Brake job and possible axle rebuild debate

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CactusCruiser

CactusCruiser

10 Year 15 Year
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Mar 30, 2006
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Location
Arizona
Guys,

I need some input on the birfield rebuild debate. I'm going to do a brake job this weekend and need to pull all the rotors off and have them turned (front)/replaced(rear) and new pads all around; 100's in front - THANKS CDAN!

My newly acquired FJZ80 is a '97 w/ 162k miles. To my knowledge the birfs have never been rebuilt. There does not seem to be an excessive amount of grease on the birf ball joint. I'll try to get pics out tonite. No clicking when turning either. The truck is a weekend vehicle for us so it won't be seeing a lot of mileage.

With my mileage am I due or overdue for a rebuild?? The PO did zero offroading - he didn't even know what a transfer case was. I know I'll have torn a big part of the axles apart just to get at the rotors, the main thing keeping me from doing the birf rebuild is the extra $$$ for the parts. Is it beneficial to at least drain the diff fluid and replenish??

I'm really on the fence with this and appreciate input from all of you veterans.
 
I would do it. With the Rotors, you are almost half way done with the job.
 
160K+ miles? Not even a debate. At just over 80K miles I'm debating whether it can wait 6 months for the weather to cool down a little. You're crazy if you don't get that done ASAP.

-Spike
 
I agree with the previous replies. You need to get in there and service those birfs and knuckle bearings and replace your axle seals.
 
uugh.... you guys all make perfect sense. I do like to be proactive whenever possible. Guess I was hoping someone would chime in with a "I've never rebuilt my birfs and never had problems and I've got 200k +...." but no such luck.

Looks like I'll be callind CDan again....
 
Good decision. I promise you, the knuckle bearings are shot. They are small, and support the weight of the entire front end. By the time you have the hubs off to get at the rotors, you are just 16 10mm bolts away from the Birfield. It is almost no extra work to get in and then only a bit more to replace the races, bearings and oil seal. Go to Costco and buy one of the big bags of red shop rags. You'll thank me later.

It's also easy to order this stuff from Dan-no need to look up messy part numbers:

You: "Hey Dan, send me EVERYTHING for the Birf job-even the upgraded knuckle studs."

Dan: "It's on the way, do you want new wheel bearings too"?

You: "I said everything"
 
CactusCruiser said:
With my mileage am I due or overdue for a rebuild??
Click to expand...

If rebuild=service, then yes.

Replace the knuckle grease (use moly), all seals, knuckle/trunion bearings, and at a minimum inspect the wheel bearings.

Not leaking does NOT mean that it doesn't need service and at that mileage it would be past due for the 2nd service, not the first.

Here is a picture of the damage caused by neglected front end service. Dan's estimate was $1,500- $2,000 in new parts (Plus Labor!) that would have been avoided by $10 of grease and some seals.

144526983.jpg


This wasn't leaking either. :D

-B-
 
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That its not leaking means its probalby dry in there.
My only other suggestion is to use th ble shop towels on a roll rather thant he red cloth towells.
Dave
 
PHAEDRUS said:
That its not leaking means its probalby dry in there.
My only other suggestion is to use th ble shop towels on a roll rather thant he red cloth towells.
Dave
Click to expand...


Yup,

You won't believe how many towels it takes, get plenty. Leave yourself an entire weekend to do the job also. I did a complete axle service in less time than that... but I have air tools, parts washer, etc., and was fairly familiar with what would be involved beforehand.

I think its good advice to tend to it now.

If you get "stuck" on any part of it just let us know.
 
Beno, my son and I did the job plus front brakes in 15 hrs. We did it at 186K never been done before. Birfs still need to be replaced.
 
OK, you all have definitely convinced me to go for it. I'm going to get the parts from CDan and the DVD that elMariachi is offering as a guide. Probably need to wait a few weeks to tear into it due to parts and upcoming Holiday weekend.

I can not tell you how priceless this forum has been. Thank you all for your extremely helpful input.

I'll hollar at you all when I F- this up. Thank you all!
 
Like Flintknapper said, if you get stuck, just post up. Someone will be here to help you out.
 
CactusCruiser said:
OK, you all have definitely convinced me to go for it. I'm going to get the parts from CDan and the DVD that elMariachi is offering as a guide. Probably need to wait a few weeks to tear into it due to parts and upcoming Holiday weekend.

I can not tell you how priceless this forum has been. Thank you all for your extremely helpful input.

I'll hollar at you all when I F- this up. Thank you all!
Click to expand...

Cactus, with the FSM, this Forum, and the DVD, you will have no worries whatsoever; the whole thing is surprisingly simple thanks to the efforts of the mods and the members here and the FSM (although be advised the diagram for the birf assembly itself is wrong in the FSM!).

I had not worked with a solid axle toyota with birfs for over five years, and the time before that was prolly also five years and neither of those were real rebuilds. I found the full process "comfortably challenging" which means as long as you pay attention all will workout well. Actually I had rebuilt the manually locking hubs on my 1st Gen 4Runner several times and seriously I found that much more complex than the front axle service on the 80 because of all the silly little springs and cogs and crap! But the point is by refering to the things throughout here and especially in the excellent FAQ you will have no worries.

One thing I would really recommend is to break apart both birfs; I soaked mine for a full day in a parts washer...the birfs looked spotless everywhere I could see but to honor the OCD I humbly have, i decided to break the birfs open ... in the center below the balls and cage was a nice semi-dry, semi-dirty coating of contaminated grease that even the parts washer left behind! I'm glad I got that outta there plus it made for a much more thorough grease packing of the birf itself; I evenly coated the entire concave cavity of the birf, then I evenly coated each and every edge of the cage and ring and then as I inserted each and every ball the entire cavity that the ball sits in was greased, and lastly I completely filled the assembly with grease while the axle shaft was out, then I would push the axle shaft without snap ring into the assembly forcing grease out, and then I would fill that cavity again with grease. After doing that two to three times I firmly fitted the axle shaft in place with the snap ring. After all that I knew the birfs were completely clean and completely packed. HTH. :cheers:
 
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