I think its time...

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franken60

franken60

10 Year
Joined
Sep 20, 2014
Threads
108
Messages
1,242
Location
Victoria BC
well I think its time to redo my knuckles, the infamous tire streaks are pretty prominent. I know pretty well everyone has done this job and i was looking for opinions on what brand to get, and who from. It's my daily driver, used on-road almost all the time. so a kit directed towards that is what I'd be looking for.

Its quite possible i may need new birfs as well. I have this clicking sound that only occurs when I engage 4wd. from what i've read it could be a grooved birf? also heard swapping them to the opposite sides could somewhat solve the problem. I've never had to deal with them before so this is a learning game.

I was told they are japanese axles, so not sure if that would make a difference or not.

I know all about the box of blue towels, box of gloves, bucket of grease, and a half sack....everything else is a mystery haha
any input if much appreciated!
 
Better up it from a half sack to a flat....:bang:

A parts washer is nice to have as well.


I got my kit from cruiser outfitters in utah. I actually bought two cuz they were on sale...didn't come with wheel bearings, but they're usually fine anyways.

haven't done it yet. It's vile down there.

birfs clicking...may want to round up some spares before you get into it. With your tire size, I'd think about the upgraded ones that are out there...

John at Radd sells the kits too.
 
If they are old and clicking, wait until you take them out to see. usually gear oil gets in there, the grease is now mud and not being grease any more. You can get new bearings aftermarket for less than $100 for all 4. Don't go in there without replacing them.
Before you take it apart, really clean the top and bottom trunion bearing nuts with a wire brush. It will make removing nuts easier and reduce damage to threads.
When you pull the trunions, there are shims in there. They will likely be in good shape. As soon as they are out tie wrap the shims and don't mix them up. They need to go back in the same place.
I used Curts kit from Cruiser Outfitters, they are good kits.
Brake clean, lots of brake clean !
 
Just finishing tearing apart my front axle on my 42, For seals and bearings i used marlin crawler stuff, never heard anything bad about marlin crawler before and the kit was fairly cheap. When everything is apart its also a good time to check your locking hubs and re grease them. Heres a video of how to tear down the axle and the front axle service kit i used https://www.marlincrawler.com/axle/...ts/service-front-hilux/front-axle-service-kit
 
marlin crawler kits looks good! comes with wheel bearings which is nice. may not need them but good to replace anyways if I'm there for sure.

now is there a chance that on of my birfields may be broken in any way? I dont have any trouble steering, it simply clicks in 4wd.
 
franken60 said:
marlin crawler kits looks good! comes with wheel bearings which is nice. may not need them but good to replace anyways if I'm there for sure.

now is there a chance that on of my birfields may be broken in any way? I dont have any trouble steering, it simply clicks in 4wd.
Click to expand...
Does it only click when you turn?
 
cruiserpilot said:
You thinking he might have an Aussie locker in there?
Click to expand...
Thats one of the things i was thinking, other thing i was thinking is when CV joints need to be replaced they make Popping or clicking noises when turning. and a birf is technically just a a big CV joint
 
Marlin seals are a good idea and i bet their kit is high quality. Anything John at Radd carries will be high quality as well. Same story with Cruiser Outfitters. (not all aftermarket parts are created equal)
Use good stuff because your tires have doubled in size over what the stuff was designed for. :hillbilly:

Look into "Dirty 30"s" or "Longfields".... they are chromoly Birfields that are tougher in short.... read about them though. Westshore Spring in Colwood can get them or North Shore Off Road on the mainland.

Look at the videos, DIY threads and having a service manual helps as well.

Get a big socket for the wheel bearing nuts (54mm??) Kms has them.
If you want to get technical about trunion preload and wheel bearings get little spring scale.

Have at it, take your time, be methodical and drink beer.

Cam
 
What he said ^. I have the big socket if you need to borrow it. Make sure to keep track of where the upper/lower knuckle shims come from, as you'll need to put them back in the same locations (centres axle properly in knuckle). Buy lots of grease; RADD recommends the moly slip stuff. I think I used 4 tubs.

Front axle job on a cruiser is an initiation rite. Should be part of becoming a member of the club, haha.
 
I had a good kit from trail-gear.ca, worked out good. Had some really nice inner axle seal with it too. I don't see the kit listed on there website right now but it may be worth calling them. Just another option ;P

-Brian
 
Red9 said:
I had a good kit from trail-gear.ca, worked out good. Had some really nice inner axle seal with it too. I don't see the kit listed on there website right now but it may be worth calling them. Just another option ;P

-Brian
Click to expand...
Trail gear is easy cause west shore spring sells it, ends up being about the same price as online+shipping. I rebuilt 2 truck axles with that kit and had no complaints. Was something like $138 for the kit which included wheel bearings. That's on a pickup axle through. Wouldn't think it would be too differnt
 
Ok just checked that click, I don't know what I was thinking of, buts definitely a clunk and I think we narrowed it down to my universal doubler out of the transfer case. Which is awesome, if it is what it is.

I'll give west shore leaf and spring and get some info on a kit, but I've always wanted to get some marlin crawler parts
 
Trail gear is the worst kit ever put together, will work pretty good with small tires for a short time, but bigger tires will show failure in the upper and lower knuckle bearings quickly..
 
lineman_fj40 said:
Trail gear is the worst kit ever put together, will work pretty good with small tires for a short time, but bigger tires will show failure in the upper and lower knuckle bearings quickly..
Click to expand...
That's good to know, like I said I used it twice in pickups with no problems but was only running 31-33's.
Actually come to think of it I had one of those bearings come apart in 2 pieces when I went to instal my hysteer. Had to replace with an skf bearing.
 
You need to get a set of pliers for the spring clip on the toe of the birfield. Someone there can show you a set, get them cheap
at princess auto I would expect. I used a screwdriver on my first axle build. I spent more time taking the clip out than building
the axle....
 
circle clip pliers or something specialty that doesnt really exist? :p
 
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