knuckle bearing repack (1 Viewer)

[PHAEDRUS]

Hey all,
Just checking in here and wondering if Jim Phillips made it over form the sor page or anyone else on the birfeild repacka nd knuckle bearing change out info. specifically how much grease will I need, jsut ordered the parts form man-a-fre and expect them on thurs for the knuckle and wheel bearings and found a local cv axle shop who will reman my existing birfs back to tolerance with a slightly heavier cage. I just want to have all of the goodies I will need for this project sitting there waiting for me. As far as tools I should be ok (work in a body shop and have a really nice full time mechanic) Just need whatever else I am going to want to have on hand. The plan is to tear down the knuckles thursday pull hte birfields and have them remanned on fri and put the whole mess back together on saturday and sunday. If someone saved the step by step jim posted I would love that as well.
Dave

 

[cruiserdan]

"did any body make it"

 Yup, Too many, maybe....... 8)

 Get yerself 2 16 oz tubs for the wheel bearings, sometimes one isn't enough. I use about 2 1/2 14 oz tubes of Valvoline #985 molly in the knuckles.........Welcome......

 Regards....Dan  

Oh, BTW, I've been meaning to ask you, where did you get your keyboard?........ :

 

[Hltoppr]

I printed the instructions out on hard copy, so if you need me to send you a copy, PM me with your snail mail address.

-H-

 

[PHAEDRUS]

Hey dont knock it this is a custome built compaq keyboard with half of the letters worn off ! Sorry but I dont really get too concerned with spelling the point is made and you get the message as far as the instrucions my e mail is down at home but if you could fax it to me that would be great
801-886-9569
make sure it is attention Dave
as to the special keyboard you might have noticed phraedus on sor was just a typo should have been phaedrus never bothered to change it.
Dave

 

[cruiserdan]

Must be that 801 area code....... (3.2)....

 

[Hltoppr]

I'll see what I can do...

-H-

 

[Jim_Phillips]

It just so happens that I did save it. Here goes:

Birfield Repack Wheel Bearing Repack etc

Much of this information is thanks to Beowulf who provided me with instructions on changing the front brake rotors, greasing the wheel bearings and tightening them right.

This time I was greasing the Birfield and changing the inner oil seal. You might also consider replacing the knuckle/trunion bearings whilst you're in there as this is considered by many as a routine maintenance item when repacking the Birfields.

For starters, take a look at some photos and descriptions of the procedure as described by Landcruiser Gods, to whom I am a mere disciple:

http://www.birfield.com/~morgan//tech/axle/index.html
http://www.safari4x4.com.au/80scool/tech/birfield_repack/repack.html
http://www.geocities.com/george_tlc/birfield.html

First thing you will have noticed is this is a dirty, messy job. Get yourself some latex gloves and at least 6 rolls of paper towels, rags, nappies (English word for what babies wear) and a big dust bin (trash can) to throw them in as you move through the job.

This was my shopping list:

MP grease - 1 cartridge of Amsoil (GLC)

Moly grease - 4 tubs. In the UK they come in 500g, I believe that less progressive countries still use pounds. Either way, buy 4 tubs.

Anti-seize compound

Brake Cleaner - I went through about 6 cans. It's really effective when cleaning the Birfield for blasting the old grease away.

Solvent to clean wheel bearings.

Wire - To secure brake caliper.

Tools:

Torque wrench.........Up to 100 ft/lb
Brass drift...........6" long, 1/2" bar or brass hammer. Used to loosen cone washers.
Hub socket............2-1/8" socket or 54mm if you can find one
Seal puller...........T-type
Snap Ring pliers......Get the pliers with a flat surface.
Spring Scale for setting wheel bearing preload. I got mine from a fishing tackle shop.

Toyota parts:
2x Hub gaskets
2x Inner hub grease seals
2x Oil seals
2x Hub Oil seals (someone please tell me the proper name for it)

Procedure:

Remove the wheel

Remove the caliper & hang on spring

Pry off the dust cap

Remove the snap ring using pliers

Remove the nuts, flat washers & cone washers from flange (brass bar used to loosen cone washers, nuts) If you've never done this, have a good look at George's page again. If the first one you whack doesn't come loose move on to the next. Once one pops, the others are easy.

Unfold the two tabs bent down over the large nuts

Remove outer nut, tab washer, inner nut and plate washer

Pull off hub assembly & rotor.
(Outer bearing likely to fall out. If it hits concrete you're likely to need a new one)

Remove inner hub grease seal
Clean both wheel bearings and repack with MP grease.
Put the bearings in a plastic sandwich bag to pack or use a bearing packer if you have one.

You are nearly into the knuckle assembly. You just need to remove the 8 bolts that hold the dust shields and the stub axle in place.

Once the dust shield and stub axle are removed you finally have access to the axle itself. Prior to pulling out the axle, the ABS sensor MUST be removed! TAKE CARE! Just undo the bolts. If you've never seen an ABS sensor, be aware that they are made of plastic. Don't be tempted (like I did) to lever them out with a screw driver - they brake.
Instead, twist them a little clockwise and then anticlockwise (gently) and at the same time
Pull them up. The magnets at the end might have bits of metal on them and grease. Don't worry, reach out for a rag and wipe them clean.
Once the sensor has been pulled out, the axle can be pulled out. Note, the steering MUST be in the straight ahead position and the flats on the Birfield must be in the vertical plane. Stick your finger in the grease and feel for the flat bit. If you jack the other tyre just off the ground, you can rotate the axle until it is in the right position to pull it out. You might find it's easier to get someone else to turn the opposite wheel (slowly, without ripping your finger off) until you feel the flat at the top.

Put a bucket under the hub because once you take the axle out there is going to be an oil spill….. See what I mean. Now get those rags, nappies and paper towels in there and get it cleaned out! The Birfield joint may appear to be discolored with a bluish tint in several places. This is normal and part of the factory heat treating process

Prior to removing the oil seal, reach in with your finger tip and pull out the spring that is on inside rear of the inner lip - to prevent the possibility of it falling into the axle tube. Now remove the oil seal. I bought the T type. It's not difficult to prise it out.

Now put the new seal in. I used a piece of metal tubing which was the right diameter. Just tap it into place.

Now get to work cleaning the Birfield. Get a bucket, some solvent and a paint brush (careful none of the bristles come off) Give it a soak and than blast it with some brake cleaner. You'll note that I didn't disassemble the Birfield to clean it. Some do, but you can get by without.

Now pack the Birfield with grease. Take a look at those web sites again to get an idea how much grease to pack in there. Pack the knuckle with some more grease and then all the steps are followed in reverse order (without forgetting to put use the new gaskets)

Now back to the wheel bearings…

Install inner wheel bearing
Coat inside of hub with MP grease
Install inner hub seal
Install outer bearing, thrust washer, and inner adjusting nut (54mm)
Follow *instructions below (or FSM) to set preload on inner nut
Install lock washer w/tabs
Install out adjusting nut (54mm)
Generous coat of MP grease on outer axle splines and flange.
Install gasket, flange, cone washers, flat washers and nuts (26 ft/lbs)
Coat the cone washers with a light coating of anti-sieze to aid in removal the next time.
Install snap ring (8mm bolt to grab & pull the axle shaft out)
Install dust cap (lightly coat inside w/MP grease)
Reinstall caliper (90 ft/lb)
Clean everything w/brake cleaner
Reinstall wheel. Apply light coating of anti-seize on threads, not between washer and wheel. (76ft/lb allow, 109 ft/lb steel)
Check brake fluid level & brake operation before putting in gear.

*To set the bearing pre-load:
Torque inner nut to 43 ft/lbs
Turn rotor 5 times, left & right
Torque inner nut to 43 ft/lbs
Loosen inner nut until it can be turned by hand
Torque inner nut 3 ft/lbs (48 in/lbs!)
Check that bearing has no play
Measure preload w/tension spring (6-12 lb)
Install lock washer & lock nut
Torque outer lock nut (47 ft/lb)
Check that the axle hub turns smoothly and that the bearing has no play.
Measure preload w/tension spring (6-12 lb)
(Repeat, starting w/inner nut if not within range)
Secure the lock nut by bending one of the lock washer teeth inward and the other lock washer teeth outward

Good luck. Much of this is taken from Beowulf's descriptions. Some from George, some from Norm. Hope it's useful to have it all in one place. Besides, some of us still don't have internet access in the garage. Please add anything or correct anything which may be wrong or misleading.

Cheers, Jim

 

[landtank]

I also bought the kit from Man-a-fre. You'll have the bearing mentioned above however swap out the inner seals that come with the kit for a factory set.

Rick

 

[PHAEDRUS]

Thanks guys
will start this on on thursday night and tell you how its going. as to the 3.2 factor its a small pirce to pay for 8 different snowboard resorts within an hour and moab only 3.5 hours away.
Dave

 

[woody]

http://www.ih8mud.com/tech/birf-repack.html

got it...thanks!

 

[Hltoppr]

Thanks Woody!

-H-

 

[Wrench]

Is repacking nessasary? Because the FSM does not list this as a maintanance item.

 

[cruiserdan]

Wrench,

Don't worry yourself with that trivial waste of time...

You can wait til it breaks........ 8)

 

[Wrench]

Wrench,

Don't worry yourself with that trivial waste of time...

 

[PHAEDRUS]

I would wait but have three trips to moab planned for the next three months and the rt side birf is claccking at me so I figure its a good time to do it.
Dave

 

[cruiserdan]

Dave,

Don't wait.......It was a joke

 

[semlin]

Wrench did you not read my broken birfield post about the consequences of not waiting! There is no way to get grease in there without repacking and the seals will leak eventually in both directions. Ergo, if no preventative maintenance you will lose the grease and burn out eventually. The conventional wisdom is 100,000 miles. I made it 125,000.

 

[PHAEDRUS]

Status update.....
well I tore into this tonight and pulled down to the hubs and then pulled them off as well. axles pulled right out and will be going to get remanned in the morning. I havent seperated the birfs from the long axle yet but I have but one question not covered in the previous write up.
what is the part number for the circlip on the inside of the birfield?
Dave
With a little luck driving the pig again by saturday and snowboarding on sunday

 

[landtank]

Wrench,
From all the posts that I've read it doesn't have to be done until around 115k usually. By that time your hearing clacking noises and the joint might have already been damamged from lack of grease. IMO 100k intervals should reduce the wear issue from lack of grease and makes it easier to remember the maintenance cycle. I've now got 110k on my truck and if the joints last I'll replace them at 200k in an attempt to avoid a total failure unexpectantly. From my work experience there is two approaches to service, reactive and proactive. Proactive is where one tries to predict future failures and tries to develope a routine where these failures are avoided in as cost effective manner as possible. Reactive is where one runs the equipment straight out and waits for a failure to occur and then repairs it. I personally am an advocate of the roactive approach. I think some who have waited for the knuckle to make noise before repacking have increased the repair cost and down time greatly.

Rick

 

[cruiserdan]

Mine get the "rest cure" every 60,000 miles.

I get to duck the yard work on "knuckle weekend"

Overkill? Maybe, mine never leak..........thet don't get the chance...