Next fix on the list is my steering knuckles. For those of you out there that have done this rebuild, how complicated is it? I was thinking about upgrading my knuckles to tg's 6 shooters and rebuilding the whole knuckle. Am i better off paying a shop to do the work or is it a job i can do without the use of super specialty tools. I just want save as much money as i can. i dont mind takin my time and doing the work. I just dont want to be stuck with it all ripped apart and then have to take it somewhere for some specialty tool down the line. I'd like to rebuild it myself and then just take it to the alignment shop last. What do you think?

 

You can do it your self, you don`t need any special tools. As you take things a part just lay things out in the order that they come off. Clean and paint the knuckles and other parts, replace seals and bearing and put it all back together. Do have lots of old rags handy, this can be a very messy job.

 

Yeah i dont mind the mess i already installed a detriot locker in my rear end and and put a 4.70 gear reduction in the transfer case. If replacing my knuckle to the 6 shooters and rebuilding them is easier or comprable to installing a locker or gears then im totally up for it. I've just never attempted it before and am a little sceptical. Thanks for your input.

 

Good question I was about to ask the same thing. Do you need to have anything pressed in? Wheels bearings or seals?

 

If you can do 4.7 gears this is no harder.

FSM:
www.ncttora.com/fsm

Take a day even taking your time.
Only special tools you really need are 54mm socket and pull scale

Here are the knuckle rebuild kit and tools on this page:
http://www.wabfab.org/Knuckle-Servic...-products.html

 

Phheew...Sigh of relief. Thanks its great to know its no harder than the gears. I think im going to go ahead and order the hd knuckles and a rebuild kit...Anything im leaving out or should include while im tackling this? I figured i might as well do the HD knuckles since i need to rebuild the stock crap anyways. $300 for knuckles and about $50-$100 for rebuild kit = about $400? Also who sells the best rebuild kit or are they basically the same...TG Vs. Marlin's rebuild? Only Tg sells the knuckles ive seen.

 

Unless you have high steer or planning it, six shooters are pointless.

I sell TG stuff and use it on all my Toyotas, never any problems.

 

3" minimum lift too for high steer

 

only "specialty" tools i needed (that i didnt have already): brass bar and a 54mm socket. i used TG service kit with new bearings

 

Awesome... this rebuild is sounding more appealing now. hehe I can look forward to it instead of dreading how im going to get it done. Thanks. High steer is definately in the plans down the line but i dont want to spend money on the highsteer, lift, and tires right this minute. Slowly but surely it'll all get done. Thanks for all of your information! im glad most of the work on this toyota i can do myself. I hate all these new vehicles with 30 computers and crap u have to take to the dealer or service shop.

 

Heres a few links that might help
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...nd/solid_axle/
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte..._end/teardown/
Good luck

 

here is a run down of an 85 I just did. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f115...ctures-180536/
It took me a few days on this one but the recent one on my 82 I did in a day.
Hope it helps.

 

Sweeet!!! you guys are all freaking awesome. Great Pics and Links to previous rebuilds. I will definately read all of the links and reference from them if needed. This should definatly put me on my way to the rebuild. Im feeling pretty confident i can do this job now that ive seen a little more about the process. Thanks Again all! My recent 85' addition is going to be better than new again without paying a mechanic!

 

Doing a knuckle rebuild is easy. Just remember where everything goes. Make sure to properly pack the bearings with molyblend grease and make sure you get all the torque settings correct.
I would suggest using Marlin Crawlers inner axle seal. If you are not familiar with it I would do a search. The one thing I kept reading about the solid axle was the little inner axle seal and its short life span. When it leaks the inner gear oil mixes with the outer packed full of grease knuckle and you get pea soup leaking down the knuckle and down the tire. Marlin beefed up that little seal.

 

It's not a bad rebuild, I did mine this last winter and got my parts from wabfab. Drove a few hundred miles on it and no problems, then I started working on other things on the truck and it's been out of commission since, should be back up for the winter.

I laid out all the parts in the order they came off then just replaced them with all the new parts from the kit when reassembling. It's not too hard. Pay attention to the torque specs, bearing pre-load, and be sure not to lose the small metal ball and spring in the hub dial when taking it apart. I did this and it cost me a few extra $$'s. I think other than that I would say go for it. It was a very messy job when I did it and I took a while to do it since I had never done it before and wanted to make sure I was doing everything 100% correct.

 

Sounds Good. thanks soo much for all of the help!! ill be starting on it after i get back from vacation next week

 

Just make sure you take your time and clean everything really well before you put it back together. It took me a good weekend to do everything. Good luck

 

Dude this might be a stupid question, but why use the TG kit with the marlin seals...why not just use the marlin kit?

 

i just had to do the same thing - i wanted a whole marlin kit w/knuck bearings, wheel bearings and everything, but they were back-ordered for a while. finally got everything cleaned and painted, and am throwing everything back together today. ˟˟˟˟ing rain.

 

I considered using the Marlin kit but I got a better deal on the TG kit.