1st time in 12 years - it didn't get me home (1 Viewer)

[Mixelplix]

I've had my LC since April of 2012, and yesterday was the first time it didn't get me home.

Here she is in April of 2012:

I was cruising along on the highway when all of a sudden there was a loud pop, and the truck started vibrating like I was on the rumble strips. I pulled over to the shoulder, and confirmed that I still had throttle, steering, but very little brakes. I decided to baby it to the next exit, and I pulled into a parking lot. I have classic insurance which includes towing, so I had it towed back to my house.

Here she is, after I had to leave it in a parking lot yesterday:

After taking a quick look at it last night (it was late) I found that the front shaft U Joint at the diff lost it's caps. I assume the vibration broke a front brake line which was improperly supported. Strangely, I replaced the u joints a few weeks ago.. so I can only guess that I didn't have a c clip fully seated. I ordered another front joint, which will be here on Sunday.

I hope the ears on my front shaft are in good shape. I can easily check the cap holes with a set of calipers to see if they're egged out. Is there a set protocol to check the ears to see if they're still parallel?

Sorry, there's not much tech in this thread.. just wanted to share my experience, and get any general advice the hivemind has to offer.

 

[CJF]

Can't blame your cruiser for that one.

 

[greentruck]

It's definitely tech if it's a lesson in how to fix it better the next time. Glad things didn't get worse than they did. That'll be a relatively cheap fix in Land Cruiser terms.

 

[Malleus]

Slip a piece (of something, anything) between them that has parallel sides and look at it. It'll be obvious if it's bent; if it's not obvious, it's not bent. I would look for cracks on the outside, though. And maybe tap it on the ends of the round ears with a hammer and listen for dead spots (it should ring).

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Replace user and try again.

 

[Irish Reiver]

@Mixelplix what was your logic for not replacing the UJ's with OEM?

 

[ZackR]

Thanks for sharing - we can all learn something from it. Glad you got it pulled over and off the road safely.

 

[Mixelplix]

@Irish Reiver no particular reason. I guess it just didn't occur to me this time. I'm a stickler for OEM on some things - this apparently just isn't one of those things.

So I got the driveshaft out, and cleaned it up. The ears were still perfectly parallel, and the ends were good. I suspect I didn't have one of the c clips fully seated. Carelessness on my part.

I cleaned everything up, and reassembled the driveshaft. I put it back in the truck, and moved onto the brakes.

Someone in the past (probably me) replaced the brake lines, and didn't utilize the factory mounting points. (my front axle has three) It the line were properly supported, I bet it wouldn't have broken. The vibration caused strain in the unsupported section.

I'm going to begin working on them today. I'll be sure to post some pics.

 

[Mixelplix]

I fabbed up new front brake lines last night, and made sure to utilize all of the factory mounting points. Since my truck is a rusty old girl, that process involved a little bit of bolt extraction.. but I got it eventually.

Passenger front:

Drivers front:

I'm going to blead the fronts, and replace the rear pads while I'm working on it.

 

[baldilocks]

Matsuba U-Joints for the win. They are very affordable from Cruiser outfitters.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Matsuba U-Joints for the win. They are very affordable from Cruiser outfitters.

We have had absolutely amazing longevity with Matsuba Japanese joints

Link for anyone that may be hunting 80 Series joints and stumbles across this thread in the future:

Front: U-Joint - Fits 1/90-1/98 7x/8x Front | 8/02+ 100/120/150/200/LX470/GX460/GX470/570 Front & 98+ 100/200/LX470/570 Rear - https://cruiserteq.com/u-joint-fits-1-90-1-98-7x-8x-front-8-02-100-120-150-200-lx470-gx460-gx470-570-front-98-100-200-lx470-570-rear/

Rear: U-Joint - Fits 1/74-5/84 4x/55 Series F&R | 8/80-5/84 6x Series Front (1) & Rear (2) | 5/84-01/90 6x/7x Series F&R | 1/90-1/98 7x/8x Series Rear - https://cruiserteq.com/u-joint-fits-1-74-5-84-4x-55-series-f-r-8-80-5-84-6x-series-front-1-rear-2-5-84-01-90-6x-7x-series-f-r-1-90-1-98-7x-8x-series-rear/

 

[greentruck]

View attachment 3795309

It looks like the axle breather line has pulled loose from the barb on top the axle where it attaches. SolveFunction just did a video on an easy upgrade to extend it: