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Front Axle Service new tips/tricks/tools

subzali

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So just completed I think my ~8th front axle service in ~15 years of Cruiser ownership...tried a couple new things this time.

Ever since my first front axle service, I have always maintained that:
1. a real seal puller is way better than a screwdriver, and it turns out that these seal pullers come in different thickness and you want a thicker one so it doesn't cut through the seal: https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...ol-seal-puller/pfm0/w1219?q=seal+puller&pos=2
seal puller.jpg

2. a TRE puller is way better than a pickle fork: https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...puller/pfm0/w80557?q=Tie+rod+end+puller&pos=1
tie rod end puller.jpg

3. When popping the inner hub seal out of the hub, do not sit on the rotor to hold it in place while you pry on the seal. When the seal pops you will almost take off some fingers. Ouch.

This time, a few new things:
1. Saw these babies in the O'Reilly and thought they were a good idea. Turned out they worked really well: caliper hangers
caliper hangers.jpg

2. Alignment studs to hold the spindle on while you get the first few bolts put in: M10x1.25x40mm or so bolts with the heads cut off and slots drilled into them:
1642475435231.png

3. When I pulled off my hubs the claw washers showed signs of spinning bearings. So the FSM preload torque appears to be too light at 48 in-lbs on the inner nut and 43 ft-lb on the outer nut. I tried doing the inner nut to 35+ ft-lbs and after tightening the outer nut the fishscale preload was still in spec. Hubs don't seem excessively warm after a highway run so going to try it out.
4. New knuckle studs now come with loctite pre-applied with an external torx fitting for torquing them. The 70 series FSM says to torque the studs in the knuckle to 36 ft-lbs. I did not do this on all of the knuckles I recently did but I did do it on one of them that was questionable.
5. Turns out you can tap out the inner hub seal from the back side, through the hub, by tapping on the bearing. This way you do not destroy the seal. Does it destroy the bearing? Up for debate I guess.
6. Along with my big brass drift for knocking cone washer loose, I picked up a NAPA 902 drift (1/2" x 7") and a 904 drift (1/2" x 1/4" x 6"). The 902 was handy for knocking out the steering arm and the 904 (tapered) was handy for knocking out the trunnion bearing races. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_902?impressionRank=4
brass pin punch.jpg


Anyway, a few different things I learned/did differently this time.
 
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Corbet

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I’ve never removed the steering linkage when doing knuckle rebuilds. I just let the arms drop down below and pull the knuckles clear.

tearing the inner seal with the seal puller sucks. Mine does that all the time.

you don’t mention one so maybe you already have it but the Harbor Freight seal driver kit is really handy. I have an older more colorful version. https://www.harborfreight.com/bearing-race-and-seal-driver-set-10-pc-63261.html
 

subzali

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I’ve never removed the steering linkage when doing knuckle rebuilds. I just let the arms drop down below and pull the knuckles clear.

tearing the inner seal with the seal puller sucks. Mine does that all the time.

you don’t mention one so maybe you already have it but the Harbor Freight seal driver kit is really handy. I have an older more colorful version. https://www.harborfreight.com/bearing-race-and-seal-driver-set-10-pc-63261.html
Yep I have the colorful version too. I should have added that one as well. I think the first time or two I did it I used a block of wood to drive the seals :hill:

And I guess I like checking the steering preload hence removing the steering arms. And this time I put on all new tie rod ends because my tie rod has been frozen for about a decade :hill: that was fun, bouncing my body weight on the end of an 18” pipe wrench and 2’ cheater bar after soaking the TREs in PB Blaster for 3 weeks…but it worked and didn’t break the vice or the workbench :thumb:
 

Inukshuk

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what magic did you use to have that paper gasket so clean?
 

Stuckinthe80s

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Great thread! These are things I always think to get when I'm in there but then for whatever reason don't do it. Then, when I'm in there again, I don't take the time to act on it, and the cycle repeats itself. I've got some things on order now to try.

I've tried several different seal pullers and have never had luck with getting them to not tear. I'm sure it is operator error but it just seems like the contact patch is just too narrow on the thin metal of the seal and there is no way around it. Probably operator error but I always end up using a curved crow bar end. Definitely the Conan approach but it's effective.

Also, I've never had 100% success with the brass drift approach to getting the cone washers out. ( I know, I have a gift ) @AimCOTaco clued me into the air hammer technique and it works freaking AWESOME!! So much more effective and less detrimental to your fingers when trying to hold a drift straight, swing a hammer hard enough, and not smash anything. It's probably the best $15 I've ever spent:
1642601890959.png

It will come with a single chisel that is made of sub-par metal. I just lobbed off the chisel to create a flat end and use that.

Also, not to hi-jack too much but a lot of this applies to servicing the front end on 100 series. In addition to the TRE puller you listed, the longer style is good to have as well. @nuclearlemon recommended this one to me several years ago and I've used it a lot:

1642602324396.png


If folks don't want to buy these pullers for the few times they might use them over the course of their lives, go to Advance Auto and ask for the #3 tool kit in their loaner catalogue. It will have both of these style pullers and a third one. You'll have to pay for it but then get 100% of your money back after you return it.
 
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Corbet

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I don’t use a brass drift for cone washers. Just brass BFH from harbor freight. Then no fingers in the way.

 

Crash

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OTC 7315A tre puller works very well too. Small and compact it doesn’t take up much room in your trail tool bag. It doesn’t take no for an answer either and it doesn’t booger up the rubber tre caps. They were $25 when I bought mine back in the dark ages.
 

nakman

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Why do you guys care about tearing the inner axle seal with the seal puller? It's not like you're trying to save it... :confused:

and iirc 1.5" PVC does a good job at pushing the new one back in. :hill:
 

Stuckinthe80s

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Why do you guys care about tearing the inner axle seal with the seal puller? It's not like you're trying to save it... :confused:

and iirc 1.5" PVC does a good job at pushing the new one back in. :hill:
I'm not worried about saving it, I'm worried about getting it out in one go. With a lot of the pullers I've tried, it tears the metal and the only way the seal comes out is after I've pulled through 37 times.

There's only been one or two times that I've used a seal puller that it didn't do this to the seal:
1642621147695.png


This is super frustrating and un-necessarily prolongs the process.

I'm an admitted mouth breather but regardless, I've given up on the damn things and don't even try to use them anymore.
 
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Rzeppa

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I've never had a problem tearing the seal frame with my seal pullers, guess they must be wide enough. I have a seal driver kit from Harbor Freight, works good. I use a coat hanger wire bent into an S shape to hold the calipers. I have always used a pin punch to line everything up when assembling the spindle/gaskets/dust seal. As for cone washers, I also use a brass hammer, but have a brass drift that is 1" diameter and about a foot long too.
 

AimCOTaco

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I think I get by but suspect I also suffer from narrow seal puller... Mine's some stamped .050 so I guess I got what I paid for. I can imagine a thicker blade would work much better and cut through much less often.
 
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Great thread!

As someone on Mud posted, this is a right of passage.

I just finished up my first knuckle rebuild last month on my 97 FZJ80. The hardest part for me was the tie rod ends. I busted both the Tie Rod end boot and the Steering adjustment arm boot on the right side. Then I found this at Harbor Freight:
1642815949612.png


The other side had not issues with the Tie Rod end. I'm glad I mustered up the guts to try this. It was not too hard of a job, just messy and time consuming. I've got to do my 60 next now.
 

Corbet

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Are you all replacing the TRE when you do your service? If not why are you disconnecting them?

at 265K I’m just now going to order a new steering link TRE, it’s still original. I replaced the drag link and ends log ago but not because they were bad, just seized in the link and couldn’t be adjusted during an alignment.
 

Crash

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As was pointed out earlier, checking the knuckle resistance to movement via a fish pound scale requires the tre removal. With the right tool, why not take the ten seconds to do so. Otherwise unnecessary, I suppose.
 

SteveH

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That Harbor Freight ball joint separator tool works VERY well and avoids pickle-fork destruction of rubber boots. I am not a fan of most HF hand tools and specialty tools, but that tool is world-class. If you don't own one, you should.
 

Corbet

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As was pointed out earlier, checking the knuckle resistance to movement via a fish pound scale requires the tre removal. With the right tool, why not take the ten seconds to do so. Otherwise unnecessary, I suppose.

Oh, yah, I quit doing that after my first rebuild.
 
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Joined
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That Harbor Freight ball joint separator tool works VERY well and avoids pickle-fork destruction of rubber boots. I am not a fan of most HF hand tools and specialty tools, but that tool is world-class. If you don't own one, you should.
I love it. I use it on my Audis and my Toyota Trucks. I couldn't be happier. It was cheap too.

Are you all replacing the TRE when you do your service? If not why are you disconnecting them?

at 265K I’m just now going to order a new steering link TRE, it’s still original. I replaced the drag link and ends log ago but not because they were bad, just seized in the link and couldn’t be adjusted during an alignment.
I had to replace mine this last go round because my tie rod had rusted and seized up. No amount of torching or torquing would free it. So new tie rod from front range offroad and new tie rod ends on the 80. The tie rod from Front Range Offroad is sealed, without the slits on the side that the OEM one has, so a little Locktite and and it's sealed from road grime and water. Sometimes those little improvements go a long way.
 
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