Finished my axle last night so I figured I'd share my experience and a couple pics.
1. 2 sets of hands make this job a lot easier even if that extra set has never touched a Land Cruiser before.
2. Get a 100 count box of nitrile gloves (yes a 100 count, you'll see).
3. 1 1/2 ton jacks won't cut it. Your stock bottle jack will do fine on anything OME heavies and lower.
4. If this is your first time double down on the brake cleaner.
5. Inspect your bearings and races before you pound them out. If they look good don't take out the races. If you do replace the races (or pound them out anyway like I did
) this is how I got them back in. Put the hubs in the oven at 275F for 20 minutes. Put races in the freezer (in ziplock) for that time as well. Then use your brass hammer and BFH (as in the picture below) to get the races seated. I wasted at least an hour trying to pound in the races with my 3/8 inch brass drift before using this method and seating them in 5 minutes. The brass drift just doesn't give you enough surface area. Also, if you are using a drift and rounding off the ends a nice concrete sidewalk doubles fine as a file to flatten it back out.
6. Use a grease gun with flexible hose to fill in the knukle housing. Your extra set of hands from item 1 can pump the gun while you carefully guide the grease where you want it.
7. Don't forget the thrust washer from the PS hub
.
8. The FSM says 26 ft/lbs for the drive plate bolts but IdahoDoug says it's in inch/lbs. I never found any number associated with this claim on this here forum but I did find people saying the broke these bolts by using the FSM spec of 26 ft/lbs. I used a 1/4 inch drive ratchet and just got them good and tight to seat the cone washers.
9. The filler and drain plug for the front diff is 24mm. Get a 6 point socket. Resist the temptation of using a 12 pointer. A 6 point 24mm impact socket from Craftsman fits inside the ring.
10. If you're replacing your rotors and pads (100 series), keep the old pads to use with a large C clamp to compress the caliper pistons. Compress them very slowly, one side at a time. If you compress them fast the opposite side will come out slightly and you won't be able to get the new 100 series pads in.
11. Get a set of small wire brushes to clean the grime off EVERYTHING.
12. 400 then 600 grit sand paper will take care of the rust that might build up on the back side of the knukle (see pic below).
13. Print every post from this thread on page one (42 pages printed...do it at work). Have the FSM handy too.
14. An impact is very handy. I can recommend the Snap On CT4410. Tell your wife it's better than paying a dealer $2,000 to do the service.
15. Having access to a garage helps spread this project out over a weekend.
That's all I can think of right now. Thanks everyone who contributed to this thread and provided pictures and tips. Couldn't have donethis without you guys.
-Patrick
