knuckel bearings

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the truck doctor

the truck doctor

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O.K. now that I have my axle torn down and ready to rebuild. I was wondering about the bearing preload, (Theorectically) big words here! I should be fine if I use the same shims that I removed, Right? I'm puting alot of time and $ in this rig so I want it to be right.:confused:
 
In theory, yes.

Remember to verify knuckle bearing pre-load without the rear wipers/felts installed, as they will create a false reading on the scale.


Stock pre-load (from the FSM) is between four and six pounds on a spring scale pulled at a ninety-degree angle to the steering arm.

I set them up tighter, around 10 pounds.


:beer:
 
yeah, re use the shims. order does not matter, but keep left and right separate.
Using marlins high steer arms, he said to torque the nuts to 80 pounds. I dont recall the factory spec.
 
Don't re-use the same shims but use the same thickness that you took off each one.
 
toyminator said:
Don't re-use the same shims but use the same thickness that you took off each one.
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Not to start a long debate, but why not? I reused the OEM shims and I think most do the same. They aren't a part that ever sees any wear so if there's no visible corrosion then they should be fine.

You should make sure that you use the same shims (or new ones of the exact thickness) exactly where they came from (e.g. left top, left bottom, right top and right bottom). If you swap the top and bottom on a side then your preload will be correct but your knuckle might not be correctly centered. The FSM has an elaborate procedure which takes a couple of the Toyota SST's to check (or set) the knuckle alignment but you don't need to do this if you use the same shims in their original spots (assuming it was correct before you took it apart).

FWIW, I just rebuilt front and rear axles as part of an elocker install. I've owned this 4Runner since it had 6000 miles on it and the knuckles had never been rebuilt. It has about 150k miles so I was expecting the worst when we tore them down. It actually wasn't that bad. The grease didn't look great and was a bit soupy but not anything like I was expecting. There was only 1 shim top and bottom on each side. I don't know if they try to set them up this way from the factory by choosing just the correct thickness or if it was just coincidence but I put them all back in their respective positions and my preload came out around 10 lbs on each side.
 
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Well, thats exactly my case! this axle had never been tore apart and had only one shim top & bottom each side. I did for some unknown reason decide to mark their positions. Do sas kits come with new knuckel bearings and races?
 
the truck doctor said:
Do sas kits come with new knuckel bearings and races?
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I don't know. Mine is an 85! :D

I used Marlin's rebuild kit with wheel bearings and also used his improved axle seals. The kit comes with trunion bearings.
 
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WarDamnEagle said:
You should make sure that you use the same shims (or new ones of the exact thickness) exactly where they came from (e.g. left top, left bottom, right top and right bottom).
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Definitely. For exactly the reasons he states.

the truck doctor said:
Well I'm using the trail gear kit, anyone using or have any issues with this kit? just so I may have a heads up.
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I saw one of these kits once, although it was awhile ago. I was not impressed. The gaskets felt like they were cut out of old cereal boxes and the felts were not that great. Chinese no-name bearings. Maybe they've changed their supplier since then. But it's not a place to try to save money, IMO.
 
WarDamnEagle said:
I don't know. Mine is an 85! :D

I used Marlin's rebuild kit with wheel bearings and also used his improved axle seals. The kit comes with trunion bearings.
Click to expand...

dirtoyboy said:
some do some dont...just be forewarned about the chinese exploding bearings that some kits use...use OEM Koyo or NSK bearings only
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The kit from Marlin had NSK Knuckle bearings and Koyo wheel bearings. Everything seemed to be pretty high quality. I only wanted to rebuild the front and rear axles once in my lifetime....and this was the time! I don't drive this 4Runner very much so it should be good to go for many, many years.

I bought all the front end parts for my 80 knuckle maintenance from CDan and, of course, that was all genuine Toyota parts but I needed to order Marlin's improved front and rear axle seals anyway so I just ordered the kits and wheel bearings at the same time.

I don't have a clue about the Trail Gear kits as I've never looked at them.
 
the truck doctor said:
Well, thats exactly my case! this axle had never been tore apart and had only one shim top & bottom each side. I did for some unknown reason decide to mark their positions. Do sas kits come with new knuckel bearings and races?
Click to expand...

some do some don't. knuckle bearings are often worth changing. if you can see where the rollers sit in the races, change em out. one shim per isn't uncommon. there's actually one size that is most common, but i can't recall what it is off the top of my head.
 
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