Good Times - 1992 HZJ73 (5 Viewers)

[LDRF]

Some parts came in the mail today

Pinion and transfer case nuts and seals. Front brake line clips and clamps. Front and rear axle gaskets. Thermostat, gasket and rad cap. Bolts for the front rotors. And, finally, for the front and rear diffs, 10mm hex fill (90341-18021) and drain (90341-18035) plugs.

 

[LDRF]

Continuing on…

Got the hubs apart

and spindles off

and drive shafts/birfields/CVs out

 

[LDRF]

The front calipers are off.

There was a tonne of dirt caked inside that came out when I removed the pads. The inside pads were wafer thin, so it’s certainly time for replacement.

Although the calipers looked to be in ok shape, I decided the prudent course was to replace them, rather then popping on new pads and hoping for the best. So I went to my local Fat Guys auto parts store and picked the pair up less than $130 CAD. For that price, you can’t go wrong. Plus no worries about sticking pistons or leaking seals or boots.

I cross referenced with ‘95 v6 4Runner. Nugeon 97-01560A and 97-01560B.

I’ll load them up and get them ready for reassembly next year

 

[LDRF]

I was not looking forward to the knuckle disassembly. Lots of caked on sandy, greasy dirt. Plus full of grease and goo. Combined with the Manitoba cold, and my unheated garage, it makes it pretty awful.

I have a 80,000 btu diesel heater that warms the work area to above freezing (just). I’m hoping to be able to continue working this winter. So far it’s been pretty mild, so we’ll see how it goes. Fired up:

This is the clean side

Pry bar scraper got lots off

and a wire brush got most of the rest

 

[LDRF]

All apart and ready for cleaning!!!

I cleaned up the axle housing a bit.

The knuckle bearing races and the seals still need to come out, but that was pretty quick work.

The next big task is to separate the hub from the rotor. I pulled the seals and hammered out the bearing races and figured I had enough. I’ll tackle that in the new year. After that I can finally dig into this box of fun

Terrain Tamer SH4 Swivel Housing Kit plus inner and outer wheel bearings.

I hope you all have a Happy New Year!!!

 

[LDRF]

From the dirty pile above, we now have a clean pile!

I didn’t spend too much time inspecting the bearings as they were covered in near freezing grease and I’m replacing them all anyway. My assessment was the wheel bearings were fine, the knuckle bearings were knackered. The wheel bearings races were nice and smooth, the knuckle bearing races, not quite so. You can see the difference between the two sets:

Wheel bearing races

The knuckle races:

Some video proof:


There were two detents in the passenger side The drivers side was nice and smooth.

 

[LDRF]

The final step for disassembly … hubs and rotors. Every step of this build is new for me and I steel myself for the worst and hope for the best. I thought I might need a hydraulic press if pounding didn’t work … not good, as my work bench consists of two saw horses and a partial sheet of OSB! No presses here!

Weapons of choice and the unsuspecting victim.

This went waaaaay better then expected. Just a few whacks and I could feel the studs moving, and a few more and they were out. I probably spent 15 minutes hammering them all out.

Success!

Time for cleaning.

I’ll need to figure out the hubs. I think I can use the spacers and bolt on Aisin hubs to replace the AVM hubs I have. My off-road use will be limited … nothing remotely close to hard stuff, so I’m sure the AVMs will do. But, the Aisins look fak-ing-AWESOME!!!

It’s starting to get COLD AS BALLS here … -20s (that’s Celsius, not F, so do the math my American friends, it’s cold), so work in an unheated garage is not appealing, so profess is slowing down.

Once I get the hubs cleaned up I’ll start to formulate a reassembly plan and get to it!

 

[Rigster]

The final step for disassembly … hubs and rotors. Every step of this build is new for me and I steel myself for the worst and hope for the best. I thought I might need a hydraulic press if pounding didn’t work … not good, as my work bench consists of two saw horses and a partial sheet of OSB! No presses here!

Weapons of choice and the unsuspecting victim.
View attachment 3529354

This went waaaaay better then expected. Just a few whacks and I could feel the studs moving, and a few more and they were out. I probably spent 15 minutes hammering them all out.

Success!
View attachment 3529355

Time for cleaning.

I’ll need to figure out the hubs. I think I can use the spacers and bolt on Aisin hubs to replace the AVM hubs I have. My off-road use will be limited … nothing remotely close to hard stuff, so I’m sure the AVMs will do. But, the Aisins look fak-ing-AWESOME!!!

It’s starting to get COLD AS BALLS here … -20s (that’s Celsius, not F, so do the math my American friends, it’s cold), so work in an unheated garage is not appealing, so profess is slowing down.

Once I get the hubs cleaned up I’ll start to formulate a reassembly plan and get to it!

Looks like you are making good progress! I hear you on the cold... not fun to work on metal things when you cannot feel your fingers.

If you really want the AISIN hubs, they are available outside TOYOTA, and for much cheaper. I think you can even get them on AMAZON. Just double check the part numbers and fitment to make sure you are getting the exact ones for your cruiser.

 

[Broski]

Looks like you are making good progress! I hear you on the cold... not fun to work on metal things when you cannot feel your fingers.

If you really want the AISIN hubs, they are available outside TOYOTA, and for much cheaper. I think you can even get them on AMAZON. Just double check the part numbers and fitment to make sure you are getting the exact ones for your cruiser.

And watch out for counterfeits!!!

 

[Felde]

Great job. Brave job to do it in the cold.
I recommend you to get a brass drift. You can also use that to work on races and stuff you need to preserve, as well as on the studs to loosen those notorious cone washers (BTW, that story is missing in your writeup. No issues on those? Lucky you).
To drive in new bearing races: Slit the old one and use it as a driver. The slit allows for play to get it out again easy. A plastic-surface hammer and in the races go.
Cheers Ralf.

 

[LDRF]

Brave job to do it in the cold.

LOL … brave is one word. My heater is pretty good when it’s blowing towards you. It keeps you warm heats things up, but yeah, tools are cold and parts are cold. When you are out of the heaters blast, it’s cold. I’m going to work on tarping a “roof” over the truck to help contain the heat, but heating up a -20 metal brick of my 73 isn’t going to happen!

loosen those notorious cone washers (BTW, that story is missing in your writeup. No issues on those? Lucky you).

I did some whacking on the top and sides of the arms with my 1lb brass hammer and they came out pretty easy for the most part. I had one or two that needed a few whacks the the 3lb sledge. Plus, I did a LOT of pre-soaking with loose-nut to prep the job. I had to use my needle nose pliers to prod them out once loose, but all and all it was pretty quick.

To drive in new bearing races: Slit the old one and use it as a driver.

That’s the plan! An angle grinder and some cutoff wheels are on my shopping list

 

[LDRF]

Speaking of the cold. I probably won’t be doing any work this weekend:

 

[Rigster]

 

[bj70bc]

yup..... us too

 

[janyyc]

Looks like you are making good progress! I hear you on the cold... not fun to work on metal things when you cannot feel your fingers.

If you really want the AISIN hubs, they are available outside TOYOTA, and for much cheaper. I think you can even get them on AMAZON. Just double check the part numbers and fitment to make sure you are getting the exact ones for your cruiser.

FYI many of those are complete fakes (actually fakes as opposed to aftermarket) as @John Young and @cruisermatt will attest to. Wouldn’t recommend buying from any unknown source.

 

[jblueridge]

I got mine from Rock Auto.
real aisin

 

[sark]

FYI many of those are complete fakes (actually fakes as opposed to aftermarket) as @John Young and @cruisermatt will attest to. Wouldn’t recommend buying from any unknown source.

Yeah. If the seller on Amazon isn't recognizable, there's a big chance it's a copy from overseas. Another reason to just buy the real thing and get the job done instead of pinching pennies. Too many stories on here of people taking chances tryin to save <100$ and end up doing the job multiple times.

 

[Rigster]

FYI many of those are complete fakes (actually fakes as opposed to aftermarket) as @John Young and @cruisermatt will attest to. Wouldn’t recommend buying from any unknown source.

Yep, for sure. Do your homework. Or, as @jblueridge stated he got his aisin ones from rockauto. Deal with someone you can do returns with easily as well

 

[jblueridge]

Rock Auto had the hubs for my 1988 BJ74 listed for the FJ6*. 1980-87.

 

[sark]

Rock Auto had the hubs for my 1988 BJ74 listed for the FJ6*. 1980-87.

I mean they're basically the same thing, right