Front Axle Nut Corrosion

[dart14]

2008 Liberty with 225k miles. Humming noise from the right front tire over 35 mph and right side tires wearing faster than left sides (rotated every 5k). I was thinking that the hub/bearing on the right front may be the issue. Pulled of the tires and found severe corrosion on the right front axle nut. Threads on the end of the shaft are gone. The new nut just passes over where the threads were. 36mm socket does not fit snug / has a lot of side to side play on the nut. The left side not so bad as the socket is fairly snug and the new nut can be threaded onto the shaft threads. Picture of right side taken after liquid wrench and wire brushing. Picture of left side taken after liquid wrench. Is a new shaft going to be necessary on the right side ?

 

[pippo0871]

This is common on the KK. Yours are in better shape than mine were when I replaced them at 90k miles.

If you cant get a socket on it you can try cutting them off. With a cut-off wheel or even a dremel would work you can try and cut into the axle nut about 1/2 - 3/4 down to the shaft. Just be careful not to go too far. Then use a chisel and hammer to split the nut. Worked great for me.

 

[tommudd]

Not sure why but almost all the KKs have the same issues, KJs rarely

 

[lfhoward]

It could be because KK wheels have a smaller center cap hole than the KJ wheels, and that the smaller hole could maybe trap and hold moisture (and road salt) more. Just a guess though.