Installing new half shafts.

[crawler#976]

I knew the boots were getting bad prior to our 3800 mile road trip, but I didn't expect total boot failure...they are shredded.

Anyway, I bought two new Cardone halfshafts from Checker Auto, and will be R&R'ing them tonight. Below is the proceedure I'l be following - anyone have any other suggestions? I have SAW's on the truck if that makes any difference...

Jack and support rig.

Remove front skid plate.

Using a flathead screwdriver, work the large black dust cap off the end of the hub.

Pull out the cotter pin and the star-shaped lock cap.

Remove the hub nut.

Use a hammer to hit on the end of the axle to loosen it from the splines in the hub assembly.

Place the stock bottle jack upside down on the nut that's above the upper ball joint. The base of the jack should be flat against the top of the wheel well. Crank the jack so the upper arm moves lower a small amount - only about 1/4" - 1/2". You are actually flexing the upper ball joint by doing this, so be very conservative.

Remove the 4 large bolts that are around the lower ball joint.

Remove the jack, and pull the spindle further out.

Place a drip container under this side of the front diff.

Use a large crowbar to pry the inner CV joint out of the front diff/ADD tube.
With the entire half-shaft removed, transfer the following items from the old axle to the replacement axle. Note the orientation of these seals before you remove them from the old axle. Re-use the outer dust shield ring, inner dust shield ring/fluid seal, and the snap ring at the extreme end of the axle that goes inside the front diff.

Put a small amount of grease on the splines at both ends. Add a little bit of grease to the inner snap ring that'll go inside the diff.

Make sure the end of the axle that has that snap ring goes toward the diff. Rotate the snap ring so the open section is on top.

Slide it into place as far as it'll go. Then place the crowbar on the end lip of the inner joint. Use a large hammer and hit it solidly for it to pop into place.
Make sure the outer CV and hub/spindle surfaces are clean from debris. Then pivot the spindle around and insert the end of the axle into it.

Reinsert the 4 bolts around the lower ball joint. Toyota specifies 59 ft-lbs of torque for these. Use a medium strength threadlock. If you have the stock upper A-arms, it's simpler to re-insert the 4 bolts if you put the bottle jack between the upper ball joint and the fender well again.

Tighten the 35mm hub nut to 174 ft-lbs. Add the star-shaped lock cap and cotter pin to it.

Tap the black cover back into place.

 

[crawler#976]

Following the above it took me 4 hours to do both shafts. There was a lot of clean up involved - the boots were toast and there was a heavy layer of grease sprayed on everything including the skid plate. I used two cans of brake parts cleaner and a full roll of shop towels to degrease the area.

One thing I found that helped was using a bungee cord to pull/hold the spindle away from the half shaft.

I didn't use the bottle jack on top of the upper a-arm to either disassemble or assemble the lower ball joint. I did use it under the lower a-arm to push it up prior to reassembling the spindle. With the lower arm pushed up, there was enoough flex in the upper a-arm from me to pull it down by hand to reassemble the four bolts. I used a screw driver as an alignment dowel to start the first bolt.

As a trail repair I suspect that with one other helper I could complete it in 45 minutes or less. That is substantially longer than it takes me to change a birf on the beater, but I've had more practice doing that in trail conditions...

I've again removed the swaybar - had it back in place for our road trip, but noticed very little change in the handling of the truck with it on. Removing it added a few minutes to my time - getting to the 12MM bolts that hold it in place is a PITA, especially when the CAT is still hot...

Mark

 

[BajaXplorer]

Nice work and writeup, Mark. I'll give you a call when I bust a halfshaft out on the trail.:clapsmile
I carry an extra halfshaft in the truck (as you know), but fortunately have not had to do a trail change yet. I do remember helping with Chris's replacement near Dugas. It took us about 45 minutes, remember? Anyway, I will print out your step by step to help my memory when it happens to me.
Hi to T.
BX
p.s. Thought about CK, but to many vehicles=long day and A goes to New Orleans the next morning. Next Time.

 

[crawler#976]

Hey BX!

Yup, I remember doing the half shaft on the BT mobile. With so many helping hands, I missed a few of the steps of the process.

Nuther item of interest - the Cardone halfshafts are brand new and come complete w/ dustshields and nut for $99.00 and have a lifetime warrenty.

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with the used halfshafts yet - they need to be pulled down, cleaned, greased and have new dust shields and boots installed. Boots aren't cheap, and I already have one spare...

 

[BajaXplorer]

I suspect you could sell them "as is", or after "R&R" over on the AZTTORA classifieds. Just a thought. Don't know anything about the Cardone shafts, but that is a great price.
BX

 

[Bighead]

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with the used halfshafts yet - they need to be pulled down, cleaned, greased and have new dust shields and boots installed. Boots aren't cheap, and I already have one spare...

As long as everything but the boots are okay, buy a new OEM boot kit for $24 from Toyota of Dallas (clicky) and build yourself a trail spare.

 

[crawler#976]

http://www.cardone.com/English/Club/Select/default.asp

...supposed to be built to better than OEM spec

_______________

Got one spare already - but I may do that anyway. They aren't worth much without good boots...

 

[Bighead]

Did you buy just the shaft or a complete axle assembly from Cardone?

 

[crawler#976]

They are complete including the dust seals - 100% ready for install.

 

[Grim Reaper]

On the older trucks you can take two of the bolts out of the flange on the diff and file the knurls off or replace with a couple grade 8's. On the older truck that is just enough clearance that with the wheel off the ground turned to full lock you can get the shafts out without popping any of the suspension apart. Don't even need to take the wheel off on mine since I can pull the locking hub. Makes it about a 30 minute job if you have to fix one on the trail.

I don't know if that trick will work on the newer trucks but its worth looking into. Some info in my blog in my sig about it on my truck.

 

[Bighead]

On the older trucks you can take two of the bolts out of the flange on the diff and file the knurls off or replace with a couple grade 8's. On the older truck that is just enough clearance that with the wheel off the ground turned to full lock you can get the shafts out without popping any of the suspension apart. Don't even need to take the wheel off on mine since I can pull the locking hub. Makes it about a 30 minute job if you have to fix one on the trail.

I don't know if that trick will work on the newer trucks but its worth looking into. Some info in my blog in my sig about it on my truck.

You can't use this trick on the 3rd gen 4Runners or '96+ Tacos.

I have done the axle swap a few times so I now have it down to ~30 minutes using the steps in the first post (with some minor changes). Hopefully you don't get too much practice in swapping these.

 

[p1michaud]

Half shaft replacement.

Place the stock bottle jack upside down on the nut that's above the upper ball joint. The base of the jack should be flat against the top of the wheel well. Crank the jack so the upper arm moves lower a small amount - only about 1/4" - 1/2". You are actually flexing the upper ball joint by doing this, so be very conservative.

I've replaced a few half shafts on my 1999 Tacoma and my friend's '02 4Runner. The bottle jack trick just helps steady the upper control arm, but I've never used it. By jacking the lower control arm, I've been able to do the swap every time. I would be hesitant to "jack" the upper control arm down, just enough pressure to hold it in place not push it down IMO.
Sounds like you were successful. With a helper 45 minutes is reasonable.

One question about the ball joint bolts. Do you guys use red or blue locktite? The reason I ask, is with air tools it does not make a difference when trying to remove them at a later date however with hand tools it may be difficult if you use the red stuff. :Mechanic:

Cheers :beer:,
P

 

[crawler#976]

I used blue - rarely do I use the reg grades that may require heat to release.

 

[Bighead]

I used blue - rarely do I use the reg grades that may require heat to release.

Same here.

 

[p1michaud]

Blue vs. Red

I used blue - rarely do I use the reg grades that may require heat to release.

I use blue (medium strength) as well. Just currious as to what other people have used since I've read that some folks used the red stuff.

Cheers :beer:,
P