Hello Mudders,
Could you please help solve a mystery? The bearing caps of a rear differential are too large in diameter to fit in the axle housing. Has anyone encountered this before?
I ordered a complete assembled 3rd member from J.T.'s Parts & Accessories. Built from their core, it is for an '87 FJ-60 (Frankie) with stock semi-float rear axle with 3.70 gears, solid pinion bearing spacer, and an ARB locker. The unit arrived in a tough, protective shipping container looking very nice with a new flange and a fresh coat of paint (over some flaking rust).
I pulled the original 3rd, which has a leaking pinion seal and a over crushed crush sleeve (from trying to fix the leak by replacing the seal without pulling the pinion gear). I replaced the rear wheel bearings and seals and had driven 5-7k miles without issues prior to needing to fix a leak on the rear pinion seal. I attribute the leaking seal to sand blasting the housing prior to painting it.
Here is an excerpt from my letter to J.T.'s hoping for guidance or potential warranty:
"Please find attached pictures of the differential set in place in the axle. All views are from the rear. Please note that the bearing caps are interfering with the rear porthole opening of the axle housing. It does similarly interfere with the front porthole as well but the differential can be tipped slightly so it will pass through. When the flange gets close to mating up to the axle housing it is then held close to parallel, which then lines the bearing caps up concentrically into the opening. It's about a 1/16" on each side.
Please note that the bearing races are slightly exposed inboard of the bearing caps. The removed unit does not reveal any of the bearing race. The removed unit appears to be original and undisturbed with approximately 200k miles. The pinion seal had been leaking and I tried replacing it in place. This did not resolve the leak and the crush sleeve was compromised, making a second attempt of resealing impossible. It seemed most cost effective to replace the unit than to repair it in place.
The bearing caps on your unit are marked with "*" and "**" peens for left and right, implying that your tech marked them and tracked them appropriately.
Is it possible that your core had a catastrophic event which could have damaged the gears and left the caps bent slightly outboard? I'm open to suggestions on how to proceed."
J.T.'s acknowledged there was an issue and asked for pictures to help diagnose what's off. They've only had the pictures for a few hours and have not yet responded. I think this might be a first for them as well and I'm hoping the collective wisdom of this forum could help us both.
Are there any differences in the 3rd housings between years of Land Cruisers? What about the bearing caps? Is it normal to see part of the bearing races?
Thank you all.
Could you please help solve a mystery? The bearing caps of a rear differential are too large in diameter to fit in the axle housing. Has anyone encountered this before?
I ordered a complete assembled 3rd member from J.T.'s Parts & Accessories. Built from their core, it is for an '87 FJ-60 (Frankie) with stock semi-float rear axle with 3.70 gears, solid pinion bearing spacer, and an ARB locker. The unit arrived in a tough, protective shipping container looking very nice with a new flange and a fresh coat of paint (over some flaking rust).
I pulled the original 3rd, which has a leaking pinion seal and a over crushed crush sleeve (from trying to fix the leak by replacing the seal without pulling the pinion gear). I replaced the rear wheel bearings and seals and had driven 5-7k miles without issues prior to needing to fix a leak on the rear pinion seal. I attribute the leaking seal to sand blasting the housing prior to painting it.
Here is an excerpt from my letter to J.T.'s hoping for guidance or potential warranty:
"Please find attached pictures of the differential set in place in the axle. All views are from the rear. Please note that the bearing caps are interfering with the rear porthole opening of the axle housing. It does similarly interfere with the front porthole as well but the differential can be tipped slightly so it will pass through. When the flange gets close to mating up to the axle housing it is then held close to parallel, which then lines the bearing caps up concentrically into the opening. It's about a 1/16" on each side.
Please note that the bearing races are slightly exposed inboard of the bearing caps. The removed unit does not reveal any of the bearing race. The removed unit appears to be original and undisturbed with approximately 200k miles. The pinion seal had been leaking and I tried replacing it in place. This did not resolve the leak and the crush sleeve was compromised, making a second attempt of resealing impossible. It seemed most cost effective to replace the unit than to repair it in place.
The bearing caps on your unit are marked with "*" and "**" peens for left and right, implying that your tech marked them and tracked them appropriately.
Is it possible that your core had a catastrophic event which could have damaged the gears and left the caps bent slightly outboard? I'm open to suggestions on how to proceed."
J.T.'s acknowledged there was an issue and asked for pictures to help diagnose what's off. They've only had the pictures for a few hours and have not yet responded. I think this might be a first for them as well and I'm hoping the collective wisdom of this forum could help us both.
Are there any differences in the 3rd housings between years of Land Cruisers? What about the bearing caps? Is it normal to see part of the bearing races?
Thank you all.