The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[Wandering Willy]

I spent this morning taking the n/s front hub apart in the hope of tightening the wheel bearing which has a little play in it.

Having discovered the locking ring under the grease cap and how to shift those amusing little conical (comical) washers, I found I needed a 54mm socket. Does anyone know where to get a deep series 54 mm socket so I can re-torque the bearings?

I tried ordering a 56mm socket meant to adjust Transit wheel bearings till I worked out it wasn't going to fit over the end of the drive shaft and had to cancel the order at the last minute.

Can I order one from my local friendly Toyota dealers? Can I afford their price (I can probably manage their price for a new lock washer)? Is there a sensible alternative?

Any advice gratefully accepted. Meanwhile, look out for an LC with a wobbly front wheel and driving fighting to stay one the road.

Willy

[Google]

[smudge]

See this e bay listing,it's the tool you need.Interesting bits also for sale on their site
http://cgi.e bay.co.uk/TOYOTA-HUB-NUT-SOCKET_W0QQitemZ130135407661QQihZ003QQcategoryZ10428QQcmdZViewItem
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1990 HZJ75 trayback ute
1990 Mercedes 300te LPG converted.

1996 Mercedes e220 Cabriolet

[Wandering Willy]

Thanks for the e bay source. I'll try it out.

Have you used roodogs4wdspares for anything? They got a reasonable response from readers of the Australian 4wd mag  (see http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/f7/roodogs4wdspares-22640/ )

so they should be OK.

Thanks again

Willy

[smudge]

I have bought loads of bits for my  HZJ75 from them and other e bay sellers in Oz . They are very reliable and  generally better than ones in UK !
_________________
1990 HZJ75 trayback ute
1990 Mercedes 300te LPG converted.

1996 Mercedes e220 Cabriolet

[Wandering Willy]

Thanks again.

I've ordered the socket from the Australian you listed. The total price delivered to the UK by post has worked out at AUD 44.45 (AUD 29.95 for the socket, 14.50 for P&P)

I will report back when it's delivered (time to get here and quality) in case anyone is interested in doing the same.

Willy

[Nor]

Toyota garage uses polygrip pliers.
If required, shaped with a grinder to get into the hub.
Works like a charm.
Problem with socket is:
1 Has to be deep(ish)  (normal good quality is too shallow)
2 Has to have reasonable thin walls (normal good quality is too thick)
3 Has to fit a torq-wrench.  (welded T-handle is common)
I have seen it for sale in the US though.
_________________
2004 HDJ100 AHC Auto 160'km, ex 2000 HDJ100, ex 1997 HZJ80GX Africa edition.

[Wandering Willy]

The ordered spanner arrived yesterday. So, delivery from Oz took a week - pretty good really.

I tried it on the offending bearing and it worked fine - so I would recommend it to anyone considering tinkering with their front wheel bearings.

The spanner comprises a large pressed steel box spanner. It's about 4" deep to allow clearance over the end of the drive shaft. It has a plate welded on the open (non socket) end which has a 3/8-10mm socket spanner hole so it can be used with a socket set wrench, ratchet or torque wrench. There is also a pair of holes for a tommy bar (the handle end of lever for removing the hub caps works fine). The spanner has a coating of stove enamel to make it look pretty. It is a mediocre fit on the wheel bearing nuts because they are made from steel plate stamped to form a hexagon and the press tool must have had a hard life! Definitely the worst piece of engineering I have seen on a Toyota - but they do the job.

A minor comment on the bearing. I noticed that the grease was black like CV joint grease (molybdenum sulphide filled grease). I cleaned it out and have the strong impression that the grease started life as ordinary lithium based grease which has been overheated. This normally happens when the bearing is overfilled and has 'cooked' by the churning it gets from the bearing. I cleaned out the grease and replaced it with some clean lithium grease. I am now wondering about the state of the other front wheel bearing.

On the 80 forum I read a thread regarding a front (solid) axle having no oil left in it, 'just some black gunk'. This turned out to be grease from the birfields which had been sucked down the drive shafts into the axle. So I am now wondering whether 80s and 100s all cook their wheel bearing grease.

Does anyone have any experience or advice on this? Is their a better quality grease that can be used to avoid this problem or is it necessary to be careful about the amount used when fitting new bearings or to do what I have just done and replace it from time to time?

Willy

[joinerman]

It was me who had the black gunk in my front diff, well this week the birfields have been stripped down & the axle oil seals replaced, the rubber part of the seals were well & truly mullered, everything is now back together, the reason the seals go is the VENT on the axle gets blocked, when the diff gets warm you get a vacume & it sucks grease in from the birfs, when it cools it pushes a mixture of oil & grease back into the birfs & out of the knuckle seals, so check your vents.


Joinerman

[nathanrobo]

Hi Wandering Willie

I'm currently stripping down the front wheel bearings on my '99 Amazon.  Are you aware of any exploded diagrams that show the hub assembly?  I'm looking for a step by step procedure ...  From your post last year it seems that tightening the bearings for re-assembly was a bit of a mare!!

Best regards

Nathanrobo

[jvoelcker]

They are very similar to the 80 series hubs - search in the 80s forum for the phrase 'Torque the inner nut to ' - that should give you some step by step instructions.
_________________
Cheers,

Julian
1994 HDJ80, with loads of mods without looking too obscene
1997 KZJ95 - Gilly's - plain black and muddy on BFG ATs.

[Paul_Humphreys]

Sorry its a bit late, but do you mean a box spanner like this
http://shop.difflock.com/toyota-54mm-spanner-p-99.html

Paul
_________________
LC 80 series 1993. 285/75/16s Cooper SSTs, OME 850s on the front with 25mm packer, 868s on the rear. 4.88 diffs. Winch bumper with 12000lb winch.
HD rear bumper with wheel carrier and winch mount.

http://www.crag-uk.org
http://www.4x4responsewales.org

[nathanrobo]

Guys

Thanks for the responses!  Got it nailed now

Nathan

[Leslie]

Have a look on TOYODIY.com you should get a exploded view of your axle there .

[nathanrobo]

All

Thought I'd got it nailed... turns out that the taper on the stub axle has worn away, caused by the inner part of the bearing rotating rather than being gripped by the taper on the stub axle.  The real giveaway is a groove worn away in the washer. So... new stub axles too!

So for anyone replacing bearings, it's definitely worth checking that there's still a taper on your stub axles - otherwise new bearings will be destroyed in no time.

Nathan

[Wandering Willy]

You can use Loctite to fix the bearing on the spindle. It's a grade specially for bearings not the nut and bolt stuff.

It might not convince you that this is the best method of solving the problem but it works well if used before the shaft gets too worn

Willy