Swapping birfield sides (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
May 10, 2006
Threads
34
Messages
840
Location
San Jose
Hi,

I'm currently doing a front axle service on my LX450, I have read many posts concerning this job but I can't find the right answere.

My question is this, when swapping the birfs what parts do you actually swap. what does the swapping actually consist of?

Your help and deatails needed.

Thanks

-Juan
 
Keep the cages/balls with their respective birfs too. I wonder about the drive flanges though?
 
Okay, thanks

I wasn't sure if the cages and the balls went with the birf also.

Thanks for both responses, So if there are no other comments then I will just swap them out.

by the way how hard is to pull them appart?
 
Okay, thanks


by the way how hard is to pull them appart?

Not hard at all. I used a piece of 2 or 2.5" PVC tubing that was longer than the long side shaft. It fit perfectly inside the cage and rested on the star. Stuff some shop towels into the bottom of the pvc (to protect the shaft when it breaks loose) and then put the shaft down the top of the pvc. Hold the bell housing and the top of the pvc as a unit to stabilize while you drop it onto some asphalt. The little metal c-clip will bust and the shaft will come out of the star.

I used the zip tie method found in the faq to reinstall the shaft and new c-clip in the opposite birf.

Make note and take pics of how the birf is assembled before teardown so you will be able to put it back together easily. There are subtle grooves and edges that need to be oriented in to correct position for it to fit correctly.

hth
 
Not hard at all. I used a piece of 2 or 2.5" PVC tubing that was longer than the long side shaft. It fit perfectly inside the cage and rested on the star. Stuff some shop towels into the bottom of the pvc (to protect the shaft when it breaks loose) and then put the shaft down the top of the pvc. Hold the bell housing and the top of the pvc as a unit to stabilize while you drop it onto some asphalt. The little metal c-clip will bust and the shaft will come out of the star.

I used the zip tie method found in the faq to reinstall the shaft and new c-clip in the opposite birf.

Make note and take pics of how the birf is assembled before teardown so you will be able to put it back together easily. There are subtle grooves and edges that need to be oriented in to correct position for it to fit correctly.

hth

Cool thanks,
 
Make note and take pics of how the birf is assembled before teardown so you will be able to put it back together easily. There are subtle grooves and edges that need to be oriented in to correct position for it to fit correctly.

This cannot be over emphasized. An older joint has wear and they CAN be assembled incorrectly. I have a friend (wink, wink) that installed one that he assembled incorrectly and it broke on the test drive. The friend was humbled and, of course, then had to do another birfield repair immediately after he thought he had just finished a front axle service.

-B-
 
I have a friend (wink, wink) that installed one that he assembled incorrectly and it broke on the test drive. The friend was humbled and, of course, then had to do another birfield repair immediately after he thought he had just finished a front axle service.

-B-

Who was this? I don't recall this happening. Then again, I was mainly supervising that day.
 
Well mine aren't clicking or anything, I was just thinking I should do it since some here say that it's a good practice. And I also heard that cdan's birf kit contains the parts to do it. I rather not do it if there is a possibility something could go wrong

is there a picture of these subtle grooves and edges that nicholas is talking about.


-Juan
 
Well mine aren't clicking or anything, I was just thinking I should do it since some here say that it's a good practice. And I also heard that cdan's birf kit contains the parts to do it. I rather not do it if there is a possibility something could go wrong

is there a picture of these subtle grooves and edges that nicholas is talking about.


-Juan

There are some pics somewhere on here. I can't remember what I used to search. Maybe birf assembly? It's really not difficult to do, but if you accidentally reversed the orientation of star or cage it could explode.

Basically the cage is kind of tapered on one lip and more flat on the other. There is also a ridge on the star surrounding the splines and it needs to be oriented correctly so you can get the c-clip/shaft to slide into the star. Just take some detailed pics and you will be fine.
 
is there a picture of these subtle grooves and edges that nicholas is talking about.

This picture is in the FAQ for the front axle service. You should have that thread memorized before even thinking about opening up your front end.

-B-
attachment_003.jpeg
 
I do plus I got the DVD also, I just wasn't too sure about the swapping of the sides. I will start the clean up tomorrow and take video and pictures. I haven't revieved tha parts from CDAN so no big hurry here. Also my thirds are getting some much needed regearing and they won't be ready for another week.

Thanks everyone, I will update you guys later!
 
Okay, I got everything out and clean. I still haven't separated the birfs yet. One thing I noticed is that the long side is really stiff to move around while the short side moves freely. I'm talking about the birfs of course. Should I be concerned?
 
Great thread, I am having some clicking in my left front when turned to max (either way), can swapping birfs give me some extended life? The left one looks fine but does have some play in it.

Thanks
 
Some here say to try it first before you you spend more money. I swapped mine just cause it was easy and CDAN gave me the clips to do this.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom