With the engine pretty much buttoned up, on to the axles and suspension. I checked the ball joints and they were definitely loose, [1/16 up and down play on the outer] so all that's being replaced, along with new struts, strut bearing, pads, sway bar links, etc...

When removing the axles, I saw the splines had "rust dust", obviously a sign of wear. I couldn't feel any looseness but unless the spline is about to fail I doubt the wear can be felt. The bearing did feel smooth though.

Having come this far I ordered new wheel bearings and hub assemblies to go with the new axles.

The question is, should the splines be lubed [I assume they should be] but with what type of grease?

Thanks,
robj

 

I put / see people put anti seize grease on them all the time. They don’t “need” that to function but makes them easy to remove and keeps them from rusting as bad

 

Type doesn't really matter, but I use Bigfoot grease on hub/axle splines such as this. It is a water-resistant heavy equipment grease.