Some things I learned installing my lift and removing CV axles

[silverhorse]

I learned some interesting things disassembling the front end that I thought I would pass along to make it easier for the next guy and maybe head off some problematic issues down the road. My 200 has only been off-road a handful of times in its life. I found both lower A-Arms packed with dirt and mud. Also found the bump stops packed with mud and heavy loose rust scale which could be very problematic down the road.. there is not adequate drains built into the bump stops and this is obviously a problem rust area.. my truck has never been out of Florida its entire life and I removed heavy deposits of rust from these pockets of the bump stops..
Also, when removing the CV axles I literally spent several hours on one side of the vehicle using every Pry bar known to man, and actual CV puller, and it was a nightmare. I scarred up the housing pretty severely on that side prying on it but finally got it out. For the other side I bought a CV axle popper kit made by OEM model number 27305 it comes with two different pieces I literally had the side out in less than 5 minutes!!!

 

[CharlieS]

Excellent tech post. Sometimes having the right tool for the job is the key! I'll have to pick a set up. @Taco2Cruiser has mentioned the bump stop collecting crap recently. Are you guys taking any corrective or preventative action, or is it just a clean it out and watch it situation?

Edit: ordered. Thanks!

 

[silverhorse]

I'm contemplating enlarging the drain holes in the bump stops. Also I removed and slathered the bolts in anti-seize

 

[TimCFJ40]

Thanks for the heads up on that OEM CV Joint tool. I'm in need of installing the ECGS CV Axle Bushing in my 2nd Tacoma to eliminate a small vibe, and the hardest part of the job with the last one was removing the CV. I literally broke a crow bar before the last one decided to come loose.

 

[silverhorse]

So upon further investigation it's worse than I thought... there really aren't any drain holes in the bump stops. there more like" fill holes"! So don't bother enlarging them because they're not low enough in the pocket of the bump stop to do any good... I just started two new holes as low as I possibly could .

 

[Rigger]

Yeesh - what a crummy design! Fills up with mud that can't get out.

 

[NoClue]

The cv joints should have notches on the inner cup. I line up a pry bar (with a strike cap at the end of the handle) inside those notches and hit it with a hammer. When re-installing, I make sure the c-clip on the inner part of the joint is facing down. I should take a video of this one day

 

[silverhorse]

I know what you mean by The Notches but the tundra/ Land Cruiser CVS are perfectly round so it's a different ball game I could not see any difference in the CV shaft. I tried turning it in every direction from multiple positions but nothing seemed to matter this c-clip moves around so it can move in there.. so I don't know how much any of that will help

 

[silverhorse]

 

[bloc]

Could we not use something like aluminum HVAC tape to seal up the entry points on the brackets? But leave the drains open so they can still breathe?

 

[silverhorse]

I thought about doing something like that but I think no matter what , you're going to get debris in there ..so it must have a way to come out. The only thing I could come up with was to add drain holes because all the OEM drain holes are way higher than the bottom of the bracket ...so they're worthless.. adding drain holes at the bottom or redesigning the bracket is the only two options I can see...

 

[bloc]

I thought about doing something like that but I think no matter what , you're going to get debris in there ..so it must have a way to come out. The only thing I could come up with was to add drain holes because all the OEM drain holes are way higher than the bottom of the bracket ...so they're worthless.. adding drain holes at the bottom or redesigning the bracket is the only two options I can see...

Ok scratch my comment about leaving drains open.
If we seal up all the gaps how would significant amounts of dirt get in? Sorry if this is obvious, I don’t have my rig with me to go look myself.

 

[silverhorse]

I Probably should have said no matter what we do, water is still going to get in there .
.if you submerge that thing , it would be pretty hard I would suspected keeping water from entering in ...so you want it to be able to get out.. that's the way I think of it in a nutshell..
keeping water in is worse case scenario.. water will always find or create a drain hole..

 

[CharlieS]

@silverhorse Ok, they arrived. Any tips on how to use them?

 

[silverhorse]

@CharlieS sorry for the late reply. All I did was put the fork up in there and pry on it I didn't even have to use a hammer

 

[silverhorse]

So I ended up drilling some holes at the bottom of the bump stops and filling in the one that I had enlarged earlier

 

[ColoradoFJ40]

Can we not just put a rubber plug in the oem hole to keep water out?

 

[silverhorse]

Can we not just put a rubber plug in the oem hole to keep water out?

I doubt it .. in my experience it is almost impossible to keep water from entering something especially if it gets submerged at all. Just assume it's going to get it in.... the worst thing can happen is it can't get back out