Front Brake Full Of Grease

I’m putting a “new to the family” 1960 CJ5 back on the road, rebuilding brakes today. Have no history on it. The front passenger drum and shoes are coated with thick black grease, looks like bearing grease, not diff oil. Plan always was to replace the outer seals, is the bearing seal the culprit? Will changing only the outer seals fix this? I don’t want to tear into the diff to change the inner seals.

 

Have you checked the oil level in the knuckles
if the PO just put regular gear oil in it
it would migrate to the wheel bearing . turning the bearing grease into a liquid
which could get by worn wheel bearing seals

 

Any new-old closed-knuckle Jeep that was not owned by an enthusiast needs the knuckles gone through. If the drums were covered with grease and dirt, it's been neglected. I'd take it back to the axle stubs, and replace the housing seals if needed. New king pin bearings, new knuckle seals, inspect and repair knuckle studs as needed. Assemble, set pre-load, lube with knuckle pudding, corn head grease, etc - lots of posts about this if you search. New wheel bearings, new brakes. Many moving parts in a Jeep front end, and the closed knuckles need special attention.

 

x2 on the king pins bearings.

No one ever does those, and they can be a root cause of death wobble. Why go in twice?

 

Also check out the steering parts - tie rod ends (TREs), bell crank, drag link, steering gear. This is another area that, when neglected, usually needs attention and refurbishment.

 

Would 00 grease work?