Axle Swap questions

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Axle service parts came in today. Knuckle seals, inner axle seals, wheel bearing seals, and plug washers.
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I discovered today that the front e-locker wiring harness has some type of heat shield appearing material on it. I’d like to repair it. Any recommendations on what it is and how to get it?
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Wondering if this is the same material used on the egg harness?
 
I used sticky heat shield foil tape from Autozone when I rebuilt my engine. Did the injector harness. Been running for a year now. Works great. Does not peel off.
 
Began knuckle service/seal replacement. Lots of good info on mud for this:

Front Axle Rebuild - For FAQ

I'm curious why Toyota recommends Lithium grease for the trunnion bearings and Moly for the Birfield as they are exposed to one another. Wont they just mix over time?
 
Picked up some star washers for the front axle rebuild.
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Wondering how strong the front differential is for 35” tires if I decide to go that big.
 
I'm curious why Toyota recommends Lithium grease for the trunnion bearings and Moly for the Birfield as they are exposed to one another. Wont they just mix over time?

I use moly on everything. It's overkill, messy, but I don't want to deal with several different grease types. The moly has the highest specs and is rated for all the applications, so it's all I use.

Wondering how strong the front differential is for 35” tires if I decide to go that big.

35" tires aren't considered 'big' on an 80 anymore. Nearly everyone I know runs 37's with zero issues.
 
I discovered today that the front e-locker wiring harness has some type of heat shield appearing material on it. I’d like to repair it. Any recommendations on what it is and how to get it?View attachment 1614680

look at summit racing, lots of options for sleeving of heat shield looming
 
New e-locker switch as original is damaged. Thanks to a Tools R Us post.
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Also ordered the connector too. I’m having trouble removing the plug connector next to this one on the actuator. Any tips on how to get it off without breaking it?
 
I ended up pulling the front elocker tonight. I had to jump the actuator to lock it in order to get it out. This also allowed me to get the actuator off too and I finally freed the stuck connector. The tab you push down wasn’t pushing the lock tab down far enough to release so I was able to push it down with a small screwdriver and it finally came off. Now I can get this part of the electrical repaired correctly.
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Should I service or do anything with the actuator while I have it all apart?

Inner axle seals had definitely failed. Diff is coated with soup. I plan on checking and tightening the carrier bearing preload while I have it all apart.
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Checked backlash. 9.5 thou. Will adjust to get it in spec of 5-7 thousandths.
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6 thousandths. Required tightening the adjuster one turn towards the pinion. Retorque bearing caps to 58 ft/lbs. Don’t forget to tighten lock tabs too.
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Replaced broken differential lock indicator switch and torqued to 30 ft/lbs with 27mm socket.
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Clean gasket surfaces with brake clean and scraper. New paper gasket has an orientation.
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Clean gasket surfaces with brake clean and scraper. New paper gasket has an orientation.

Bit of advice, bin that gasket, install with Permatex Gray or equivalent, much more reliable.
 
Installed diff. 20 ft/lbs torque in cross pattern. The 2 long elocker studs sure help putting it on straight without hitting the gasket. By the way, the carrier bearing lock tabs torque to 9 ft/lbs.

I’m waiting for a new actuator o-ring. It should be here Monday.
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As I’m writing this after install I see tools suggestion. I’ve done it both ways before. Never had a problem either way. I guess I was feeling like doing it the way Mr. T did. A friend welded diff drain plug protection on his and now his paper gasket is dripping.
 
Seal puller to pull inner axle seal. Now the fun part begins. Cleaning the grungy knuckles and old grease out of the birfields.
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