2008 Sequoia Limited Build thread (1 Viewer)

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Well, I was up late last night working on the front differential. I started pulling the bearings off of the pinion and installing new ones on the Eaton carrier and pinion.

I got the ring gear on like an angry gorilla since I don't have a way to heat it at the hangar. I ran a fine file over the carrier face and back of the ring gear and cleaned everything up. I set the ring gear down and clamped it with my hands while turning a little at a time. I then started 4 bolts and tightened them finger tight. Then I put a piece of scrap plywood on the ground grabbed the ring gear against the carrier as tight as I could and smacked it straight down onto the plywood. Tightened the bolts finger tight and repeated until it was seated. I finished it off with a dead blow around the circumference to make sure it was down. Then I applied the loctite stick and all of the bolt were rattled on setting 2 of the impact and then torqued to 101 lb-ft.

The inner pinion bearing race was the worst part of the hole operation. I also found while installing the initial shims that toyota managed to order 11 side shims for the rear and no pinions. I should have had 7 side and 4 pinion. I intended on starting with the rear but couldn't.

Anyway, all that is left is the difficult part of setting backlash and getting proper preload. I found the FSM missing some steps. It tells you to install the pinion and torque to 331lb-ft or less to set the pinion preload. Then it cautions there is no crush sleeve during this step and to torque in increments until preload is reached. Afterwards it jumps straight to checking the backlash and opening the case to paint ring gear teeth if necessary to check pattern. But it never mentioned installing the carrier. So if the pinion preload the FSM mentions is 28-31 in-lb which seems high and I'm assuming they just didn't give a starting torque value or a pinion only value. It feels more like a combined preload.

I'm going to have to read through the rear diff procedure today and see if they have the same procedure or if they just screwed up printing the FSM.

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Got a whole lot of not much accomplished. I had to swap out the carrier shim on one side and I still don't have backlash.

I spent the majority of my day making a jig for the lever dial indicator. I started by trying to use A piece of scrap steel but I didn't have the 3 big bolts and didn't have any in my boxes of fasteners. I ended pulling a bolt out of my old Warn fairlead I had in the scrap pile and turning down threads, removing the head and turning down the shoulder to the diameter of the magnetic dial indicator stand.

It went pretty smooth at first, but then I kept breaking carbide inserts. There were certain spots along the shoulder that didn't cut as well as the rest and occasionally it would act as if that area were hardened and I was taking too deep a cut. Anyway, here is the simple fixture.

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While waiting on shims to come in for the front diff I started work on the rear. The main obstacle I ran into so far is having the bearing drivers and such. I was able to use the lathe to turn down the old pinion inner race at the end and bore out the center slightly. That allowed me to get the pinion done which was the only real obstacle.

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I measured the old carrier with races and shims without the ring gear and set up the electric locker carrier as close as I could for a starting point. I pressed a bearing on the ring gear side then pressed in the carrier race and the first shim.

I then installed the ring gear by dropping in on, visually aligning it and tapping it down with a soft face mallet until I could get some bolts started. Then a clamped the ring gear and carrier together with my hands and smacked it down on a piece of scrap plywood on the ground. Same process as last time. Then I installed the bearing, race and shim.

Once put together I installed the carrier into the housing, secured the notch on the electromagnet onto the housing and used an inspection pick and a flashlight to mark where the wires were in relation to the housing. Then I marked it with a paint pen, went over about 1.125" and punched and drilled it to 1/2". Then I chamfered both sides of the hole with a countersink bit. I haven't reinstalled the carrier yet to check fit. I hope I'm not welding it up. EDIT: The pictured location seems like it will work out great.

Afterwards I installed the pinion and drive flange. I just have to set the preload, install the carrier and check for backlash. Then it is on to adjusting backlash, then a preliminary pattern and more adjusting.
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Spent a little time last night checking preload on the rear differential. I had to make a tool to turn the carrier for a pattern and to check preload. I used a piece of 1.5"x .125 steel flat stock. I but a bevel on both edges about 3" long and test fit it. I then ground both edges down slightly and rebeveled them.

Afterward I cut about 1.375" up the center and widened it to about 0.125" at which point I cut off about 1.5" I then slide the notched piece over the end of the other and placed them in a side gear I pulled from the donor carrier. I then welded it up, cut it off a few inches longer. Then I cut the threads off of , and notched, a spare bolt I had from a bad roller failead. Then I welded that to the piece I had just made.

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Afterward I took the bearing race I previously turned down for the pinion bearing Install; and turned the bottom to fit as a carrier bearing race driver.
 
Well, poop. I decided to go with 4.88 gears in the E-Lockers. I received them about a week ago. I am waiting on new inner pinion bearings as I can't safely remove the current ones in a timely fashion. So at least one of those should arrive this week. Meanwhile I installed the ring gears on the carriers. According to Tandem who sells the Sequoia rear gears and locker. You use the spacer for the ring gear. I couldn't find any information on it anywhere else. Usually you only use a spacer on the stock carriers when doing gear setups. Anyway, for future reference for others who may go down the regearing path. The Auburn rear gears use the spacer even with the Auburn locker.

Nitro gear set for the front. I will get more pics soon.

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Auburn gear and spacer for the rear.
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