Builds Let's Baseline my new to me 1993 Land Cruiser

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Good looking pup!

Thanks! This pup has been a life boat out of family sorrow. She’s such a sweet dog. I’m off to throw some bumpers for her before I pick up my new hub seals.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I think he means switch the birfields side to side. Doing so will have the balls/cage/bell making contact in new places and can eliminate any clicking noise your birfs might have (clicking is caused by wear in the birfs. Changing the wear pattern can help eliminate it......for a while.)

Ok that’s what I was thinking. Fortunately I have zero noise at full crank. I have no idea if they were switched or not. I was honestly just going to clean them up and repack them. Perhaps I need to consider this. If I’m not mistaken I need some parts to accomplish this task.

 

[Box Rocket]

Ok that’s what I was thinking. Fortunately I have zero noise at full crank. I have no idea if they were switched or not. I was honestly just going to clean them up and repack them. Perhaps I need to consider this. If I’m not mistaken I need some parts to accomplish this task.

If you're not having clicking noises, I'd leave them as they are for now.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

If you're not having clicking noises, I'd leave them as they are for now.

If it ain’t broke....glad that sometimes applies to Land Cruisers. More often it seems like everyone leans towards “while you’re in there...”

 

[TomOsborne]

What do you mean by flip the axles? Would you elaborate please? I’m admittedly a very new hobbiest mechanic and not sure exactly what you mean.

My apologies. I am a lot like you by the way. This is my first 80 and had to learn everything about it, primarily through here. Asked some dumb questions at first (not that you did) then really dug in regarding my research and made a point to learn. So I am still on what I consider a baseline, and by my definition, Im not sure I'll ever be satisfied by saying it's complete. Regarding the axles.... Yeah separating the birfs like @Box Rocket said. I had a click, not even that bad really, then the flange broke free from the axle splines causing the axle to spin in the housing, thus causing your truck to become a paper weight. If you haven't already read about this situation, your wonderful truck can still be limped home by locking the CDL, or simply shifting into Low. Once I had it apart it looked like the flanges took the brunt of the abuse, and the axle splines looked okay. I would have replaced the axles but were talking several hundred more dollars so I opted for the flip trick. Plus once you do the knuckles its a fairly easy task to tear them down again. Been running great and no more clicks. I would explain how I did it but there is a ton of information here on how it is performed, and I used their information to do it. I will mention to separate them I needed to use a vice to hold the axle, so the star inside the birfield is clear and free to strike with a brass drift and mallet. A few taps alternating around the star it came free fairly easy. I was totally unsuccessful separating them using downward force and wood blocks, along with a couple other approaches . Wrapped the axle in leather straps taking care not to screw anything up in the vice. Total time maybe 2-3 hours if Im not slamming beers and having fun in the shop. Good luck man.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Ok so I posted a new thread seeking opinions about a couple of issues regarding my right knuckle. It has a sheared stud, which I discovered when I was checking the nuts a month ago. I don’t know what happened, or who did the previous axle work, but I found lots of clues to a mediocre job the last time this was done.

Here is the issue, broken stud and marred surfaces:

Consensus is the marring is not a big deal as it’s in the wiper/ felt side and should seal up against the grease just fine (it wasn’t leaking at all prior to this rebuild) and a mill bastard should fix the high spots on the steering arm mating surface. So I’m moving forward with stud extraction.

I picked up a couple of extractors and some matching bits at my local hardware store after trying to find a recommended set at O’Rileys. I found the highest quality bits and extractors I could. Once I have a chunk of time this evening I’ll set up my little drill press to attempt this process. Thanks to all those who contributed to that thread!

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I stopped by my Local Toyota parts counter. The prices are high, as you would expect. I went in to pick up my hub seals, but they haven’t arrived. So I ordered some union gaskets for my brake system overhaul that’s on deck.

The last time was in I asked if they offered discounts to iH8mud members or other Land Cruiser enthusiast organizations, but the parts guy wasn’t aware of any discounts. He is knock off 5% because I brought him the part number. All this isn’t surprising. But in the showroom is this:

The sign says don’t touch, not for sale, but it is missing all info about the Land Cruiser. I’m always expecting to get some Land Cruiser love at Bellingham Toyota, but the parts department isn’t particularly excited about Land Cruisers. Oh well. This sweet LC is just sitting around looking pretty.

 

[Red Merle]

I stopped by my Local Toyota parts counter. The prices are high, as you would expect. I went in to pick up my hub seals, but they haven’t arrived. So I ordered some union gaskets for my brake system overhaul that’s on deck.

The last time was in I asked if they offered discounts to iH8mud members or other Land Cruiser enthusiast organizations, but the parts guy wasn’t aware of any discounts. He is knock off 5% because I brought him the part number. All this isn’t surprising. But in the showroom is this:View attachment 1870119
The sign says don’t touch, not for sale, but it is missing all info about the Land Cruiser. I’m always expecting to get some Land Cruiser love at Bellingham Toyota, but the parts department isn’t particularly excited about Land Cruisers. Oh well. This sweet LC is just sitting around looking pretty.

I get 30% off list at my dealership. They like my LC and my Taco, but really, it's because I make up a big part of their over the counter sales and they know that I can buy things anywhere because I always plan my projects and parts gathering way out from code red zone.

Just start asking for big orders and ask for a better price or show them McGeorge pricing. I love the relationship and the fact that I don't pay shipping and I can bring stuff back if I don't need it or it's the wrong unit without any hassle. The only mis order was a sensor on the AC system, but in their defense, the info on the '93-'94 change over is confusing, depending of build date and I think Toyota has a mistake in their system as for the right one. I just skipped it and bolted the old one into the new line it threads into. No biggie.

Find a better source for parts.

That is a nice Cruiser though. You should use it in your negotiations and shame them if they don't comply and yet they are still using the Land Crusier Strategy to peddle their wares.

 

[BILT4ME]

@Red Merle is right. Ask for more discount and see what you can get.

Here are my sources of parts:

Toyota Parts | Toyota Online Parts | Genuine Toyota Parts | Toyota Parts Online
www.partsouq.com
Cruiser Outfitters
Sleeoffroad.com - Toyota SUV Off-Road Outfitters
Summit Racing
O'Reilly's
RockAuto
Local Toyota Dealer (Olathe Toyota)

Used Parts:
@arcteryx
@slow95z

I can get parts from McGeorge delivered to my door for the same or less than I can get them from my local dealer 5 miles from my house, even WITH the local 'Mud discount. I also can order at midnight and have them delivered to my door when I'm not home. I do not have to leave work early or go in early to get the dealership's door within a given time frame.

Every Toyota dealer is allowed to make up their own "MSRP" and discount structure, so the MSRP you see quoted from one dealer is NOT necessarily the same MSRP price you will see from another dealer on the exact same part.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

This was my first attempt at removing a broken stud...ever. I soaked the stud in some Kroil penetrating oil and then let it sit overnight.

Then I punched a hole to guide my drill, a little tricky due to the way the bolt sheared. Then I set up my little craigslist special drill press and began slowly drilling the stud.

I was able to drill the whole way through the stud and I didn’t even manage to mar the threads. As I began drilling the stud broke loose and began to turn a bit while I was drilling. I drilled all the way through the stud and then tapped in my square extractor. I fitted a tap handle to it and then backed the whole mess out. Done and done!

Heading in for a step 6 to celebrate. Watch out ‘mud I’m using jargon now!

 

[bicycleagent003]

Excellent job on the stud extraction! That can be a difficult task.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Excellent job on the stud extraction! That can be a difficult task.

Thanks! I’m feeling a lot better now that it’s out! The process is more or less straight forward now!

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Ok got things a little farther along this weekend. I spent lots of time cleaning and “wire wheeling” as I’m waiting for a box of knuckle studs to arrive from Wit’s end. I decided that I wanted to replace both sides after having one stud shear. I’m certain this is over kill, but I’ll feel better. Here is the right side all cleaned up.

I found that cleaning the birfs while assembled was really tedious. I used super clean in the purple jug as my degreased, but I’d just go with diesel next time As has been suggested else where. I did find that soaking in foaming engine cleaner, then using portable steam cleaner got the rest of the grease out. I finished with a liberal amount of brake cleaner, utilizing the small straw to flush all the grease and water from the steamer out of the Birf. I’m calling it good.

I’m hoping to seat my inner oil seals and trunion races tonight after my kids are in bed. Apparently stay at home dad is not the same thing as retired!

 

[Red Merle]

Looks good!

If you sleep in the 80, you could lobby to upgrade to being a Stay in Bed Dad and get some work done in the process.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Mail came!

Studs!!

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Please calm my fears:

I’m looking through my box of knuckle parts from Cruiser corps. The trunion bearings are only marked by a number and not any manufacturer. Should I pony up and get some koyo or Timkin ones? I’m reluctant to put these parts on if they are known to be inferior.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

ok, my garage was 35 degrees last night so I poured a dram of whisky and emailed Cruiser corps about the origin of their trunion bearings and other parts rather than working on the truck. I got a one line response indicating the bearings are Karsons. Seems like they are made in India. I now have buyers remorse and little confidence in the other components...especially the inner axle seals. They came in a little ziplock and one had a little shard of copper on it.

I Understand that most of the kits out there contain a mix of parts, and that it is not a major concern if they are not oem. I welcome your thoughts. At bare minimum I’m getting koyo trunnion bearings and Toyota inner axle seals, but I’m unsure about the rest. The cost was $125 for this stuff. At this point I’m really antsy to get my rig back on the road, but not at the cost of redoing the work in 6 months. You opinions are most welcome.

 

[fjbj40]

Cruiser Outfitters

Marlin Crawler inner axle seal is what you want! I always but my kits from Cruiser Outfitters, it has all the good parts!.

 

[t k]

I was curious if you ever fixed that noise on acceleration? Was it just the exhaust? I have the same thing with acceleration and deceleration and found out it was the u joints on the driveshafts that need to be replaced. I greased them and the noise got a lot better, but its an easy temporary fix. I know a lot of PO don't grease the driveshafts and it may be worth taking a look at.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I was curious if you ever fixed that noise on acceleration? Was it just the exhaust? I have the same thing with acceleration and deceleration and found out it was the u joints on the driveshafts that need to be replaced. I greased them and the noise got a lot better, but its an easy temporary fix. I know a lot of PO don't grease the driveshafts and it may be worth taking a look at.

I did not. My noise is on acceleration only. I’m currently inclined to think it’s because my resonator was cut off to accommodate my rear bumper.