Red Wagon

Hiya guys,

After reading a bunch of threads I have some ideas on what is slowing me down in this job. I've been struggling to get my passenger side CV out as the boot is torn. I happened to have a spare in the garage. The seal on one end is slightly damaged on the inner portion of the seal but I hope i works out.


After much struggling we got the diff out to complete my gearing job. Given the difficulty of getting it out I bet it will be fun getting it all back in too. I get no flex up front making me believe that when the BJ Spacers where put in my torsion bars got a good crank. How do I undo that?

I think the angle they are creating is what is causing all this hassle. I can't even use my jack to flex up the A-arms. They lift the frame off the floor jack!

Where should I start? I'm sitting on this for a day to gather advice. I've got some penetrating oil on things I suspect will come off.

I can't get the outer portion of the CV past the sway bar link and shock. From other jobs I read over this was not an issue. I'd like to fix the cause of it. I imagine my steering would like it too.




















I will also do an ADD mod for now while I wait to get the axle tube out of the parts truck. I'll take pictures as I go. Any advice in my build thread would also be helpful. I have lot's of projects and no experience so am going in blind other than info I get off Yotatech.

MaK92-4RnR

CV Joints:

I also have a 92 4Runner. CV joints are simple swaps. Our differentials have a stud / bolt connector on it. The differential has the studs, they go through the CV joints and the nut goes on the CV joint side. Simply take a punch and KNOCK three of the studs out ( make sure they're all next to each other ) the CV joint will easily bend and with a little jimmying, itll come out.

Id honestly go to autozone and replace your CV joints with reman'd units. I did it with mine, and threw manual hubs on as well... haven't looked back.

Torsion bars and Ball Joint Spacers:

Torsion bars can be adjusted by the adjusting nut just below your front doors. simply look under the truck, follow the torsion bar back and you'll see the head of a bolt. righty tighty, lefty loosey. tighty raises, lefty lowers. lower them and see what works for you.

Red Wagon

Getting parts takes awhile up here until the ice melts enough to get the ferry going again.


I'll get spares for my trip though. Thanks for the advice on punching out the studs. Those where what was causing the hassle. I thought I read taking them out was a bad idea and guys seemed to be debating over it.

Perhaps I misunderstood?


So I need to add a punch to the next tool run. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. It's been an expensive learning curve and the hassle is slowing me down a lot.

MaK92-4RnR

theres nothing wrong with punching them out. I did it on both sides. once you have your CV joint in place, punch them back in ( its better to have two people help you out with this. its hard to juggle the cv and punch those suckers back in ) but you might be able to jut get away with just tightening the nut down onto the stud.

Yeah CV joints are a pain. they get easy as you do them a few times.

BMcEL

I just remove the four bolts on the lower ball joint, swing the knuckle out, and leave the CV studs in place.

Red Wagon

I'll try that first as I don't have a punch.

Thanks buddy!

MaK92-4RnR

If you have lifetime alignments at firestone, id do it that way too

Red Wagon

Doh

Nothing is going to be simple..... I'll try relaxing the torsion bars to soften the suspension a bit. Maybe closer to a stock angle will get it past the shock and sway bar link.

The diff is out so it just needs to get past that and I'm home free!

MaK92-4RnR

lol if the diff is out, why not just knock out like 3-4 of them and call it good? reinstall them when you put the CV joints in.

BMcEL

Removing the lower ball joint isn't going to throw the alignment out of whack.

Edit - with that said, if you haven't had an alignment done in a while, it would be a good idea to do it anyway.

BeMiceElf

iTrader: (1)

Putting a jack under your control arm is not going to make it compress. You are not putting any more force on it than if it were sitting on the ground with your tire and wheel on.

Usually to get the front to compress, on these trucks, one side of the rear will need to be compressed also.

In your pictures your control arms are not hitting any of the bump stops or droop stops. I would say tour T-Bars are fine.

Red Wagon

Well, that's good news. In my build thread there is some shots where you can see the front flexing. Wouldn't mind getting more movement there.

I'll try taking out the sway bar link, might as well remove the other side and see what it's like for driving. I have read in here that many people do that for more movement out of the front IFS.

BeMiceElf

iTrader: (1)

Removing the sway bar will let you flex a bit more, but you may or may not like the way it handles on the road. I took mine off and actually like the way it handles.

As for the front diff. Have a look here https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...stions-248472/. It should make getting it put back in easier.

Red Wagon

What genius put torx bolts on the axle tube! They round off so easy. Only one messed up so far but still workable. Any ideas?

I've tried heating and had penetrating oil on overnight.

Red Wagon

I got the two short ones out. There was red on the threads. Perhaps permanent lock tight? The long one are getting stripped.


Ideas!

Its the bolts from the add to the diff case.

Stuwy123

iTrader: (1)

They don't round if you use the right tools...
When putting the diff back in, safe yourself the headache and knock all the axle studs out first.
Heat and penetrating oil works. I use a little pencil torch.
If you still can't get the bolt out, weld a nut to it and use a wrench.

Red Wagon

I just bought the right socket head from Napa. It STILL rounded.

On the two that I got out I found a red substance. It does not look like gasket maker so I suspect the last person in there used permanent lock tight......

I might have a welder in the next couple days, sooner if your solution becomes the necessary one.

I still can't get the CV out past the sway bar link and passenger side shock. I'm going to next try removing the sway bar. I'll leave it out to see what driving around is like without it. I've got some rear disconnects coming so I'm looking forward to seeing what the flex looks like after.

Also, how do I remove the non ADD axle? I see it going all the way to the spider gears and took some bolts out and it still isn't moving. I'm sure I missed a step somewhere.




















It sucks being inexperienced but I'm sure it will get easier over time.

DixieThunder

I have an 89 PU and went the route of removing the sway bar when I did my CV axle, worked like a charm.

Red Wagon

Did you put it back after? If not how was it to drive after both on and off road?


EDIT////


I got the short axle stub out. I noticed a little ring at the end that sticks out a bit. Do I just hammer it back into the new diff and that will just get into place?

Red Wagon

Can I reuse the C clip at the end of the axle stub?