In the process of doing this job right now.
- no need to remove brakes (as already mentioned). Zip off the 12 nuts holding the backing plate and ring to the knuckle, carefully remove the whole brake assembly and hang it out of the way without stretching the brake hose
- steering arm: after removing the 4 nuts take a 4lb mallet and whack the steering arm side facing to the front of the truck and the side facing to the rear of the truck, near the foremost studs, hard. After three or so whacks, the cone washers let go and the steering arm comes loose; it can be removed by hand. This is by far the superior method to get the steering arm off the king pin bushing plate.
- ball joint/tie rod: don't touch, leave in place. Knuckle comes off with tie rod attached
- inner seal retainer: I found after two hours of frustration that a 3 arm puller with a 4lb soft steel wood splitting wedge across the axle opening for the puller rod to push against worked well. Soldier A had used a generous amount of RTV to glue the seal carrier in place and the slide hammer did not budge it. I whacked the slide hammer until my arm cramped and the attachment broke. With the puller it took under five minutes, once I had figured out which item to place across the axle opening. If you disassemble both sides, you can use a 6ft length of rebar (use the least rusty, crappy one...they also come coated...) from the other side.
- inner axle seal: The upgraded seal (tube seal) from
www.rockwelloffroad.com is far superior to the stock design. It comes all set in a new retainer
- knuckle boots: The boots from
www.rockwelloffroad.com are tear-resistant and have a slightly increased inner diameter for easier mounting.
(I am not associated with the business but resarched replacement parts and I liked theirs the best)
Before you pack the knuckle with grease (if you so choose) and put the spindle on, it is a good time to grease the king pin zerks and see how the knuckle lifts and centers when you do that (plus, you verify that the grease actually makes it through). After all is assembled, grease the other zerks within reach (pitman arm, spring ends, tie rod ball joint)