Post knuckle rebuild vibration

Leitrum3 · 12-14-09, 11:59 PM

I'm new to the forum as well as cruisers, but wanted to try my luck here with a problem I'm having. Well, it's one of many, but I need to start somewhere. So what I'm dealing with is a frame off rebuild of a 3B/H55f Canadian BJ60 placed on an '84 FJ60 frame and body. The fellow who did the bulk of the initial work didn't quite resolve a lot of the finer details, like 160k leaking knuckles.

I picked up the parts from SOR and replaced the knuckle bearings/races, all the primary seals, rotors and pads. Everything seemed to go together well and my mechanic watched over my shoulder periodically. When I first started driving again, things felt a little bit tight, but I figure things need a little bit of time to sort themselves out with all the new grease, and the fact that it's 20F here. However, when I got on the highway on the way home, I noticed a slight vibration at 45, and then at 55-65, a terrible vibration that I can feel in the steering wheel and seat. There's no shimmy, just vertical vibration. I got the front wheels in the air once I got home and checked for any play, but other than my standard steering slop (which is my next issue to resovle), there wasn't anything new or noteworthy. Anyone have some ideas about where to look for the problem?

It seems to me that the bearings, hubs and knuckles only go together one way so it seems difficult to screw that part up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

RockDoc · 12-15-09, 12:12 AM

Ice in the rims? Were you in 4WD or 2WD for the vibration? You didn't have the driveshaft off, did you? Wheels are back on tight without any debris between the rim and hub?

Leitrum3 · 12-15-09, 12:34 AM

No ice in the rims, the roads are icy, but not snowy and the first drive was straight out of the garage. Now, as to the driveshaft...I did have the front shaft connecting to the transfer case off, but I was in 2wd and shouldn't have been engaged. I've had it in and out of 4wd since then and the vibration is the same sadly. I pulled off the wheels and put them back on again yesterday, but no luck. There wouldn't be any debris either as I cleaned and degreased everything. Let's just say what would be a 3 hour job per side for most people, was about 9 for me...

RockDoc · 12-15-09, 12:43 AM

Ha, I was working through an axle this weekend with a friend, took about 14 hours. Mind you there was plenty of visiting, waiting for parts to be cleaned and ready to reinstall and beer that added to that. It's a messy job that takes a good while if you don't do it often.

Were the hugs engaged even in 2WD? If so, check to ensure the driveshaft U-joints are in phase. Never dealt with it myself, but I understand an out of phase shaft will give you problems. I assume you followed proper procedure for tightening the hub nut to seat the bearings, then backing it off and re-tightening it, checking the preload and double-nutting/star-tabbing it?

No parts left over after the rebuild? Either stuff that came out of the axle (but wasn't replaced) or from the rebuild kit?

Leitrum3 · 12-15-09, 02:19 AM

Well, I guess this shows my true colors at being a novice, or that my mechanic wasn't being as diligent as he should've been in keeping tabs on what I was doing. While he did tell me to be very careful about how tight to get the hub nut, what you are talking about doesn't sound necessarily like what we followed. Never backed it off and checked preload, etc. Did of course use the star tabs as they came with the kit...Looks like I'll need to pull off my hubs and check the hub nuts. Where can I find proper procedure? I sure hope that's the solution, that's not a terrible fix to have to do.

RockDoc · 12-15-09, 02:30 AM

The best reference you can have is a factory service manual (FSM). You can order them through some Toyota Hotline (if you use the advanced search feature you should be able to find it, or else someone will likely fill you in tomorrow).

The procedure as detailed in the FSM is:
install the thrust washer and inner nut
torque the nut to 43 ft-lbs
rotate hub a couple revolutions each direction
re-torque to 43 ft-lbs
back the nut off to where you can turn by hand
torque it to 48 in-lbs (4ft-lbs)
check that it takes 6-13 lbs of force applied to one of the hub studs to rotate the hub
install the tab washer and outer nut
torque outer nut to 65 ft-lbs
check for any freeplay
recheck the 6-13 lb force for rotation
bend the tabs on the tab washer

RockDoc · 12-15-09, 02:35 AM

From the FAQs at the top of the section: Birfield repack info

There is still no replacement for the FSM when it comes to tackling new jobs though. You might be able to piece together what you need from here: http://forums.bauchan.org/portal/dow...hp?dcid=17&p=3 but a Repair Manual for your year/model has pretty much everything you need in one package that's easy to keep with the truck.

Spike Strip · 12-15-09, 09:47 AM

Download the FSMs HERE (click it)

Leitrum3 · 12-15-09, 10:17 PM

Okay, manual is downloaded. I took a look through it and am going to try pulling off the hubs and reseating them properly this time. Hopefully no damage has been done by driving around on them while trying to keep it under 55 (and out of the range of most noticeable vibration). Thanks for the help thus far everyone.