Hot drivers feet? This may be your fix. (2 Viewers)

[FJ431HDT]

The coupler is backed with a steering u-joint. With the coupler in the said position the u-joint makes the rolling possible.

The picture shows the proper position of the coupler and you can see how the u-joint makes the rolling to separate possible.
View attachment 513626

Hi,
Sorry for bringing up an old post, as I find it impossible to roll the coupling separate, the post just won't clear off the disc to be separated so I can move on to remove the spline bolt.

I read many times of @LandCruiserPhil initial post and tried as many times to roll off the coupling and failed to do so before I decided to bringing this up again.

To be clear, I removed the 2 12mm bolts and nuts and washers, 2 10mm bolts off the shaft's seal on firewall under dash, and the 2 nuts and washer off the 3/8" dia. Post, and position the post on noon and 6 o'clock position; now my question is, how do I separate the flexible rubber coupling from then u-joint side ?
The original instruction was to roll the coupling to separate them, no matter how I roll it, the 2 3/8" posts are in the way, did I missed something?

Thank you!

 

[FJ431HDT]

View attachment 2591822
Hi,
Sorry for bringing up an old post, as I find it impossible to roll the coupling separate, the post just won't clear off the disc to be separated so I can move on to remove the spline bolt.

I read many times of @LandCruiserPhil initial post and tried as many times to roll off the coupling and failed to do so before I decided to bringing this up again.

To be clear, I removed the 2 12mm bolts and nuts and washers, 2 10mm bolts off the shaft's seal on firewall under dash, and the 2 nuts and washer off the 3/8" dia. Post, and position the post on noon and 6 o'clock position; now my question is, how do I separate the flexible rubber coupling from then u-joint side ?
The original instruction was to roll the coupling to separate them, no matter how I roll it, the 2 3/8" posts are in the way, did I missed something?

Thank you!

PROBLEM SOLVED!

I've got it done, by removing the 4 12mm bolts on the firewall where the seal attach to and the steering box end shaft got more space for movement to slide off the steering wheel end.

 

[clx16]

Finally got around to do this today. Took about 20 mins like everyone said. Since it was easier than expected i went a head and finally installed my rear cupholders too. Since that was fast, i figured it was time to change the vacuum line on the brake booster and well that takes a whole minute. Figured it was time for step six and call it a night. Hard night of wrenching complete.

 

[lumbee1]

I just replaced my steering shaft seal however before removed the coupler I noticed that the shaft is pushing hard against the bottom of the firewall plate hole that the seal covers. I removed the plate off the firewall, elongated the holes to slide the plate down 4mm or so, and clearanced the hole slightly for the shaft. I reinstalled the plate, lubricated the shaft and seal, and slid the seal over the shaft.

When I reconnected the coupler, I am seeing a lot of play in the joint. The shaft sags when connected up the coupler causing the shaft to ride on the bottom of the firewall plate again. I removed the coupler and examined it but could not find any tears or unusual wear.

I do have a 1" body lift and I have a spacer between the u-joint plate and the rubber of the coupler.

Plate has been moved down, seal is in the lowest position, coupler reinstalled. I can push on the shaft and raise it almost a 1/2".

 

[Yossarian]

Just knocked this to do item out. I've had the part for at least 10 years, going back to when Cdan was still slinging parts. job.

Thanks for the writeup @LandCruiserPhil

 

[SaturnAscends]

I haven't read the whole thread so sorry if I missed this, but where's the best source for this part nowadays? Would any local dealer stock it? Thanks

 

[BILT4ME]

I haven't read the whole thread so sorry if I missed this, but where's the best source for this part nowadays? Would any local dealer stock it? Thanks

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[SaturnAscends]

Shop OEM Toyota Parts Online | Ourisman Toyota Parts

Find Genuine OEM Toyota Parts and Accessories When You Shop Online. This Toyota Parts Catalog Includes Discounted Quality Parts You Can Trust To Perfectly Fit Your Vehicle!

toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com

Yea I was gonna try them, ideally I’d have it tomorrow though. Might swing by the dealer in case they stock it.

 

[BILT4ME]

Deleted to not pollute

 

[SaturnAscends]

Rock Auto has an Aisin pump for $61. Is it worth the wait?

View attachment 3001289

I ordered an aisim pump from Amazon, been keeping it as a spare

 

[bhsdriller]

Neither of my local dealers had it and their price was twice from what I get online.
So I ordered it

Wits End has it also

 

[DannyG]

No more hot feet thanks Witts end!

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

And another one down. I replaced it and the steering coupler last night. I haven’t really driven my cruiser in the past couple years, but a year ago Memorial Day weekend on a trip, it was brutally hot in the cab pulling heat from the engine bay in with the windows down. One drive a couple weekends ago and I knew I had to throw another one in place. So conservatively with regular driving I’m probably getting 2 years out of a seal in my 1992 which seems a bit pathetic.

 

[alia176]

Wowza, that's a quick death from my perspective.

 

[BILT4ME]

And another one down. I replaced it and the steering coupler last night. I haven’t really driven my cruiser in the past couple years, but a year ago Memorial Day weekend on a trip, it was brutally hot in the cab pulling heat from the engine bay in with the windows down. One drive a couple weekends ago and I knew I had to throw another one in place. So conservatively with regular driving I’m probably getting 2 years out of a seal in my 1992 which seems a bit pathetic.

View attachment 3345655

Did you smear white lithium grease ion the inside of the seal and on the shaft in the contact area to provide lubrication for it? White Lithium grease doesn't attack rubber and it has a higher drop point, so it doesn't tend to melt and run down the shaft.

Try that on the next one.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Did you smear white lithium grease ion the inside of the seal and on the shaft in the contact area to provide lubrication for it? White Lithium grease doesn't attack rubber and it has a higher drop point, so it doesn't tend to melt and run down the shaft.

Try that on the next one.

Yup done that every one of them I’ve put on.

 

[Kernal]

Been discussed way back earlier in the thread, but IMO the OEM seal is too wimpy, rubber too thin, add that to the wobble of the shaft and it doesn't last very long. We need someone to design/build a thicker heavy duty seal out of a material that can stand up better to the stresses. FWIW

 

[bryson]

Every 80 I've ever replaced this seal in has at least some misalignment of the shaft relative to the seal, and this misalignment is a BIG part of why these seals get torn up. Body mounts settle, body lifts get added, frames get plated to reinforce the steering box/track bar mount area (moves the steering box relative to the steering column) all of which affect steering shaft to seal alignment.

My current 80 has fresh new body mounts, 1/2" of body lift, and 1/4" of reinforcement between the steering box and frame. Unsurprisingly, the shaft was nowhere near centered in the seal.

This mod allowed me to center the shaft in the seal and give the OEM seal the best chance of doing it's job.

OEM parts for the project:

Not so OEM parts I used - 1/8" aluminum with the perimeter bolt pattern of the factory seal plate in the firewall. Thanks to my local Send-Carl-Send @I Lean !

Factory seal plate with the perimeter lip cut off, and some trimming that will make sense shortly...

All the parts (old firewall gasket pictured as well - still intact but very compressed vs the new one.)

The idea is to sandwich the trimmed OEM plate between the aluminum plates, allowing me to slide the plate wherever it needs to sit to align the seal.

FIPG applied to both new plate>old plate contact surfaces once alignment had been determined...

Continued in next post... max 10 attachments per post.

 

[bryson]

Finished plate assembly bolted in with the new OEM firewall gasket prior to the seal being bolted in. If you look closely, you can see how well the seal is centered over the mounting bolt holes. Don't mind the FIPG mess - If you've replaced this seal before, you know how fiddly it is to work with the steering shaft and joints under the dash.

And done! Just replace the carpet insulation and go drive it! Hopefully it's a LONG time before the seal needs to be replaced again.

Overall I'm very pleased with how the project turned out. It took me a while to sort out, but I toyed with several different ideas. This one proved to be the most simple, and used all OEM parts (even the OEM bolts still worked) except for the 2 alum. plates. As a bonus, future seal replacement is exactly the same steps as if was 100% stock.

The one caveat is that I did have to trim ~1/8" of the factory firewall (the firewall itself, not the removable plate) in the lower corner of the opening for the old plate to have clearance in the new location. But, it was literally 30 seconds of work with a rotary cutter, and then a quick dab of paint.

 

[Retro LC]

Yup done that every one of them I’ve put on.

View attachment 3346530

Edit: Just completed the install of the new dust cover and yeah agreed @SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr I could see how the close proximity of the exhaust manifold scorching heat to where the dust cover enters into the engine bay on the 3FE FJ80 might cook it and lead to it’s early demise.

Isn't white lithium grease a no-no for rubber? Did the white lithium grease perhaps contribute to the early demise of the rubber dust seal? Think I'm going to use Shin Etsu, which is silicon based, to lube the rubber but to my surprise seems like a few have gone the white lithium grease route. Can anyone make the case and talk me out of using Shin Etsu in favor of white lithium grease for this application? I saw a YouTube video where someone applied lithium EP moly grease to lube the rubber on their dust cover, but I used Shin Etsu silicone based grease (should I have used Sil Glyde or dielectric grease instead or are these more or less a similar silicone based lube?)

I will say this dust cover replacement on my 2nd gen 4Runner made a HUGE difference to quiet the cab down a lot. I was blown away how much so actually. And blocking the heat from the engine on a cast iron 3FE when it's hot makes it a no brainer.

In any event I just ordered the @Outsane Steering Shaft Seal which I'll install over the new dust cover. So OEM replacement + the lazy man replacement should do the trick. Big thanks to Land Cruiser Phil and everyone else on Mud for the great information in this thread! Took me longer than expected and definitely more time than the 20-30 minutes it took some of you, but a lot of that additional time was waiting for the Liquid Wrench to soak in and do it’s thing to loosen the stubborn 3 bolts on the coupling.