1983 FJ60 front axle job questions.

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hardstatic said:
The rubber wiper should fit inside the little ring area along with the metal ring... at least mine did (kit from Cruiser Outfitters).
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Ok thanks for the much needed info. I will go out there today and see if I can get 1) and 2) both in there. My set was from Terrain Tamer, and I was able to get 1) in the ring area only by overlapping the cut metal (effectively shortening the diameter of 1) to get it in. I hope this piece isn't mis-sized from TT.
 
Installing the wiper assembly/components can be a little tricky.
I start with the split ring, opening on top. I push the top of the ring into the recess and then work my way towards the bottom.
Make sure the back of the knuckle is clean and there's no dirt or rust buildup in the recess for the split ring or rubber washer.
It's a little tricky to line everything up and get the half moons installed the first time you do it. Don't let it frustrate you.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. I've rebuilt more knuckles using the Terrain Tamer kits than I care to remember.
Lol

Hope that helps.

Georg @ Valley Hybrids & Cruiser Brothers
 
wardharris said:
Georg - Ever seen mis-sized or incorrect parts in a Terrain Tamer kit?
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I have not. The quality, parts fit and consistency of the Terrain Tamer kits has been excellent.
Not only have we used them exclusively at the shop for the past couple of years, but we've sold hundreds of them to DIY customers all over the USA and have had zero complaints.

Georg @ Valley Hybrids & Cruiser Brothers
 
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Yes we do lots of knuckle rebuilds here at the shop!
To the OP:
If you run into another snag, feel free to call for info or tech support!!!

Georg @ Valley Hybrids & Cruiser Brothers

Shop 209-475-8808

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The Terrain Tamer kit was fine, it was just my being a rookie that caused me to open up the back of the knuckle to check the fitment of the wiper set.

Unfortunately I opened up a big mess though all through operator error.:

1) I took the two half moons of the wiper set off, everything was fine.
2) Putting half moons back in, I twisted off a bolt head while trying to torque everything down.
3) I took off the whole knuckle assembly, to solve the broken bolt issue.
4) Reassembled knuckle, pre-load ok...toqued off another of the Toyota screws that hold in the half moons.
5) Repeat step 3.
6) I reassemble the knuckle, but when I torque down the nut/cone washer/washer 's on the top steering arm the knuckle movement doesn't feel right. Its like there is a "delay" in when moving the steering arm moves the knuckle. It also feels like the steering arm is "jiggling" ever so slightly.
7) Tired and defeated and with a brutal cold front moving in at night, I take off the knuckle once again to battle this in better conditions. I think my problem in 6) can be due to several things:
a) I have somehow damaged the bearings in the several removals/reassembly cycles. I re-packed and coated the bearings with grease for every cycle.
b) The surfaces of the knuckle that back contact with the shims as well as the steering arm shim contact surface and bottom pin contact surface had a good bit of grease on them through all the reassembly cycles I attempted. Perhaps This could explain the steering arm "jiggle" as the shims are sliding on grease in addition to messing up the centering and pre-load.


Anyhow, the Terrain Tamer has been a-ok so far, I am kicking myself now though for snapping those bolts over and over and messing up what was going smoothly.
 
Those wiper retainer plate bolts definately don't need much torque. You should not break a bolt unless you are deforming the retainer. And you shouldn't be dimpling the retainer.
Getting back to the knuckle movement, the shims will not move due to grease; they are locked down tight. Make sure the shims are in their proper places, top and bottom. You did grease the bearings, correct? Make sure your knuckle bearing races are properly seated. Lay some grease on the bearing races when re assembling. Tighten the bottom retainer incrementally, tightening the bolts in a criss-cross pattern going to 30 lb-ft all around, then 50 lb-ft, then finally 65 or 70 lb-ft. Then tighten the steering arm the same way. Sometimes I will tighten down the steering arm without the cone washers, (just the flat washer) not worrying about torque yet (it doesn't need to be fully torqued at this point), to get it seated properly, using the same criss-cross pattern. Then I will undo the nuts and install the cone washers and torque it down the same way as the lower retainer.
Move move the kbuckle back and forth a bunch of times after torqueing the arm down before checking preload.
 
Weather is still keeping me from going out and trying again. I am contemplating replacing the tie rod ends and pricing them out. During my previous attempt at re-assembly, when I snapped off the second wiper seal bolt I was thinking about saying "f it" to taking everything off again and replacing the bolt. I went ahead and started to put the knuckle arm back on the tie rod end, only to find that the threads on both the castle nut and the tie rod end stud were messed up. I got a tap and die, tapped the castle nut, but the tie rod end I couldn't re-thread with the die as it kept rotating as I was trying to rotate the die. I am not sure if there are any "tricks" to using the die on the tie rod end stud, so may have to order and install a new one (hopefully be here by next week when the weather should get better and I can go back and try to finish this thing.

Any thoughts on the tie rod end replacement ? Are there any suggestions on re-threading the rotating stud on the tie rod end ?
 
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In my haste to de-rust and paint the parts for the "other" side of the knuckle job, I forgot to tape off the little hole on top of the knuckle arm. Paint (Rustoleum high-heat primer and black) definitely got inside. Any idea if I will have caused some serious problems in doing that ?
 
No worries. That hole is only there for the manufacturing process and has no function on the vehicle. It's a "center" to allow them to accurately machine the side opposite for the hole in knuckle, bearings, etc. I filled my with POR15.

Eric
 
Prairie Swamp said:
No worries. That hole is only there for the manufacturing process and has no function on the vehicle. It's a "center" to allow them to accurately machine the side opposite for the hole in knuckle, bearings, etc. I filled my with POR15.

Eric
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Thanks this is very helpful.
 
This may sound stupid but can I switch trunion bearings and races if I forgot which bearing went to which race ? I have not driven on either of these bearing sets.

When I went to reassemble the passenger side about a month ago, I ended up breaking the bolts that hold in the wiper seals. I took everything off and got that fixed over the last month as well as spending the time to rebuild the driver's side. Now I am back on the passenger side and when I went to grab the bearings I had tried to install, I realized I didn't mark them with "top" or "bottom". Again, these were new and haven't been driven on (but they did have one install attempt with some swivelling by hand).

I've heard it is not good to switch around bearings and races after some use since there is wear and tear custom to each bearing/race combo. However, since these haven't really been used except in an initial install attempt, would it be ok to use them without knowing from which race they already came from ?
 
Maybe one of the experts will chime in but I think you'll be OK. These aren't wheel bearings that spin millions of times at high speed. They just allow the knuckle to swivel back and forth. Plus as you said they're brand new so no wear pattern. No worries.

Eric
 
orangefj45 said:
Yes you can switch bearings and races ....... they're not "matched" so you'll be fine.

Georg @ Valley Hybrids & Cruiser Brothers
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And there you have it. Gotta love having seasoned professionals that will chime in and provide peace of mind.
Thanks Georg!
 
Ok I can see the finis line now I think.

What is the brake bleed order on my fj60 ? I am guessing :
1) Passenger rear
2) Driver rear
3) Passenger front
4) Driver front


Is this correct ?
 
Can someone explain to me what the purpose of the anti-rattle clip is ? I dont see how having only one on a caliper would stop rattle (since the other side of the pads wouldn't be sprung back). In fact, it worries me that one side of the pads will have this spring force against it and the other won't. Wouldnt that cause the pads to unevenly comtact the rotor ?

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The anti rattle clip doesn't so much push the pads back, it's not strong enough to overcome the hydraulic pressure. It is enough to keep the pads from rattling around and chattering when applying the brakes. The pads rest just off the disks when off the brake pedal. bottom line, they work.

As far as bleeding, the DS rear is the farthest from the brake MC. The line goes down the PS side to the PS side of the axle, then back over to the DS, thus farther distance traveled.
 
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