TOY: Differential Removal and Replacement...

["Payne, Mike K." <MPayne1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

If I am replacing the front differential... is this the best method?

I have done a complete knuckle rebuild on both sides in the front so
replacing anything in the front would be rather redundant... I did the
rebuild about 2-3 months ago (thanks to the help of list members).

With that said, is the write up Scott did the quickest option for dropping
the 3rd member and replacing it with a different one?  (Aside from
replacement parts)

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Scott Muir [SMTP:wsmuir@islandnet.com]
> Sent:	Thursday, September 07, 2000 3:34 PM
> To:	MPayne1@allstate.com; toyota@4x4wire.com
> Subject:	TOY: Birfield Joint or Hub
> 
> Mike, I bring this up only as an option, but there is a huge shortcut you
> can do on this if you like.
> 
> You can skip the pulling the hub/spindle apart and essentially get at the
> birfield by popping the Kingpins.
> 
> Here's how you do it...
> 
> . take the dial off the Hub and remove the c-clip from the axle stub
> . remove the wiper retainers on the back of the knuckle
> . detach the brake hose so it hangs free.. (unhook the caliper hardline
> from
> the hose and then remove the U shaped retaining clip which keeps the hose
> end captive)
> . extract the upper king pin. (as paul mentioned, note the shim plates and
> make sure you don't lose any or mix them up...  you may not have any or
> they
> may stay captive with the knuckle or the kingpin so keep an eye peeled for
> them.)
> 
> You will be able to manipulate the whole assembly so it come off exposing
> the knuckle and the birfield.
> 
> There are pros and cons to this procedure, but it is a huge cost and time
> saver.  I've done it this way to pull the axle shafts out enough to remove
> the front diff.
> 
> pros:
> . does not require you have a hub socket (its probably a tool you should
> have anyways, but depending on resources, can be hard to find)
> . does not require a torque wrench
> . you can skip the allpro hub kit
> . don't have to reset the wheel bearing preload.
> . don't need to repack the wheel bearings.
> . only need 500,000 shop towels instead of the usual 1,000,000.
> . the procedure is much simpler than a complete tear down.
> 
> 
> cons:
> . you don't get to do any kind of visual inspection of spindle and its
> bearings or the grease for that matter..
> . in terms of weight, the assembly is heavier than the sum of its parts
> (hehe) and you might need an extra pair of hands when re-mounting it...
> Think the whole thing weighs around 40 lbs????
> . you're possibly at risk of getting dirt where you don't want it, simply
> because of the bulk.
> . you pretty much have to disconnect the brake hoses.  You can cheat a
> little if you do the tear-down since the brake hose can support the weight
> of the caliper and the backing plate, but I wouldn't hang the whole assy
> off
> it. so you're in for a brake bleed.
> 
> 
> If you decide to do it this way, the parts list shrinks to...
> . inner axle seal (this is mounted in the axle housing; the inner end of
> the
> axle passes through it)
> . wiper seal kit(s?) (felts, rubber gasket, metal gasket retainer (flat
> metal helix) and the felt retainers) AND, when you have the thing apart,
> take note as to the order these things go back in...   Myself I always
> forget.. I think the helix thing goes between the felt and the rubber but
> I
> don't remember.
> . (4) kingpin bearings..
> (if you REALLY REALLY want to cheap out on this, you'll probably be able
> to
> get away with only 2 of them.  It has been my experience the lower ones
> are
> usually in good shape..  they stay lubed and don't get hammered on like
> the
> upper ones.  The upper ones usually dry out and get the worst of the
> pounding... its pretty much guaranteed the upper bearings are toast and
> will
> fall apart as you remove them)
> . possibly the star gaskets which go between the hub cover and hub body.
> 
> Tools you may consider getting for this...
> . Snap-ring pliers ( you don't need these, but if you get them don't get
> cheap ones, compare them with better ones...  the silly little ones with
> the
> interchangeable tips on them are annoying and barely helpful) these would
> be
> to remove the c clip on the axle stub
> . a flare nut wrench (10/11 mm) useful for your brake line fittings.  This
> is particularly useful for keeping your fittings from becoming vise-grip
> only fittings.
> . a 17mm deep socket (king pin studs)
> . a 1/2" drive flex bar (nice long one (2 ft?).. aka breaker bar; i love
> these things)
> . 5lb or better hammer
> . large drift (punch) or mild metal bar to unseat the cone washers..  (I
> think this is some kind of right-of-passage for us solid axle owners...
> soak
> the damn things with penetrating oil the night before)
> . smaller drift (1/4" diam. end but about 8" in length) to remove the
> kinpin
> bearing races (captive in the knuckle)
> . spindle nut socket (assuming you decide to do a complete tear down)
> . torque wrench to use with spindle nut socket (ditto)
> 
> Couple of notes on the write up of Roger's... IMHO WD40 is next to
> useless...  Its pretty weak as a pentrant.  I don't think it has much
> staying power as a lube either.  If you want a penetrant, use something
> like
> liquid wrench.. If you want something which will keep threads from rusting
> or galling, use antiseize compound.
> 
> Cone washer removal is a bit of an art... depending on the condition of
> them, you'll get different results with different techniques.  My favorite
> is the hammer and drift method.  I didn't have much luck with the
> screwdriver method.  You rap the stud as if you were driving a nail with a
> nail punch. Once you see the washer has moved a bit, usually needle nose
> pliers is enough to get them the rest of the way out.
> 
> Anyways, good luck...  There are tonnes of us around who have done this
> whole thing before (many times)... Its almost a no-brainer so long as you
> don't do anything reckless..
> 
> Scott.
> 
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