OTRAMM
Supporting Vendor
I bought one of theses daytona jack. It's been great. No issues in 3 or so years of use.
Pretty quiet in here... what are you working on? (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter Stumpalama
- Start date
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D21FJ60
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Thx Ryan I’ve wondered about the harbor freight jacks. Does it lift cruisers with adequate clearance?
- Thread starter
- #3,163
I would still skip the brake junction and go with flexible hose straight to the caliper. It makes axle and brake work easier, in the long run.
OTRAMM
Supporting Vendor
We've never had an issue with lifting height. You lift from a low point like the axle or control arm and use tall jack stands under the frame.
I just picked up a set of aluminum jack stands from HF and their lighter weight is much nicer to deal with. I used to be anti-HF but some of their products have been getting much better and they’re low prices are great for those infrequently used tools.
I did a lot of research before buying my new toolbox and HF’s US General line came out on top for quality vs price.
I did a lot of research before buying my new toolbox and HF’s US General line came out on top for quality vs price.
Well, everything was going well with the axle rebuild until I ran into the problem of not being able to get the axles into the housing. Simply put, the hole is too small for the shaft. The dial calipers say the birfield is 86.5mm in diameter at the flats, and the opening of the knuckle is 85mm. That’s a no go.
Also, it feels like the round housings are canted up a little bit which forces me to lift the shaft, thereby making the far end at the diff go down. It feels like the shafts are sliding into the diff with some jiggling, but then I run into the clearance issue stated above.
The part number on the axles is “Birfield NTN 100 AC GG 4”. I wouldn’t trust any parts on my truck as being legit, FWIW.
Recommendations? Start grinding?
Also, it feels like the round housings are canted up a little bit which forces me to lift the shaft, thereby making the far end at the diff go down. It feels like the shafts are sliding into the diff with some jiggling, but then I run into the clearance issue stated above.
The part number on the axles is “Birfield NTN 100 AC GG 4”. I wouldn’t trust any parts on my truck as being legit, FWIW.
Recommendations? Start grinding?
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OTRAMM
Supporting Vendor
The newer birfs are just a smidge bigger. Sometimes you have to grind the housing to make them fit.
Yes! Perseverance and a die grinder and I’m in like Flynn......
I really like my HF US General toolbox. I was told they are made from an older SnapOn model. It’s heavy duty! Ask @Tikicruiser and @Stumpalama they helped me move it last weekend.
- Thread starter
- #3,170
Yes, this 10X. I bought one as a 2nd jack/replacement for my old Pittsburgh. I got the low profile, long reach jack. It Jack's up 23" and gets my sprung over 40 up plenty high to use my 30" 10 ton jack stands.
- Thread starter
- #3,171
Yup.
HF has definitely been stepping up their game. Their toolboxes are a better "bang for the buck" than the other options out there. They're certainly not the best, but you seem to end up paying a lot more to get better quality.
Reading these comments I may have to spend some money and buy one of these HF jacks. I use a SnapOn floor jack that my Dad bought for me when I graduated from high school- 1969! I've never even added oil to it, and two of the wheels have flat spots on them. It has seen a tremendous amount of use, hell that's 51 years of service!!!! I remember, too, that the SnapOn man allowed my dad $12 as a trade in.
And while I have three large Snap On toolboxes, a Mac Macsimizer bottom box and they're full of SO, Mac, and Matco tools, I find that a lot of the Harbor Freight stuff is good enough for my use. I use one of their battery powered Earthquake 1/2" drive guns for heavy stuff and it is more powerful than my SnapOn 1/2" air guns. Some of the HF stuff is pretty junky but a lot of it is perfectly acceptable for what most of us do.
And while I have three large Snap On toolboxes, a Mac Macsimizer bottom box and they're full of SO, Mac, and Matco tools, I find that a lot of the Harbor Freight stuff is good enough for my use. I use one of their battery powered Earthquake 1/2" drive guns for heavy stuff and it is more powerful than my SnapOn 1/2" air guns. Some of the HF stuff is pretty junky but a lot of it is perfectly acceptable for what most of us do.
Before diving into my big projects in the 40 I decided to upgrade my toolbox and hand tools. I found that HF offers the best bang for buck on US General tool boxes and Tekton and Gearwrench are hitting the sweet spot for quality vs price for hand tools. Tekton is an American company that sources it’s tools from Taiwan. The tools coming out of Taiwan right now are good quality and priced right. As much as I’d like to buy American, I just can’t justify the price of Snap-On, Matco, SK, etc.
Well, the fun never ends. I followed OTRAMM’s knuckle rebuild video to a T and reassembly of the knuckle was going great until I went to install the new Aisin locking hub. It wouldn’t slide onto the splines so I tried tapping it on with bearing race driver and busted my brand new hub 
!!!
It’s the right spline count, 30. Anyone know if this is fixable or do I need to buy new axles with good splines?
!!!It’s the right spline count, 30. Anyone know if this is fixable or do I need to buy new axles with good splines?
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Converting my ARB indicator lamps to LED parking lights. Pics to follow.
Well, the fun never ends. I followed OTRAMM’s knuckle rebuild video to a T and reassembly of the knuckle was going great until I went to install the new Aisin locking hub. It wouldn’t slide onto the splines so I tried tapping it on with bearing race driver and busted my brand new hub
It’s the right spline count, 30. Anyone know if this is fixable or do I need to buy new axles with good splines?
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you can just replace the gear. I think Marlin makes them. They should just slide over the burf. You should not have to hit it on. You probably got the wrong spline count. Where they mini truck hubs?
The birf and hub are definitely both 30 spline. I double and triple checked. The new hubs are for a 79/80 Land Cruiser and mine is a 6/79. The old hubs were crappy AVM bolt-on’s that I’m replacing with Aisin’s on studs.
My truck is from South America and has all kinds of hack jobs that I’m now correcting so I could easily expect the birfs being hammered on and the splines messed up.
First pic is the old hub and second is the label for the new Aisin hub.
Thanks for the input.
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- Thread starter
- #3,179
For the shade tree/ weekend wrencher, they are quite sufficient, for sure.
- Thread starter
- #3,180
I would pull the busted hub insert out and try to install it on the birf. Flip it and use the undamaged side of the hub insert.
If it slips on, then it was operator error and you didn't get the splines lined up properly.
If, on the other hand, it doesn't slide on, you need to check the birf splines and make sure they aren't twisted or burred. If they are just burred, a triangle file works well for cleaning them up and getting a good angle on the splines.
