Toyota Front Axle Rebuild
Contents
1. of the knuckle bearings over the studs on the steering arm and lower knuckle cap o If the bearings do not slide on easily consider sanding down the stud lightly to remove any burrs o You do not what to force the bearing onto the studs or you will regret it next time you need to take things apart e When reinstalling the steering arms and lower knuckle bearing retainers be sure to install the appropriate shims o think mine were bone stock when I took them apart and there were no shims The rebuild kit came with a huge stack of shims I at first put the knuckle back together w o shims and found it was overly tight o After asking around the consensus seems to say 0 40mm or 0 040 I don t know what units are used of shims is the right amount o The factory manual describes a bearing drag measurement technique if you prefer Use a fish scale to pull on the steering arm until the break free pull is 7 13 Ibs m Do this without the knuckle wiper seals installed just the knuckle bearings Be sure to pack the knuckle bearings before installing them Once the knuckle bearings are installed insert the inner axle and birfield into the axle housing Be careful to support the inner axle especially on the long side as you slip it in past the inner seal At the very end you need to do two tricky movements at once that is getting the end of the inner axle into the splines on the differential carrier and at the same time getting the flats of2. way to do that is to separate the axle and Birfield A large metal tube long enough for the inner axle to slide into and small enough to contact the Birfield housing works great Put a rag at the bottom of the tube to prevent damaging the splines when it pops loose drop the inner axle into the tube and slam the whole Birfield assembly onto the tube until the inner wire clip breaks and lets the inner axle drop out Then clean that sucker out really well I used a parts washer and left the solvent pump circulate solvent inside the housing for an hour of so to dissolve every trace of crud in there Then dry it off and use a blast of brake cleaner to get the solvent residue off Refill the joint with CV Joint grease its specially formulated for CV joints of which the Birfield is a variety 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown 4 of 10 One tip for handling the bearings and races Be sure to keep track of which bearing came out of which location It is important to put the bearing back into the same race it came out of or if replacing bearings also replace the race with the one that came with the bearing Supposedly according to one story bearings and races are precision matched at the factory While this may or may not be true but perhaps it is based in part on the following tip which is true If you replace a bearing you must also replace the race because the race s
3. Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown Toyota Front Axle Rebuild Google Search Web www 4crawler com Visitor 55224 since 28 AUG 2001 a _ i Introduction Ever wonder what your front axle would look like without all that grease an oil caked on it Well I did but didn t want to find out that bad However after getting my Birfield joints replaced with Marfields I started experiencing an oil leak on the passenger side of the axle Attributing it to a worn felt and rubber seal on the steering knuckle I picked up a new seal kit and replaced the outer seals on both sides It seemed to work for a few months then all of a sudden my little leak was a BIG leak I had oil all over the rim tire and underneath the truck Here s how I did this project e Tear Down o Cone Washer Removal e Martack o Birfield Separation e Rebuild e Cost o Tools o Rating e Links to more information Tear Down Start by getting a container to hold the nuts bolts in e Jack up the wheel to be worked on e Take tire rim off the truck e Remove the 2 caliper bolts 17mm and either disconnect the brake line from the caliper or support the caliper so that the brake line is not too distorted e Unscrew the 6 bolts holding the locking hob dial on this is assuming you have manual locking hubs Pull the hub dial off e Remove the snap ring in the end of the axle o I fou
4. by hand it WILL happen when you put the axle back together and it WILL leak gear oil and you WILL get to rebuild the axle again I used a depth gauge on a cheap caliper to measure how far the axle moved in after the axle dropped off the seal and used this to place the final tack weld Once I got it set right I added two more tack welds around the same depth 120 apart ground them flush and that was it Some differentials don t seem to require any tack welds or clips inside the Birfield as the guts of the diff prevent the axle moving in too far Conversely other types need something to prevent this from happening On the other hand you don t want to put the tack welds any closer to the end as you need The axle should have room to float around a little otherwise it will put pressure on the inner race of the Birfield probably not a wise thing to do either Anyway you have three options for installing inner axles 1 Use the clip and carry either complete axles for spares or a separator tool 2 Use tack welds at the right spot 3 Use nothing Which option you use depends on your axle and your differential carrier Use whatever works for your situation Here is another writeup showing a very similar technique for determining the proper MarTack location Birfield Inner Axle Separation Of course the above implies that you have separated the Birfield joint from the inner axles I find a length of metal pipe just large enough to slip th
5. cently swapped my 4 cyl 3rd member w TrueTrac for a high pinion FJ 80 diff with an ARB RD23 air locker I found that once again the right location for the tack welds was between 1 1 8 and 1 1 4 This time I also made sure and placed all three welds I had trouble with a single weld wearing through Anyway what the MarTack does is to prevent the inner axle from slipping too far into the axle housing This serves two purposes one is to keep the spline engagement about equal between the differential carrier splines and Birfield second is to keep the raised machined oil seal surface under the inner oil seal In the picture on the left you can see the inner axle pulled out to reveal the shiny raised surface The picture on the right shows how far the axle should push into the housing You ll notice the flat surface has just disappeared into the seal but no more Before moving the tack weld it went a full 1 4 farther in causing the oil seal to leak around the smaller axle shaft itself e Click here to see an animated GIF image of the axle movement 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown The c clip on the axle prevents it from moving too far into the Birfield so between the tack and clip the inner axle can move about a little but not too much You can feel when the inner axle seal drops off the sealing surface the axle can move around a bit more If this can happen
6. ded Steering knuckle Bearing 90366 17001 77 0 4 30 ea Dealer or rebuild kit Wheel bearing inner g0368 s eZ ea Aftermarket cheaper Wheel bearing outer 20308 4508 7 77 U 2 44 ea Aftermarket cheaper 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown Another nice option is All pro Offroad s Knuckle Rebuild Kit it seems to include all the gaskets the two different oil seals a full set of knuckle bearings and new star washers for the spindle nuts in one package You may need to purchase wheel bearings and races separately 1f needed Another neat kit All Pro Offroad offers is a spindle stud kit which replaces the bolts that hold the spindle to the knuckle really fun trying to line up the spindle gaskets oil seals brake backing plate and get the bolt into the hole in the knuckle with easier to use studs and nuts I m planning to install this kit next time the axle is apart Other sources of rebuild kits include http www marlincrawler com http www jtoutfitters com http www sor com Return to the top of this page Tools Tools supplies you ll also need e The elusive 54mm 2 1 8 socket for the axle nuts and a torque wrench to turn it with e A pair of snap ring pliers to remove the axle C clips I modified mine by filing a groove on the outside of the tips to keep the ends of the snap ring from slipping off o HANDY TIP Carry both of these tools wit
7. e inner axle into and long enough to enclose the inner axle works well Stand the pipe up on end on a rigid surface concrete or rock works best dirt wood and asphalt can be too bouncy Put a rag down the tube to protect the end of the inner axle and drop the whole assembly down onto the end of the tube The impact and inertia of the inner axle will pop it loose from the birfield usually leaving the inner clip intact If a low drop won t work gradually raise the birfield up higher and drop it On the short side axle you may need to throw the axle into the tube to get it loose An alternate method and a good trail fix is to ram the inner axle and birfield into the round tube crossmember that runs across the top of the frame in the rear wheel wells Its the right size to fit the inner axle in Do the long side first and then you can use the long inner axle to push the short side axle out if it stops in the middle Return to the top of this page Rebuild 5 of 10 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown ot _ ib 71200 qa 201 1209 4323 SHIR 43233 SHIM 43233 SHIM iD ey qc EE 43711A BOLT ama ll T 9 hal z T al ALICE ff AY 43405 GASKET 43211A 0411541200 BOLT e er eee ee ll oe 45011F 91651740512 aes 43733 SHIM 43233 SHIM 432733 SHIM 7 ap 451 01200 Ow 2411571200 43204 K GASKET KIT Th
8. easured the bearing drag and both sides were about 8 Ibs total don t know what the oil seal drag was and I wasn t about to find out so I guess it worked OK In any event you are on the home stretch and the procedure follows e Put on locking tab washer e Screw outer spindle nut on till it s fairly tight e Bend one tab on the locking tab washer forward onto the inner nut and one outward onto a flat side of the outer nut e Put locking hub body on e Put cone washers and nuts on studs coat the cone washers with anti seize so that the next time you do this the cone washers will just pop right out with one blow o 12mm head torque to 23 ft Ibs o J find that if I use a tapered punch to open up the cone washers a bit then run a round file along the inside of the split they go on and come off much easier e Install the lock ring on the stub axle e Install hub dial and it s 6 bolts o 10mm head torque to 10 ft Ibs e Wash the brake rotor down with an ozone depleting blast of brake cleaner e Bolt caliper back up o 17mm head torque to 68 ft Ibs e Reattached brake line if it was disconnected like the brake hose clip on my crossover steering arms no need to remove the brake line e Put tire rim back on Return to the top of this page Cost Description P N Oty Cost 98 Comment Knuckle Rebuild Kit 04434 60015 i S92 Gaskets and shims Outer axle oil seal 90311 62001 Z 20 pr Optional Inner axle oil seal 90311 33085 2 12 pr Recommen
9. en you may feel inclined to clean and paint the hub axle etc while you ve got it this far disassembled I used a combination of rotary and orbital sanders to remove the pitting from the steering knuckle ball It took some time to get it smooth but I think it will help the seals both seal better and last longer Also be sure to remove the old inner axle seal and replace it while the knuckle is open Here s a really cheap trick that can be done anytime but is easy while you have the axle torn down Pull those square plugs on the knuckle housing you know the ones you try to pump grease into not gear oil right and drill and tap a hole for a grease fitting I installed a 45 angled grease Zerk in each plug and now its easy to shoot a little extra grease into the knuckle if needed With the crossover steering arms in the way access to those plugs is limited but its easy to pop a grease gun on the Zerk e If the knuckle bearings were removed reinstall them now tapping the new race into the cleaned seat on the knuckle o I used a rubber mallet to tap thep into place chilling the races in a freezer for a few hours can held with the installation o Make sure to bottom the race out in the seat you can check this by looking at the little notches where you drove the old race out there should be no gap visible 6 of 10 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown e Check the fit
10. ening the wheel bearings First is the method documented in the Toyota Factory Service Manual e Tighten the nuts finger tight then using a spring scale measure and record the seal drag while turning the hub with the scale attached to a wheel stud e Then tighten the nut and re measure the bearing drag until it reads about 3 8 Ibs more than the seal drag 7 of 10 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown 8 of 10 alone The second method seems to produce similar results and is a bit more straight forward e Torque spindle nut to 43 ft lbs Spin hub right 4 5 rotations o Spin hub left 4 5 rotations e Loosen inner spindle nut o Spin hub right 4 5 rotations o Spin hub left 4 5 rotations e Torque spindle nut to 43 ft Ibs o Spin hub right 4 5 rotations Spin hub left 4 5 rotations e Loosen inner spindle nut o Spin hub right 4 5 rotations o Spin hub left 4 5 rotations e Torque spindle nut to 21 ft lbs The idea behind the second method is to ensure the bearing is fully seated in the grease and then the final torquing sets the pre load fairly accurately I used the second technique on my first rebuild I didn t have a spring scale then and I found the bearings a bit tight In fact they seemed to be getting a bit hot on a highway trip to go wheeling However after two days crawling rocks they seemed to settle right in When I got back I picked up a scale and m
11. h you on the trail you won t regret it e A brass punch to drive the races out and a dead blow or rubber mallet to pound them back in o A seal puller is also handy but an assortment of screwdrivers will work e Rags lots of rags to soak up the e Solvent lots of solvent to dissolve the remnants of o A parts washer is nearly indispensable for this task e Grease lots of grease a couple of pounds to repack everything with used a bucket of disc brake wheel bearing grease use it in the knuckles and wheel bearings o And a tube or two of CV joint grease to fill the Birfields with o A bearing packer would be a good idea I got one after doing this job the first time Return to the top of this page Project Rating Expect about 2 2 5 hours per side longer if cleaning painting Return to the top of this page Links to more information If you d like a second opinion on this project I researched this project and found a few good write ups on the web e 4x4Wire has an excellent write up on Toyota Front end Maintenance http www outdoorwire com 4x4 toyota maintenance front_end o This page includes information on rebuilding the IFS front end as well e Tips and Techniques on Repacking CV Birfield Joints and Wheel Bearings o http www satari4x4 com au 80scool tech birfield_repack repack html e Some front axle threads on Barney s Toy4x4 e mail archive o http www scruz net barneym toy_root techneek top_neek htm e M
12. long with the inner axle e Remove the cotter pins and loosen the nuts on the tie rod ends just until the nut is at the top of the stud e Now use your favorite tie rod pulling technique BFH pickle fork or mine is a propane torch heat the stud until the opposite side just starts to smoke put down the torch grab the hammer and a light tap should pop the tie rod loose e Remove whatever other steering linkage like drag links etc from the steering arms e Next remove the nuts holding the upper steering arm and lower bearing caps and Cone washer encounters of the second kind e Bigger washers similar technique as the ones on the hubs 4 on top 4 below e Use a hammer to loosen the steering arm from the knuckle bearing hit up where the tie rod was connected Once loose a flat chisel can help lift it evenly e Use a long brass punch to pop the lower bearing cap off from above o If the trunion or knuckle bearings are being replaced use a long punch to pop them out the the seats in the steering knuckle o There are two small semi circular notches in the seat where the tip of a punch can reach the inner lip of the race If you ll be replacing the bearing use a steel punch on the race and tap it out with a hammer alternating side to side e Remove the inner oil seal you ll be replacing it anyway you did buy a pair right So what do you do with that big greasy Birfield axle assembly You really need to clean it well and the best
13. nd that if I ground a small groove in the outside edge of the tips of the snap ring pliers its was much easier to remove and install the outer snap ring 1 of 10 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown 2 of 10 Next cone washer encounters of the first kind e Now unscrew the six nuts holding the hub body on out till they re flush with the ends of the studs e If you haven t ever had them off it might be good to start a few days early by soaking the studs with WD 40 or your favorite rust bustin lube PB Blaster is pretty good stuff in case the cone washers are rusted in place Take your brass drift or steel bar and place it on the ends of the studs nuts firmly with a hammer This is to remove the cone washers that are holding the hub body on Give it 2 3 firm blow then rotate the hub and hit the next Don t just wail on them but hit them firmly They can be a bear to remove on some trucks just don t hit the hub body so hard that you deform it I tried the above technique on my cone washers and found it worked on a few but not all of them After some experimenting I found that a narrow bladed screwdriver and small hammer worked 100 of the time Just line the screwdriver blade up with the cone washer slot and give the screwdriver handle a few raps with the hammer Anyway the idea is that you push something into the slot in the washer expanding it a bit cau
14. organ Fletcher did a very detailed front axle rebuild write up o http www oft road com morgan tech axle index html 9 of 10 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown e Here are some tips on rebuilding the stock Aisin manual locking hubs o http www oft road com toyota tech aisin index htm o Applies to both solid axle and IFS front hubs e And a humorous story to read after you finish the job Return to the top of this page Back to my Cheap Tricks main page Last updated 09 July 2006 Ford F 450 Official Site New amp Used Cars Electric Superchargers Screw Conveyors All new Ford pickup offers clean We will find finance deliver and Supercharge almost any car RotaryAirlocks FlapValve Knifegates available quiet powerful diesel insure your new or used car Simple Installation Free S amp H Bulk Handling Equipment Design fordvehicles com superduty www whywalk co za www electricchargers com www amd rotolok edx co za Ads by Google 10 of 10 2007 07 20 08 32 AM
15. sing the cone washer to push against the tapered hole and it ll just climb right up the stud Works like a charm and is much more elegant that beating on the hub with a big club See below for an animation of the process by Joshua Carlson Then again on my spare axle which appeared to be totally stock and had never been taken apart the screwdriver technique didn t work but a quick tap with a hammer on the hub popped off one after another cone washer with ease several of which flew off with such force that if I didn t have the nut loosely on the end I would have lost them as they flew off into the grass A third technique is to use a small chisel to turn the washers and break them loose Fit the end of the chisel into the slot of the washer and angle it to one side Tap with a hammer to loosen the washer A forth technique for removal submitted Peter Bonefant of Ontatio Canada is to simply remove the stud and the cone washers as a unit by double nutting the threaded end of the stud then back out the stud from the hub body I imagine this would work well for cone washers that are slightly more deformed Sounds like a good last resort a bit more time consuming but should work in most every case 2007 07 20 08 32 AM Toyota Front Axle Rebuild http www 4crawler com 4x4 CheapTricks AxleRebuild shtml TearDown 3 of 10 The important point is that there are many techniques to try if one doesn t work try another Remove all 6 cone
16. the birfield joint past the knuckle bearings It helps if someone can turn the pinion flange back and forth while you work the birfield into position I like to start with the short side first since its a lot easier Once installed put on the spindle brake backing plate and seal and the retaining bolts or stud kit e Knuckle bearing cap nuts are torques to 71 ft lbs e Spindle bolts or nuts on studs are torqued to 38 ft lbs There seem to be two schools of thought pn how much grease to use one is to pack the knuckle full of grease and the other is to just put in enough I like the latter the birfield itself gets packed full that s where all the action is anyway and then put some around the knuckle to keep the knuckle bearings lubricated I like to leave some air space to allow for expansion when the axle heats up and prevent the excess grease from being forced out past the felts Then proceed to assembling the wheel bearings e Drive in the new race s in the same manner as removing the old race e Pack new inner bearing put in inner bearing e Drive in new seal e Pack outer bearing e Either put outer bearing into it s race and slip whole unit onto spindle or slip unit on spindle then put outer bearing in Be careful not to dump new clean outer bearing on ground when putting it on spindle e Put washer with tab on it for the slot in spindle on e Put inner spindle nut on Now there are two schools of thought on properly tight
17. urface is hardened but the hardening only goes so deep If it wears through the race will begin to pit and spall which will cause bearing failure The same is true for the roller bearings themselves So it just stands to reason if one part failed for whatever reason the part it was in contact with has seen similar conditions and is probably near failure itself Return to the top of this page To tack or not to tack That is the question I say tack but you need to do it in the right place I had my inner axles MarTacked when the Marfield joints were installed and guess what the MarTack led to the oil leak that led to me rebuilding my axle On the left you can see the official MarTack place 1 3 8 from the end of the splines On the right you ll see my TrueTack spaced only 1 1 8 from the end of the splines My front 7rueTrac differential carrier is apparently a bit narrower than the stock unit upon which the crucial MarTack distance was determined Note Where did the term MarTack come from you might ask Marlin of Marlin Crawler fame was one of the first people to come up with the idea of using small tack welds on the inner end of the axle to replace the function of the little C clip that normally holds the outer end of the axle inside the Birfield joint This makes train repairs of broken Birfields easier since you can carry only the joint and you avoid the need to hammer or pound the broken Birf off the inner axle I re
18. washers Remove the lock ring from the end of the axle shaft Pull the hub body off Beat the tabs of the lock washer back that are holding the outer spindle nut in place Remove the outer spindle nut Remove the lock washer Remove the inner spindle nut Grab the brake rotor firmly and just pull the whole assembly off the spindle and trying not to dump the outer bearing out on the ground when it comes off the spindle Remove the outer bearing from the hub and the washer that presses against the outer bearing A seal puller helps to remove the seal that holds the inner bearing in Another option is to turn the hub upside down and tap the bearing seal out the back side Be careful doing this if you re planning on re using that bearing as you can damage it easily Now that you ve the hub completely disassembled It s time to get the races out of the hub body for the bearings you want to replace I use a brass bar It s sort of tricky getting those races out since there isn t a very large surface of the race to hit on Just hit a little on this side a little on that side going back and forth and it ll come out but definitely use a brass something not steel e Remove the spindle and remove it and the seals and gaskets behind it o Take careful note of the order of the parts for subsequent reassembly e Now the Birfield joint can be removed if needed o Line up the flats of the Birfield joint with the knuckle bearings and pull it out a
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