Apologies in advance for the wall of text.
Just did my passenger side, will be a couple weeks and I'll do my drivers side. Took two days b/c it's my first, and I completely disassembled and rebuilt everything (and then disassembled and reassembled from the knuckle out b/c I missed a gasket). I helped an Expo forum member out a few months ago to get some experience (Manu and a couple other folks showed up for some sage advice), watched a bunch of YouTube videos, and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. I had to watch the youtube videos more than once b/c I don't always trust myself.
1. I don't know why Toyota did the front brakes the way they did, but just take the brake line apart at connection above the axle, and then fully remove the caliper and shield. It's going to suck, brake fluid is going to run everywhere, and there ain't crap you can do about it except maybe attach one of those cheap brake-line bleeder kits to it to collect the fluid. I tried various plugs to no avail (couldn't find an actual plug). I may try and bypass the stupid shield fitting and just install a stainless flex line on reassembly on my next go-round. Not sure how to make this better.
2. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE INNER BIRF C-CLIP. It was said up top, and I'll repeat it. I didn't and then had to wait a week for shipping from CruiserOutfitters. I'm not sure why the kits don't include this.
3. If you're rebuilding your locking hubs, make sure you get a rebuild kit for them, too, and that it comes with the seal. I rebuilt my locking hubs for my own education but hadn't planned to. Next go-round I'll do it again with the rebuild kit.
4. Use the pipe trick to separate the birf and a section of 1/2" plywood to beat it against. It works, and works well. The shorter axle may take quite a few tries since it doesn't have as much mass. I used steel pipe since, at the job I assisted with, we tried some abs and it just bounced w/o much affect on the birf.
5. Pick up a couple of small brass wire wheels to use in a drill motor assist in cleaning up the axle, the knuckle, the hub, and anything else with years of accumulated rust and crap.
6. Rags. Lots. Buy more than you think you need, then buy the rest in the store. I used newspapers and packing paper, and anything else I could find to get the grease off of things. This is a damned dirty job.
7. Make sure you have a bolt to be able to pull the axle outward for final assembly. Once you're all done, and you need to slap that last C-Clip in place, the axle will be too far in to reach the groove with the clip. Youll need (I think) an M10 to screw into the end of the axle and pull it out. It's the same bolt that fits in the brake drums to separate them.
8. Grease. I almost didn't have enough. I nearly went through two cans of Mobile 1 synthetic grease. Used way more than I thought I would.
Some Links I found helpful as a noob
Birfield assembly:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_xTOIGX2GE
How to get that damn inner c-clip in (I had to use a zip tie with the tail cut off b/c my hose clap would get bumped by the birf cage before the c-clip was anywhere near in)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfaR...ew-vl&list=PLlTeQKSRkNlZ237BjMYNP2xujXHYQZUbu
Knuckles:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlcVwWAAHw8
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3CI4mmEv6A
Manual Hub Rebuild
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxSBcAyt2WA