Shawn Watson

I recently bought a 91 4runner a couple weeks ago. Over the weekend i decided to try it out off road. well i had it in some really deep mud. Over the front tires a couple of times and almost up to the doors. A wet mushy red clay to be exact. Well after i got done i pressure washed the uderside of it best i could and got most of the mud off it. I was woried about getting the mud in the bearings and transfer case. I was driving to work this morning and it started making a bearing noise from the driver front wheel(the one that got under the mud/water the most) It only made it for a few seconds and then stopped and hasn't done it again. I am wondering if i messed anything up?

I also noticed that both my CV joint boots in the front have cracks in them, does the whole fron end have to come apart to replace the boots?

Also what are some simple mods i can do to make it more capable off road? Right now it is stock?

Thanks
Shawn

jx94148

Grunts and groans and whines from the wheel bearing/ hub area are never good. Since you just bought it there is no way of knowing when the bearings were last cleaned and packed. I bet a full tear down of the front end is in order. I recently had a bearing totally explode on me while 800 miles from home. The rollers were all touching each other and there was a lot of shrapnil in the grease. The outer bearing is supposed just slide out but it had to be pulled out with a hydraulic press. If you keep driving on a grunting bearing you will have the same problem. Its a messy job and it requires a 54mm or 2 and 1/8 inch socket to get to the bearings but at least look in there to be sure.

On the CV boot, cracks on the surface are ok for an old boot but if its a total tear and you can see grease you really need to replace them ASAP. Mud in there will kill your joints pretty fast.

I have to go to work now, I have more to say but it will have to wait.

Welcome Aboard.

richeyma

This isn't related to the noises you were hearing, but another thing that you may need to clean are the insides of your wheels. Take each wheel off and clean the mud out. This won't cause a serious problem, but the packed mud could throw your wheels out of balance and thus get uneven wheel wear.

I'm not sure what you mean by "simple mods", but a couple things you should consider are replacing your rear springs and shocks. The 2nd Generation 4runners (90-95) tend to sag in the rear. Getting new springs will get rid of this and getting new shocks will help when you're off roading. I went with an OME suspension upgrade on my 91--new shocks all around, rear springs, and a steering stabilizer. The parts cost about $470.

SLC Punk

In my opinion (ex-ford tech), if your boots are ripped through, you need to replace the whole axle, especially if you had it in the mud. The grease is contaminated and it would be best to get a new axle.

Shawn Watson

is it anymore work to replace the whold axle than it is for just the boot. How much are the axles?

thanks
Shawn

SLC Punk

The labor is the same to replace the boot as it is to replace the axle.
The only difference is the cost of the axle.. But I am not sure what it would be for a 4Runner.
In general they usually run around $150, someone correct me if I am wrong.

az4x4runner

I had it done not to logn ago, cant remember how much the axle alone costed, but toal was about $190. It was pretty cheap, under $100 I think, generaly higher but I had it done at Sears Auto Center and it was priced very well.
-Bryan