what should front axle seals roughly cost to repair/replace?
approx. repair cost of inner axle seasl(fr)...?
- Thread starter sourcemine
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The seals themselves are only a few dollars. If you are going to have a shop do the work, they will probably charge you mucho dinero (never had it quoted to me, but I wouldn't be suprised if it was around $800).
This is likely a project you could tackle yourself if you have space, repair manual, tools (if you don't have all the tools necessary, you can easily buy what you need for a fraction of what a shop would charge to do the work). Wiper seals, knuckle bearings and hub seals are good things to replace at the same time. It is also a good time to replace wheel bearings, brake rotors and brake lines (short hoses from axle to backing plate) if they are nearing the end of there useful life. There are numerous write-ups of this proceedure on the web, including here in the ih8mud tech section. Post-up with questions you have if you choose to do it yourself, this is one thing that I am fairly familiar with regarding cruisers.
This is likely a project you could tackle yourself if you have space, repair manual, tools (if you don't have all the tools necessary, you can easily buy what you need for a fraction of what a shop would charge to do the work). Wiper seals, knuckle bearings and hub seals are good things to replace at the same time. It is also a good time to replace wheel bearings, brake rotors and brake lines (short hoses from axle to backing plate) if they are nearing the end of there useful life. There are numerous write-ups of this proceedure on the web, including here in the ih8mud tech section. Post-up with questions you have if you choose to do it yourself, this is one thing that I am fairly familiar with regarding cruisers.
My local dealer had the best price that I found and they wanted $1200 to replace the inner axle seals and rebuild the knuckle assemblies (hubs not included). After helping another Cruiser bud with his, I'm really begining to think about it.
Everybody here will say it's pretty easy - and for the most part I won't disagree, but you need a decent shop, the right tools, and lots of patience. We did a "top notch" job on my friend's Cruiser - part washing, repainting all painted parts, etc and put almost 5 full days into the job. Without the detail level cleaning and painting we probably could have had it done in 2 full days. And we had the FSM, and are fairly compentent shade-tree mechanics.
Personally, it was easier to do the 5-speed swap and clutch replacement than rebuilding the knuckle assmeblies.
For what it's worth...
Everybody here will say it's pretty easy - and for the most part I won't disagree, but you need a decent shop, the right tools, and lots of patience. We did a "top notch" job on my friend's Cruiser - part washing, repainting all painted parts, etc and put almost 5 full days into the job. Without the detail level cleaning and painting we probably could have had it done in 2 full days. And we had the FSM, and are fairly compentent shade-tree mechanics.
Personally, it was easier to do the 5-speed swap and clutch replacement than rebuilding the knuckle assmeblies.
For what it's worth...
60wag
SILVER Star
A excellant local independant Toyota shop charges 500-600$ for a front axle service. If you want to learn more about you truck and have a decent manual, I rec' you do it yourself.
- Thread starter
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60wag said:
If I was more mechanicaly inclinded and had space I'd love to do it myself, but I don't have a shop, or tools, or any free friends, and I must resort to paying a good mechanic or another local user to do the work. I live in a 1bd apt in west hollywood and barely have enough for my space, let alone working on a big ole' fj62.
About needing a decent shop. I'm going to go ahead and disagree with that one.
I'm about as big of a bone-head as anyone, and I rebilt the entire front axle (every bearing, seal, and gasket) on my fzj80 in 3 evenings. Not only did it not take that much time, but I did it in my driveway, which is gravel, in the middle of the most humid part of the summer.
Seriously. It sucked.
But I learned a LOT and you will to.
I'm about as big of a bone-head as anyone, and I rebilt the entire front axle (every bearing, seal, and gasket) on my fzj80 in 3 evenings. Not only did it not take that much time, but I did it in my driveway, which is gravel, in the middle of the most humid part of the summer.
Seriously. It sucked.
But I learned a LOT and you will to.
Seriously, schmooooze up with someone on the forum to stop over...the first one, with their direction, will take 1.5 hours tops...the second one more like 45 minutes...a case of beer will go a long way...
I can do inner axle seals in 30 minutes if I take it easy, 20-25 if I rush....
I can do inner axle seals in 30 minutes if I take it easy, 20-25 if I rush....
Exiled
SILVER Star
I second Doc, I've done a complete axle rebuild in the parking lot of an apartment building, several times. Complete brake jobs, too, using basic tools, a hi-lift and the stock screw jack. Not the ideal working conditions, but at the time the idea of dropping $1,200 for something that I could do myself was out of the question. Now I may come up with the $1,200, but I'd rather spend my hard-earned money on modifications and improvements, it's easier to buy the parts and do my own labor.
If you don't mind a friendly suggestion, older Land Cruisers are *not* vehicles to depend on shops for to keep in good running condition. Most shops know little about them, and those that do are generally expensive. I understand going to a shop for something requiring specialized tools, but for something as basic as rebuilding the knuckles and wheel bearings, all you need is the FSM and basic tools. Learn as much as you can about your truck and you'll keep it in better shape over time.
As others have said, your absolute BEST resource and what makes owning a Land Cruiser such a rewarding experience are your fellow Cruiserheads and TLCA members. Make some friends in the local club, buy beer and pizza, and get some help. I've spent many a good afternoon wrenching on a buddy's truck, and the satisfaction of learning about your truck and what makes it tick is fantastic. Besides, if you learn how to do it in a parking lot, doing it in the middle of a trail will be a lot easier....
If you don't mind a friendly suggestion, older Land Cruisers are *not* vehicles to depend on shops for to keep in good running condition. Most shops know little about them, and those that do are generally expensive. I understand going to a shop for something requiring specialized tools, but for something as basic as rebuilding the knuckles and wheel bearings, all you need is the FSM and basic tools. Learn as much as you can about your truck and you'll keep it in better shape over time.
As others have said, your absolute BEST resource and what makes owning a Land Cruiser such a rewarding experience are your fellow Cruiserheads and TLCA members. Make some friends in the local club, buy beer and pizza, and get some help. I've spent many a good afternoon wrenching on a buddy's truck, and the satisfaction of learning about your truck and what makes it tick is fantastic. Besides, if you learn how to do it in a parking lot, doing it in the middle of a trail will be a lot easier....
Exiled said:
Yeah, like no sh*t.
I've learned this the *hard* way. On a positive note ... it's always been a lot of *fun* to work on my Cruiser.
Time, patience, & tools are what's needed. And your Cruiser buddies too !
Cheers,
Cahil
I have to second (or whatever) the notion about finding a good shop - it's not going to be easy. The PO took my truck to the local TLC "specialist" for most of the work he had done before I bought it. I've found so much crap that was wrong - all the emissions stuff was screwed up, left the carb fan sensor off - he also rebuilt the knuckles and one of them has already started to leak a little.
I think if I were to go through all of the PO's reciepts, I've had to go back through and replace or redo juat about everything that he had done at the TLC specialist...
I think if I were to go through all of the PO's reciepts, I've had to go back through and replace or redo juat about everything that he had done at the TLC specialist...
Sourcemine,
I'm facing the same job on my fj40. One of my seals is leaking real bad. Like you, I've never done it before and have no formal mechanical training. However, I'm going to take a cue from you governor and just do eet! Brake lines don't have to be removed unless they look bad, nor does the knuckle necessarily have to be rebuilt. My steering is real tight so I'm hoping to skip the knuckle dissassembly. Buy a gasket and seal kit, a hub socket and a couple of other tools and you're on the way. At least you have warm weather to work in. It's getting kinda cool up here in Alaska already. If you do take it to a shop, make sure they understand what needs to be done. I took in my old 4runner for this job many years ago and they replaced the knuckle seals only so the oil seals continued to leak.
I'm facing the same job on my fj40. One of my seals is leaking real bad. Like you, I've never done it before and have no formal mechanical training. However, I'm going to take a cue from you governor and just do eet! Brake lines don't have to be removed unless they look bad, nor does the knuckle necessarily have to be rebuilt. My steering is real tight so I'm hoping to skip the knuckle dissassembly. Buy a gasket and seal kit, a hub socket and a couple of other tools and you're on the way. At least you have warm weather to work in. It's getting kinda cool up here in Alaska already. If you do take it to a shop, make sure they understand what needs to be done. I took in my old 4runner for this job many years ago and they replaced the knuckle seals only so the oil seals continued to leak.
sourcemine said:
damn dawg, you live in Hollywood...lol. do it yourself. i just did mine, and the only cost to me, is when i grinded my right knuckle off, getting the rivets out the backer plate. this is an awesome job, and you actually get to see your birf...in tact. get your stuff from Kurt, over at www.cruiseroutfitters.com. he'll hook you up!
