11''
height: 5-3/4

If anyone can do some comparisons, that'd be terrific.

Anyway, while obviously not an exhaustive way to say a spindle is good or bad, it should be a good jumping off point... at least in terms of the geometry for the upper arm.

 

[Wikid]

I've been sick for a few days. Haven't made it to the garage for measurement
It may be early this week before I can do it
thanks
Don

 

[sinerasis]

No worries Don, get better!

 

[FJ's FJ]

I can verify those measurements you posted! I have left and right spindles pulled off of a 2010 FJC last year in CA to fit a 6 inch lift. I bought these off of nastyn8 last year. They were off of a brand new white FJC - the buyer wanted a 6 inch lift installed. See here:

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/suspension-steering-tech/106423-2010-6-a.html

My right spindle is suspected bent after I hit a stump HARD in a deep mudhole. I had all the symptoms (clocked SW, wheel/tire tilted outwards , truck pulling and tire wear) but no real definitive diagnosis. Once I gusset both new spindles and swap them into my truck I will measure the old ones for comparison and likely the right one will show bent. I hope at least.

I pulled the two spindles out of the shipping box and measured each and they precisely match your measurements to within 1/8" give or take. I used a flexible measuring tape. That seemed to work out better than a rigid steel tape. Good luck!