Knuckle rebuild + upgrade questions

[bikeshikesbeers]

Planning a knuckle rebuild on my 60 and am considering upgrading the birfield joints and possibly axles during the rebuild since I’ll already be in there. Unfortunately I’ll have to make this decision in advance as I’ll have to complete the rebuild in a maximum of four days.

I’ve been toying with the idea of a swap to an LS sometime in the next year or three which is why I’m considering the upgrade now.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Wanted to include a thanks to everyone who’s documented their knuckle rebuilds! They’ve been a huge help with planning all this.

 

[micruz60]

Do you wheel much? Upgrades would be Longfields.
Use the Marlin HD inner axle seals, and welcome to the Mudness.

 

[bikeshikesbeers]

Do you wheel much? Upgrades would be Longfields.
Use the Marlin HD inner axle seals, and welcome to the Mudness.

As of now I don’t wheel a ton and if I’m honest with myself I’m not sure it will see a ton of crawling. Was more concerned with the additional horsepower an engine swap would add. (Thinking possibly an lq4 which would bring it up to just under 400)

 

[micruz60]

Well, it can't hurt to have stronger birfs and axles with that much HP twisting things, its only money, how many miles on the rig, and do you know if it has been serviced properly over the years? Stock axles do fine if one doesn't mash the skinny pedal in certain situations.

 

[bikeshikesbeers]

Well, it can't hurt to have stronger birfs and axles with that much HP twisting things, its only money, how many miles on the rig, and do you know if it has been serviced properly over the years? Stock axles do fine if one doesn't mash the skinny pedal in certain situations.

220k, has all service records since purchase and is in pretty great shape. Just been lacking some love the last five years. Took it to George at Valley Hybrids for a transmission, transfer case, and steering box rebuild and he recommended the knuckle rebuild as well.

 

[micruz60]

Georg is da man! Knuckle rebuild is a rite of passage for owning one of these.

 

[erse]

Honestly if you don't wheel much but are serious about a V8 I would spend the money upgrading the brakes unless of course you can afford to do both

 

[bikeshikesbeers]

Yeah glad I took it to him! The knuckle rebuild seems like something I can take on myself given my space and time limitations without buying a ton of specialized tools so I’m wanting to do that myself.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I'd leave it be. You can always upgrade later, and the uses you describe now, you don't need them. And I'd recommend the RCV brand if you do decide to upgrade.

I'd upgrade when you decide to do a serious off road trail, but for dirt roads, and forest service road cruising, you'll be fine with what you have.

And trust me, you won't be using 400 HP off road when the stronger front axles come into play. And if you do, you shouldn't be driving an FJ60!

 

[bikeshikesbeers]

Honestly if you don't wheel much but are serious about a V8 I would spend the money upgrading the brakes unless of course you can afford to do both

Was looking at taking on a brake upgrade later this year. Been researching the forums for recommendations on that as well.

 

[bikeshikesbeers]

I'd leave it be. You can always upgrade later, and the uses you describe now, you don't need them. And I'd recommend the RCV brand if you do decide to upgrade.

I'd upgrade when you decide to do a serious off road trail, but for dirt roads, and forest service road cruising, you'll be fine with what you have.

And trust me, you won't be using 400 HP off road when the stronger front axles come into play. And if you do, you shouldn't be driving an FJ60!

Good to know! This is what I was curious about was the use case for upgrading the axles and joints. Thanks!

 

[OSS]

I agree with Drew. Just rebuild what you've got. You're never (most likely never...) going to break them unless you change the gears, lock the diffs, get bigger tires & rock crawl.

While I've never broken axles, the ones I've seen break (YouTube), the guys are usually stuck in the rocks or on a ledge and not moving. The car is jammed in a spot trying to clear a ledge or big boulder. Big tires + lower gears + stuck in rocks can break em.

 

[60Works]

Birfields only tend to break when differential lockers are installed. Generally it's also in combination with a crawl box or extremely low diff gearing.

If Georg says your knuckles need rebuilt then they do. I'd wait to go chromoly until I broke one, then I'd replace both along with the axles. The locking hub gear is the next week link but that's where you want it to be. Something must be sacrificial and hubs are easy to change. The Land Cruiser drive train is very robust and can handle V8 power in normal circumstances.

Knuckles are a job (not too hard) but they are extremely messy and tend to turn into additional repairs like brakes and tie rod ends 'since you were there'. Read lots of threads of previous work before attempting it without help. There are a few nifty tricks for things like the cone washers and rod ends. And KEEP TRACK OF THE BEARING SHIMS during disassembly!

Welcome to Mud. Good luck.