Aftermarket Birfields FZj80

[CruisinGA]

I'll take the ABS rings off the old ones with no problems and tranfer them to the new ones. Why won't longfields or newfields last as long as Toyota stock if they are stronger? If I have stronger birfs and axles without mod. won't I be moving the point of failure to the diff?

Not necessarily... anyways you will not really be testing diff strength until you get up in the 38" tire range and do some serious rock crawling.

Not too many people break cruiser R&P's, especially on linked cruiser axles (80 series and others) because there is no spring wrap.

 

[CruisinGA]

FWIW,
Mine is a 92 so no abs s***e to deal with, but all you have to do is remove the ring from the stock worn out birf and re attach to the longfeild.
am I missing something?
dave

Nope.

 

[Trailbus]

doesn't CV unlimited sell birfs for the 80 still?

I picked one up very cheap off ebay about a year or two ago...it's my trail spare...

I bought Newfields from CV unlimites about 3 years ago. First set wore out within a year and CV Unlimited replaced them for free. I think I heard something about a bad batch (probably the ones that went to ebay). They told me I must've got the ones made for rockcrawling then they hooked me up. The ones I have on now haven't failed yet but if I did it again I would go with Longfields.

I kept my worn OEM ones for spares.

 

[OGBeno]

The original Longfields are heat-treated to soften the metal, and thus allow more twist before breakage. The stockers last longer because they are harder but break easier.

This is a moot point for all part time cruisers, and not sure it is an issue with the new longfields that are made from different materials than stock.

Thanks Bailey!!

 

[medtro]

FWIW,
Mine is a 92 so no abs s***e to deal with, but all you have to do is remove the ring from the stock worn out birf and re attach to the longfeild.
am I missing something?
dave

For '92, you also need newer drive plates to deal with the longer Longfield.

 

[sleeoffroad]

Oh come on guys. I hate to say it on this forum, but what about those like myself who loves this truck but does little off road. I understand what the premium products do, but what about the casual roader who is in the 200k range and does not plan to kick it in the dirt? If I had the $ to do it right maybe the longfields might be the answer. However there is no ABS wheel.

Good grief expand out of your thinking box and lets hear options and or responses from those like myself who is looking for a good....great replacement but more for the road and not the dirt.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

This is what we recommend at the shop. If you want the longest life, run medium size tires (33/35) then get OEM. You got 200k miles out of the originals and will do so again on the new ones if maintained. Also the most expensive option.

If you do little road miles, run stock tires, have the existing ones rebuilt. Cheapest option, or run the cheaper aftermarket units.

If you run 35+ tires, wheel hard, do little to medium road miles run Longfields or Heavy Duty Newfields. They will wear faster, but they won't break as easily. If you do a lot of road miles, but want the stregth, deal with the premature wear. It is a give and take.

With all the aftermarket ones makes sure you know what drive flanges you need. It is not clear cut that all Longfields are the short ones or all Newfields are the long ones. As Dan pointed out, also save the ABS rings.

As for the Japanese ones that are supposed to be made by the same people that make Toyota ones (not a slam on MAF, we also got some of those. Might not be the same brand as theirs). I am not sure.

I broke a brand new one in the parking lot at work while testing the lockers of the Vlakvark.

This is probably one of the few things that you can not judge the product by the cost. OEM is the most expensive, but not the best for everyone.

 

[NorCalDoug]

As a data point, new stockers list for $640.90 a rattle.

The CV Unlimited birf I bought off ebay was $90 including shipping. The price is variable...it is ebay after all...so some paid more, some paid less.

You'll find them on ebay from time to time.

 

[JerseyCruiser]

Thanx! That was the exact anwser I was looking for. Does CV Unlimited make a non-chromoly, stock OEM, long wear, birf. If so do you have them?

 

[Grench]

Same problem / question here.

Get your doubled up single finger salutes ready...

I'm getting some clicking on my grey '96 when I turn, so I'm looking into birfields and I have some questions for you all. I scanned through the archives and got a lot of great information, but still have a few quick questions.

I called CV Unlimited up. They have a $699 chromoly kit with both Newfields and the short & long axels. I was about to order it, but the guy on the phone told me that they aren't recomended for road use as a daily driver.

Omaha is a great place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit. I have to drive 8+ hours to get anywhere interesting that would require the truck that I've built/am building. Aren't they all a work in progress?

Would there be any issues with Newfields & related bits for long highway runs at 80mph? Do the Newfields stand up to miles as well as the factory spec birfields? If I understood Christo's post, then no... but what is the best compromise? My stock birfields lasted 122,000 miles. Are the Newfields a 100,000 mile change out or a 10,000 mile change out? If I can expect 60,000 miles, then maybe I count on buying 4 of them over the next 10 years.

Should I be looking at a set of the Japanese factory spec ones from MAF instead? (MAF # 43405-60080 $195) Does anyone know if these come with the ABS ring already on them? Are these going to turn into grinding chunks of flak at the first lump?

ABS rings... I -like- having ABS on my truck with all of the highway miles I do. Its very nice to have when the roads turn into a giant skating rink. What is the RIGHT way to pull the ABS ring off the factory birf and put it on the replacement? Do you generally need to heat the ring to get it to pull off/press on? With as rare as these rings appear to be... I don't want to do it wrong the first time.

Thank you!

 

[NorCalSam]

Longfields!

 

[-Spike-]

Just got a set of the Japanese aftermarket birfs. No ABS ring, but the rings can be pressed off your old ones and on to the new ones easily by any machine shop.

As mentioned before, if you are putting a bunch of highway miles on the truck, specialty birfs are probably not for you.

-Spike

 

[Grench]

ABS Rings

I'd like to have a complete set ready when I open things up. To top it off I don't even know where to find a good machine shop here.

Has anyone considered having a machine shop fabricate a big stack of ABS rings? If we do a group buy on them, the cost should fall down. I have no clue what this would or should cost though.

I have two of these trucks, so if the ABS rings could be had for $20 - $30 each I'd probably buy four myself.

Does anyone have a connection at a machine shop where this could be done? With a group this size, I wonder what kind of volume we could do.

 

[Tapage]

I thought in my case ( I'm planing the fron axle rebuild ) part time HF1A I go with longs .. no ABS also.

 

[7P's]

The original Longfields are heat-treated to soften the metal, and thus allow more twist before breakage. The stockers last longer because they are harder but break easier.

This is a moot point for all part time cruisers, and not sure it is an issue with the new longfields that are made from different materials than stock.

The Longfields still have the same issues - to my knowledge no one has run them on a daily driver long enough (miles) to find out where the replacement period might be. I don't know if Bobby would hazard a guess on estimated mileage or not. If they would last 100K with a repack at 50K they definately would be the way to go. I purchased his 80 kit and had them shipped to Moab last month anticapating a problem that never occurred. I'll put them in when I get a little time this summer but 90% plus of my yearly miles will be highway miles but I like that little edge that the Longfield birfs give us when the going gets real tough for maybe 15 to 20 days a year

 

[psfpilot]

The Longfields have a lifetime warranty. So I'd say you could try to wear out a pair and just replace them with another set. Current price is $295x2=$590, including shipping. I replaced the worn out PS birf on our 1992 FJ80 with a Longfield because it has a guarantee and is relatively inexpensive. It is manufactured with the longer later-1994 through 1997 splines, so IIRC you will need a matching drive flange if your FZJ-80 is a 1993 or early 1994 build date.
-----------------------------------------
edit: Not sure at this point about the lifetime breakage warranty's application to breakage from long term wear.

 

[7P's]

The Longfields have a lifetime warranty. So I'd say you could try to wear out a pair and just replace them with another set. Current price is $295x2=$590, including shipping. I replaced the worn out PS birf on our 1992 FJ80 with a Longfield because it has a guarantee and is relatively inexpensive. It is manufactured with the longer later-1994 through 1997 splines, so IIRC you will need a matching drive flange if your FZJ-80 is a 1993 or early 1994 build date.

Just to clarify this, the lifetime warranty is against breakage not wear, so if you wheel hard you may be able to take advantage of that warranty - if you just drive a lot, the warranty doesn't apply when you "wear them out" from mileage. The price is definately right for the strength while the jury is still out relative to mileage life.

 

[psfpilot]

Just to clarify this, the lifetime warranty is against breakage not wear, so if you wheel hard you may be able to take advantage of that warranty - if you just drive a lot, the warranty doesn't apply when you "wear them out" from mileage. The price is definately right for the strength while the jury is still out relative to mileage life.

Hmm...I failed to clarify that distinction when I called Bobby about the specs of his longfield. May I inquire as to how you learned that wear is not covered under the warranty? I doubt we'll ever wear it out on the '92 as it is no longer a daily driver, but this would be good to know for future reference, as we hope to acquire a FZJ in the near future.

 

[Grench]

How many miles on a birfild/longfield/newfield?

OK, so, we all have found out that a stock Toyota birfield will wear out somewhere between 120,000 and 200,000 miles without being nasty to them.

How many miles will an FJ80 Longfield or a Newfield run if it doesn't break? Has anyone worn a set out? About how many miles did you get?

 

[Heffenoche]

Get your doubled up single finger salutes ready...

I'm getting some clicking on my grey '96 when I turn, so I'm looking into birfields and I have some questions for you all. I scanned through the archives and got a lot of great information, but still have a few quick questions.

Thank you!

If you're getting some clicking and haven't already done a front axle service you may not need new birfields yet. Do the front axle service with new synthetic moly grease, maybe even switch the sides of the birfields and it's likely you'll be ok.

 

[Ivan80]

Get your doubled up single finger salutes ready...

I'm getting some clicking on my grey '96 when I turn, so I'm looking into birfields and I have some questions for you all. I scanned through the archives and got a lot of great information, but still have a few quick questions.

I called CV Unlimited up. They have a $699 chromoly kit with both Newfields and the short & long axels. I was about to order it, but the guy on the phone told me that they aren't recomended for road use as a daily driver.

As Heffenoche said, definitely do the axle service before dropping any money on new birfs. There's a guy here in town who's '95 had clicking issues that were fixed with a grease and swap.

I PM'd you with a shop here in Omaha, but just do it yourself and spend the $1000+ on something else. I've done mine and I have a '96 FSM, so if you plan to DIY and need a hand let me know.