@turbodb's 1997 4Runner Build and Adventures

Ha, good point. I'd do it to have a spare ready, but if I was fixing my truck I'd just pop a new or rebuilt one in and mess with the rebooting later.

 

Alright, so all caught up in this thread. Another build that I'm sure I'm going to enjoy following. Having built a drawer system for the back of our 5th gen (prior to being forced to trade it). For sake of showing what I created... I'll try to organize my thoughts as best I can here, so as you say...bear with me.

I like the idea of adding a locking pin (as stated in your mini rig review) to keep the fridge from sliding back and hitting the back hatch when accelerating or climbing. I experienced the same thing with my drawer setup. Even something as simple as drilling a hole and routing a small section for the other piece to lay flat in would allow the use of an unused allen wrench. I may not have illustrated that properly in words, but hopefully you know what I'm saying.

What are you doing to anchor the fridge to the slide-out tray? I would use your router to do a channel, similar to how I did the handles on my drawer setup, that would allow you to feed a strap through and around the handle of the fridge. I found that unless it was actually strapped down, the fridge moved quite a bit. Another alternative, the ARB fridge is designed for you to mount with bolts from underneath. If memory serves me, they screw into the middle of the rubber feet on the bottom. It might be a little more cumbersome to anchor it each time, but would avoid the use of a strap and would look cleaner.

Lastly, how are you anchoring the entire platform down? I assume there are cargo tie-downs in the cargo area. I'd suggest figuring out a way to attach it there. It would royally suck to have the fridge extended and weight on the pull-out tray have it tip forward while in use. That might not be a concern, but it would be for me.

Overall, that looks incredibly simple and functional. Overall, I'm impressed. I may steal some of your design elements as I look to make another. ...you know, for the new family adventure rig that we have. The one that will never leave pavement

My biggest complaint about our 4Runner was the lack of "concealed" storage. That might be worth keeping in mind as you modify this setup.

 

Exactly what I did. I discovered the torn boot on a Wednesday and absolutely needed my truck operational by the following Tuesday. I purchased a Cardone HD (based on recommendations all over the internet for Cardone in general. figured the HD should be that much better) which is now on the passenger side of my truck. As time allows, I'll get the other rebuilt and have it ready to go.

 

You gotta do what you gotta do when you have the kiddos. As I mentioned, an access port on the sides would make it reasonably easy (I mean, with the exception of lifting it into place). No harder than attaching it to the bed rack of the Tacoma, with my yet-to-be-patented tabs.

Plus, I know this is the internet, but cheer up and stop bashing all my posts/threads.

Hahahaha, well the good news is that this thread will be shorter, I'm sure. I'm hoping the 4Runner is mostly done from a mods perspective now, and it's primary use will be DD and family adventures during the summer.

Famous last words.

Thanks! Definitely seems like a nice vehicle so far. Will be fun to have what's basically a stock version of the Tacoma, and see how it does. We'll have to make some trade-offs on trails, I'm sure, but probably not as many as we might think.

If only we had a driveway or the garage was large enough to fit them both! hahahaha

But I get what you mean - it's definitely fun to see them parked on the street - and hillarious to see people walk by and check them both out.

I hear you. I mostly did it the way I did as an experiment. I actually bought a new top plate and rubber piece and was ready to install them if what I found showed any kind of degradation at all - in the end though, what was on the truck was in great shape and I was able to return the new parts to the local parts store.

And of course all the rubber bushings (just not the top plate cushion) come with the OME shocks, so there's all new rubber up there from that perspective.

Oh, and I did the experiment the way I did it for two reasons:

1. I was in no rush - even though the 4Runner is the DD, I mostly walk places, so if it was down a day or two, that was fine.
2. Doing it the way I did, I got to use the spring compressor more (for real stuff). And I was really looking forward to that.

That's a nice drawer system you made. Kudos!

To your points - all good ones - here's what I'd say...

• Locking pin - I've got a really simple design on the Tacoma slide, which is simply a hole down through the drawer front and through the platform. A 1/4" bolt through that, and everything stays in place great. I've already made that same modification to the 4Runner version. You can sort of see the pin on the Tacoma in this photo in the lower left corner of the drawer.
  
  
  
  
• Anchoring the fridge to the tray - on the Tacoma, I've found that I don't need to anchor the fridge to the tray. Even at high speeds and over big whoops, the ~1" sides of the tray are enough to keep it in place. Now, that's not to say that it would "be just fine" in a roll-over accident or something - which is something that I think about more with the 4Runner - so I may make a change in the future, but for now I think it's fine for trips.
  
  
• Anchoring the platform down - there are 4 tie-downs in the cargo area of a 1997 4Runner, and I'm using the forward two as anchors for the platform for exactly the reason you brought up. Most of the time it wont be an issue, since the "other stuff" stored on the passenger side of the platform will keep it in place, but it would really suck to have the fridge fall out, which is why I anchored the platform.

Hey, thanks for all the thoughts, and glad you're enjoying!

 

You have full clearance to laugh at me when I attempt to shot put my tent onto the cruiser.
Speaking of clearance, what was the reason for making your new aluminum cross beams be so far off the surface of the roof?

 

Few reasons...not sure any of them are really great but whatever

1. The roof curves from the edges to the middle - obviously, and as you know - so while the legs keep the cross bars 2" off of the sides of the roof, they really only hold it about 1" from the roof in the center. I wasn't sure if I'd see any deflection when we were in the tent, so figured and inch would be plenty of clearance.
2. I mimicked the height of the OEM rack. Well, sort of at least - the OEM rack for the 4Runner actually curves to match the line of the roof, so it's about an inch up in the middle. (like mine)
3. I've seen a few other racks similar to mine, and they all seemed to use approximately 2" feet. So yeah, seemed like a safe bet.

In the end, I think the reason a lot of racks are ~2" above the edge and 1" above the center is that when you attach something like an RTT, it often clamps down to a rack with the two bolts and a bar - you know what I mean - and those bolts then stick down past whatever roof rack rails you have, so you need clearance for them.

In my situation, where I don't use that method of attachment - I attach the RTT to some tabs that are secured to the rack, and as such the bolts are only 3/4" long and don't protrude past the bottom of the cross bars, I totally could have made the legs shorter - maybe 1.5" - and have been perfectly fine.

 

This makes sense. Reason I ask is because I've been rack shopping for the cruiser so I can mount my tent and lots of the options are just crazy tall, yours isn't super tall but it is definitely higher than what's I'm searching for . Just wondered what reasons they seem to be like that for. Roof crown makes sense, and I like the bracket idea to the extruded channel to avoid bolt hang down. I'm in search of a rare beast it seems, Prinsu used to make a drain channel mounted rack for the cruiser that was .5" off the crown of the roof and I can't find it anymore since they were absorbed by CBI.

 

I'm sure you could fab up one similar to mine and do whatever height you want. You wouldn't even need to do the side plates, since they are aesthetic only - so it's just a matter of making the feet and attaching some cross-bars. Few hours of work?

Oh, and i've got two extra cross bars if you want to pick them up next time you're in town

 

I really appreciate the offer, I may take you up on it. When you used your router to copy the wood template to the aluminum did it cut relatively easy or was it pretty chattery? I want to make drip rail mounts for mine since those nutserts in the area they're placed on the cruiser roof cannot be trusted.

 

With a good router bit, it's reasonably chatter free. The key is to get the shape cut out to within ~1/16" beforehand, and then just use the router to flush it up. I also found that two passes, with the last pass being "with the rotation of the bit" (i.e. the "wrong direction" to use a router) left the best finish.

 

One thing I would suggest about mounting the RTT is buy an extra 2 cross bars and permanently bolting those to the RTT (only for when the 4Runner is using it obviously) then all you have to do is bolt the cross bars to the rack. It's a lot easier than getting your hands underneath, we do this on my buddies Tacoma that puts the RTT on his campershell

 

This is a neat idea, and I already have two extra crossbars.

One thing that I like about the current situation is that the tent is bolted to the cross bars that are bolted to the roof. For some reason, that feels stronger to me than if the crossbars for the tent and the crossbars to the roof were only connected by the side rails...

Going to give this a lot of consideration however.

 

Ah that makes sense and does help, I bet there's something you could come up with to somewhat combine the ideas if you had to

 

Frogs, Snakes, and Axle Seals
July 31 - Aug 1, 2019.

We hadn't been back from our adventure on the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route (IDBDR) long when we decided that we should really get out with the child. After all, we had this nice 4Runner for her to sleep in and the last time we'd gone had been - to our surprise - the "best day of [her] life," according to her.

Hoping to best our previous success, we figured that this time, we'd pair the camping with a nice restaurant for dinner and some pick-your-own peaches the following day. Oh, no naive we were to think that we could possibly influence the whims of a child.

We headed out just before noon on a Wednesday, sure that upon our arrival, we'd get our favorite spot - now safer due to one less dead tree looming over the site. But as we flexed out the 4Runner a bit and pulled in to the site, we discovered another family with the same idea we had... and they'd arrived about 3 minutes before us. Tarnations!

​

The parents disappointed, but @mini.turbodb ecstatic - since she thinks the backup site is far cooler than the favorite spot - we headed over to the backup site. It was - as we've always found it to be - available, and we proceeded to setup camp.

​

Much playing ensued. Mostly it consisted of me skipping rocks, @mrs.turbodb enjoying her book next to the river, and @mini.turbodb doing everything she could to get as dirty and wet in the creek as possible. Eventually, I was even able to convince her to actually swim 10' across the creek in one of the deeper swimming holes - the water level much lower, and safer, than the last time we'd visited.

​

One of the things I really enjoy about @mini.turbodb is that she's much more comfortable with and doing traditionally non-girl things that other kids I've been around. So, when we were playing on the rocks and I noticed a snake, she piped right up with, "Oh, I saw one of those earlier. It was brown with diamonds on it's back." The fact that it didn't even phase her - she'd not mentioned it at all when she'd seen it, is pretty great in my opinion. And of course, now that I'd found noticed one, we were definitely going to catch it.

​

I proceeded to fish it out of the rocks and water, and immediately there was a request for a transfer. Or at least the opportunity to pet. Because... of course.

​

​

Eventually, it was time for dinner - so we headed into town and had one of the best dinners we've eaten at one of our favorite restaurants. It's a reasonably fancy buffet-style joint, and over the years we've gotten to know the chef and staff - to the point where we are on a first-name basis, and can request certain items be available on the nights we're there.

Their specialty is steak, and @mini.turbodb and I were elated to come up with a new - and we think best - way of evaluating a trip to the buffet: You've made a good decision of what to put on your plate if you've maximized your steak intake.

Everyone full, it was back to camp with us - still light, but way after bedtime - and into our respective floors of the 4Runner.

​

We awoke the next morning to no real plans, and a breakfast of champions - cookies we'd packed into a to-go box at the dinner buffet the night before. Generally, this is frowned upon by @mrs.turbodb, but with cookies is a little more OK, and this morning she was happy to partake.

It was once again a beautiful day down at the creek. Well, it was beautiful all over, but we only ever went down by the creek.

​

More water play ensued, @mini.turbodb finding a route across the river she'd never known was accessible to her, and we explored further upstream. Through various pools, some of us throwing big splashy rocks just at the other's feet , skipping stones across the glass-like surface of side pools, and having an all-around great time.

Then, as we were headed back, the ground seemed to move beneath my foot. Or rather, just before my foot hit the ground. Or rather, a small frog jumped.

As usual, no small wild animal is safe around me, and it was soon scooped up and a call went out to the child. We'd found lunch!

​

​

Once again, she was keen to get her hands all over this little guy, so the transfer was made - even if it would only be momentary - and she was thrilled.

​

​

Just as had been the case the day before, we eventually had to call it quits. @mini.turbodb had lost our only lunch to the creek, and if I'm being totally honest, it probably wouldn't have been enough to feed the three of us anyway. Plus, @mrs.turbodb had informed us that - under no uncertain terms - we were going to u-pick peaches, where she planned to spend hours selecting as many peaches as she wanted for $0.69 per pound.

Oh, twist our arms why don't you?! After 20 minutes, we went home with 43 lbs of peaches.

​

It had been a good trip - or should I say great trip - to this point. Everyone was happy, though we hadn't heard anything about "best life day" or anything like that. However, upon arriving home, I noticed a disturbing sight decorating the rear wheel wells of the 4Runner - wet streaks.

​

Visible on both sides, there's only one thing this can really be - and it's easily verified by a quick look at the brake drums: both rear axle seals on the 4Runner are leaking. Guess there's some work on the 4Runner in my future!

 

Awe nerts! That is what my kiddos used to say about that sort of thing...and then they let dad set about doing the repairs ...
You'll have fun with this one I assure you...semi-floating axles are a pita!

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers!

 

okay - silly question...but have you ever seen anything like a BigFoot or heard things like that? Other than Mr. Foot I have found nobody online who seems to spend as much time in the woods as @family.Turbodb

 

Yeah, I've done the job, just need to get around to posting - hopefully soon. Wasn't too bad once I got a few special tools.

LOL, I mean I've heard of Bigfoot of course, but never seen one. I mean, except for a few bearded hipsters... hahahaha

​

 

I'm Too Late! - Rear Diff Breather Mod on 3rd Gen 4Runner
August 7, 2019.

I have a confession to make: I procrastinated this job and it may have cost me.

So let's back up for a moment. See, this was a mod that I knew I needed to do to the 4Runner as soon as I got it. Toyota has conveniently placed the rear diff breather right on top of the rear diff - pretty much as low as it can go. All well and good except that it's not at all well and good. In that position, not only can the breather can suck water into the diff when submerged in deep water, it can also get clogged up by road grime.

​

This latter issue isn't one that you generally hear of when it comes to relocating the breather, but it's the one that can cost you hundreds - or thousands - of dollars if it happens. Because when it does, and the diff heats up - expanding the air and oil inside - the air and oil have nowhere to go... and so they force their way out the easiest path possible - generally your rear axle seals.

And then you get a nice ring of gear oil in your wheel wells. And the opportunity to replace your axle seals, wheel bearings, and rear brake shoes. Oh, and you get to purchase a bunch of special tools, if you decide to do it yourself.

​

But now we're getting into another story for another post. This time, we're just going to do the diff breather relocation...so this never happens again. Oh, the trouble I could have saved myself doing this one week earlier!

The mod is pretty simple: add an extension to the breather to move it up out of the reach of any water crossing and road grime. The hardest step is finding the right parts to do the mod. Luckily, others have gone before, and the parts have been well identified. They work for all generations of 4Runners, and all generations of Tacomas. And probably a lot more Toyotas to boot.

1. 90930-03136 Plug Breather
2. 90404-51319 Union

You'll also need a few other odds and ends, and tools:

1. Two stainless steel hose clamps
2. A length of 3/8th inch fuel line (8' is plenty, I used exactly 5' to get to the fuel door location)
3. Slot screwdriver
4. Drill (if you're going to drill a hole for the relocated breather)
5. Adjustable wrench
6. A few zip ties

​

Once you've gathered everything, the process is reasonably straight forward, though slightly less so on the 4Runner than the 1st gen Tacoma - only because the fuel filler gasket is a rubber material instead of hard plastic.

1. Drop the spare, to get a bit more room to work under the truck. Then jack up the rear using the hitch receiver.
   
   
   ​
   
   
   
   ​
2. Clean around the OEM breather (so nothing falls in your diff as you make the swap, and then remove the OEM breather, prep the Union by optionally wrapping it with a bit of Teflon tape, and install it.
   
   
   
   ​
3. Attach the fuel line to the Union with a hose clamp and run the other end to the location you'll install the new Plug Breather. Zip tie it as you go, and don't forget to allow for rear axle droop (leave some slack). Note: If you've lifted the truck off the rear wheels in step 1, you've already accounted for axle droop.
   
   
   
   ​
4. If you're putting the breather behind the fuel filler door, you'll need to remove the gasket. This is tedious, but not hard. Start by removing the nut that holds the latching mechanism, and then pry out the two (2) wire clamps that hold the gasket in place.
   
   
   
   ​
5. Drill a hole in the place of your choice in the gasket. I choose the 9-o'clock position since it seemed to be out of the way and have enough room to make a small hole.
   
   
   
   ​
6. Push the new Plug Breather through the gasket, and then attach the fuel line with the other hose clamp. Then, reinstall the fuel filler gasket.
   
   
   ​

You're basically done with the mod at this point, and your 4Runner will thank you the next time you make your way through some water. Or mud.

​

 

Replacing My Rear Axle Seals & Bearings on a Toyota 4Runner (also Tacoma)

August 22, 2019.

Well, as I mentioned previously, our last family camping trip was both a success and a failure. I mean, the camping part was all success, but noticing that my rear axle seals were leaking when we got home - that part was definitely a failure.

​

My first order of business was to address what I hoped was what caused the seals to leak in the first place - by relocating the rear diff breather. With that out of the way, it was time to address the actual problem - so I procrastinated.

See, I was worried that this was going to be a huge, complicated job - and let me be the first to assure you - it's not! I mean, you need a few special tools and such, but with a bit of interweb research, the right tools and a list of the necessary steps, the job is straight forward and reasonably easy.

If you've come here just looking for the tools and steps - perhaps to print out for doing the job yourself - follow this link to everything you'll need...

<p style="text-align: center; font-size: 2em;">Step-by-Step: Replacing Rear Axle Seal &amp; Bearing on a 1st gen Tacoma w/ABS (or 3rd gen 4Runner)</p>

OK, so having written up all the steps, it was - as usual - time to gather the parts and tools. This is a double-edged sword for me - I love new tools, but don't love paying for them. But hey, I'm saving money by doing this myself, right?

buy to save™​

The parts for this project are reasonably few, and I went OEM on everything since I generally figure that a few extra bucks for parts that are perfect is worth it. Even then, nothing here is that expensive.

• (2) Dust Seals (90313-48001) - one for each side of the axle
• (2) Axle Bearings - one for each side of the axle; oil washes out grease.
  • '96-'00 4Runner or Tacoma - P/N: 90363-40020-77
  • '01-'02 4Runners or '01-'04 Tacoma use P/N: 90363-40068
• (2) Inner seals for axle housing (90310-50006) - these are the actual axle seals
• (2) Axle Housing Tube O-rings (90301-88077) - one for each side of the axle
• (2) Snap rings for retainers (90520-36045) - Optional. Toyota says to replace these when doing the job.
• DOT3 or DOT4 brake fluid
• 3qt 80W-90 Gear oil for rear diff
• Crush washers for rear diff

Note that I decided to save about $150 and re-use the ABS tone rings and inner- and outer-retainers. The steps I've linked to above can help you save that same $150.

​

Next, I needed to pick up a few special tools.

• from Harbor Freight
• Rear Wheel Axle Bearing Puller & Tone Ring Tool/Installer - used with the shop press to both remove and install various components on the rear axle. Amazing tool, worth twice it's price, and you're supporting a fellow gear head in the process. Plus, this tool works across much of Toyota's truck lineup - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gen 4Runners ('84-02), 1st gen Tacomas ('96-04), older Hilux, T100 ('92-97), and 1st gen Tundras ('00-06). It's also available with a late model adapter, adding 2nd & 3rd gen Tacomas ('05-present), 4th & 5th gen 4Runners ('03-present), 2nd gen Tundras ('07-present), all FJ Cruisers, and all Sequoia's. And there's an eBay Store with more variants, sweet.
• 3” ABS cleanout, with cap - to seat the new rear axle bearing.
• OTC 4507 Seal Driver Kit - to seat the new rear axle seal.

​

​

And of course, I used the "normal" tools that we all have around the shop for the various jobs we do on our trucks.

• Floor jack and (2) 6 ton jack stands.
• Misc sockets (I recommend this set from Williams, a Snap-On brand)
  • 10mm socket - to remove the ABS sensor from the axle housing.
  • 14mm deep socket - to remove nuts holding brake drum to axle housing.
  • 24mm socket - to remove diff fill/drain plugs.
  • 5/8" deep socket - to use in the press when pressing on various components.
  • Ratchet, Extensions, and breaker bar as necessary.
• 14mm box end wrench (set) - to remove nuts holding brake drum to axle housing.
• 10mm flare nut wrench (set) - to remove brake line fittings from rear drum.
• Snap ring pliers - to remove/install the snap-ring for the outer retainer.
• 3mm, 4mm, 5mm Allen wrench (set) - to measure placement of the inner retainer on re-installation.
• Assortment of vacuum caps - to prevent brake fluid from leaking out of rear lines once disconnected.
• Brake cleaner - to clean the brake components, as well as axle, throughout the process.
• Grease - for installing new parts.

Logistics out of the way, I printed out the steps and after a leisurely breakfast of something that I'm sure was tasty, I got to work. My first order of business was getting the rear axle of the 4Runner up on jack stands so that I could remove the rear wheels, a step which quickly highlighted the problem for me - the stain of diff oil right there on the outside of the brake drum.

​

​

Next, it was time to remove various bits so that when I went to pull the axles out of the housing, it wouldn't be held up by anything. First up were the brake drums. Perhaps naively, I'd expected these to come off relatively easily. Ha, couldn't be further from the truth. Even after disconnecting the e-brake lines from them, they didn't budge one iota as I pulled on them and tried to pursuade them with my dead-blow mallet. Ultimately - after loosening the tensioners also failed - I resorted to using two, M8-1.25x50 bolts to coax them off, each one making a small popping noise as the rust that secured them to the axle released - now 45 minutes into the project.

​

​

Confidence waning already, I decided that my next move would be to drain the rear diff while I removed the other bits off the brakes - so it could drain out fully before I pulled the axles. Plus, it's easy - so no worries about further eroding my ego. You'll see here that I'm actually draining the diff oil into a milk jug rather than my normal oil drain pan. That's because I'm going to reuse this oil, despite the fact that it might break the Internet. But seriously, it'll be OK - it's got less than 1500 miles on it.

​

As the oil drained out - mostly into my jug - I took a few minutes to remove the rear brake lines using a 10mm flare nut wrench and some silicone caps that kept brake fluid from getting all over everything, and the ABS sensors - which were covered in diff oil, another indicator of axle seal failure.

​

​

Now flush with confidence, and having learned when I changed the timing belt that a job like this benefits from a little organization - I was ready to remove the 4, 14mm nuts that secure the back plate to the axle housing... which I did.

​

​

Found my missing rear diff oil!

Axle now in hand, I cleaned it up a bit and set it on the workbench - or rather, on an old rotor I'd set on the workbench - so I could start the work of pressing various components off... and then new versions of those same parts - back on.

​

Now - this is probably a good place to mention that if you're replacing your axle seals as a preventative maintenance - and they weren't leaking - you may not need to do any of this. But, if your axle seals were leaking, and allowed diff oil into the axle bearing (and brake drums) - then you need to replace your bearing and drums as well. Diff oil in the bearing will "wash out" the bearing grease that keeps things moving smoothly, and will keep your brakes from working well - so it's a good idea to replace everything at the same time.

The first step is to use the 20-ton shop press and Rear Wheel Axle Bearing Puller &amp; Tone Ring Tool/Installer SST to remove the ABS tone ring and inner retainer from the axle. And to use the SST, I had to pound out one of the studs that holds the backing plate to the axle housing. Using a nut to protect the threads and my trusty hammer, I was soon ready to go.

​

With the stud removed (from the assembly, not from me), I slid the red plate of the SST under the ABS tone ring and secured the puller over the axle with supplied washers and nuts and then put the entire assembly into the press. So far, so good.

​

​

As I started to press, I thought two things to myself. First - the design and build quality of the shop press is pretty "meh." I mean, it's Harbor Freight, and it seemed to work - if clumsily - for the entire project, but it is not a finely tuned machine. If I had more uses for it, I'd strongly consider a more expensive machine with a little better fit-and-finish. Second - I marvelled at the design and build quality of the Rear Wheel Axle Bearing Puller &amp; Tone Ring Tool. This thing is awesome. Through the entire project, it couldn't have been more perfect - making all of the pulling and pressing operations simple - and safe. If you're doing this job and are considering making do with your own fixtures, my recommendation would be to do yourself a favor and pick one of these up. The time and frustration saved are worth it alone, even if you don't care about safety.

Pretty soon, I had the axle pressed out of the ABS tone ring and inner retainer. And, it's easy to see here where the axle seal rides on the inner retainer.

​

​

The next press operation was to remove the axle from the bearing and outer retainer, and to do that I had to draw the stud I'd removed from the backing plate back into place - an easy process with the washers supplied in the puller SST and a 14mm nut.

​

Oh, and I had to remove the snap ring that holds the bearing and retainer in place. I was prepared for this to take a bit of doing given how long other snap rings have taken to remove, but this time I guess I got lucky - it came right off, easy peasy.

​

​

With the snap ring removed, I could secure the Rear Wheel Axle Bearing Puller to the backing plate with its heavy duty washers and nuts, and move back over to the press. This time, as I pressed the axle down through the SST, the bearing and outer retainer would be captured, leaving the axle bare at the end of the operation.

​

​

​

​

Boy! The bang when the axle bearing released was - how should I say this - a "pants changer." It was loud, the entire press shaking as the energy was released. But, everything worked as it should, and as I removed the SST from the backing plate, there was the outer retainer - clean as a whistle, and with no "wear line" like the inner retainer - since no seal rides on it.

​

​

The fact that there is no wear line on the outer retainer is what allows us to save that $150 that I mentioned at the beginning of the post - we can simply swap the positions of the retainers on installation, and have a nice clean surface for our new axle seal to ride on. But more on that later...

I had to more bits to remove at this point before I was ready to start re-installation. First up was the outer dust shield, which just pulled right off with a pair of pliers. With the dust shield out of the way, I could use the Bearing Driver that came with the same Rear Wheel Axle Bearing Puller &amp; Tone Ring Tool SST (how awesome is that?) to knock the wheel bearing out of the brake backing plate and onto the workbench.

​

​

At this point, I think it was mid-afternoon. It'd taken me a good 4 hours or so to get this far. I'd blame it on photos, but the reality is that I was just being really careful to double check myself at every step, since this was the first time I'd done this. As Eric at @Relentless Fab said to one of his guys when I was there - "Slower is faster." Truer words were never spoken .

After lunch and some parts clean-up, I was ready to start pressing components back together. This is essentially a reverse of removal, so the axle bearing was up first. A bit of grease on it's outer race and the matching bore so things would slip past each other easily, I used the bearing driver SST to support the brake backing plate, and a 3" ABS cleanout to carefully press in the bearing. It's not a tight fit, so the ABS works well - both as a match for the outer diameter of the bearing, and also because if you're deforming the ABS, you know you're doing something wrong.

​

​

After the bearing is in the brake housing, it was time to press that - and the outer retainer (which used to be the inner and has a wear mark on it) onto the axle. With the bevel on the retainer facing away from the bearing, I got everything set up using the Bearing Driver (and the Rear Wheel Axle Bearing Puller) and into the press before easily pressing everything together.

​

​

Then, continuing our reversal of the removal, a new snap ring before greasing and putting the ABS tone ring and inner (was outer) retainer in place to be pressed. Note: the tone ring is installed with the solid side toward the diff, and the retainer has the bevel away from the diff, to better mate with the axle seal that was redesigned by Toyota a few years ago.

​

​

And then, it was back to the press, where I once again used the Bearing Driver and the Rear Wheel Axle Bearing Puller to drive the two rings onto the axle. The key at this point is to ensure that the inner retainer ends up in the perfect position - so that the axle seal rides right in the middle of the flat surface. To achieve this, press the two rings on and utilize the fabulous access hole in the Bearing Driver SST to monitor the progress.

When you start to see polished axle showing below the inner retainer, slow down. You will ultimately want 3- to 5mm of polished axle showing in order for everything to line up. So when you get to 3mm - which you can measure with a 3mm Allen wrench - stop. I went to 5mm initially, and it was too far! (an easy fix with the Bearing Puller and Tone Ring tool, but something I could have avoided).

​

To see if the inner retainer was in the right place, it was finally time for me to replace the axle seal. And it was nearly 4:00pm! I headed out to the truck and attempted to pull out the old seal using some pliers. No success - the seal was in there good, and despite mangling the seal (while being very careful to not mangle the race), it wasn't budging.

Dang! I'd heard that using the slide hammer in the OTC 4579 Seal Puller Kit made this super-easy, but I'd decided I could probably get it out another way and save the hundred bucks. Dummy. I quickly realized my folly, but it was too late - getting the kit was going to take four days - time I didn't have - and so I did the only thing I could do - panic.

No, I'm kidding. I actually futzed around for a bit after looking at the design of the OTC kit and came up with what I can only call a contraption that I hoped would solve my problem - fashioned to hook the seal in a couple of places, then allowing me to hit the maple block with a hammer to pull it out.

​

It worked, terribly. So if you're reading this - just buy the OTC 4579 kit and don't lose a few years of life due to stress.

​

The seal might have been mangled, but it was out and I was relieved. I immediately set about installing the new seal - first heating the axle housing with a heat gun and freezing the new seal - just to give myself as much chance as possible to get it in easily.

It worked great, and seated just fine using the OTC 4507 Seal Driver Kit.

​

Having that done meant that I could test the position of my inner retainer on the axle, so I drew some lines with a marker and inserted the axle into the housing. A few turns to get the seal to rub off some of the marker, and I knew I had a problem.

​

I'd pushed the retainer on 5mm, but it was too far. It was back into the shop where I used the Rear Wheel Axle Tone Ring Puller (have I mentioned that this thing is awesome?) to quickly pull the retainer and tone ring 2mm up the axle. And the next test fit was perfect!

​

Now, it was just a matter of replacing the largest o-ring I've ever seen on the end of the axle housing, and then buttoning everything back up - torquing the nuts that hold the backing plate to the axle housing to 48 ft-lbs, and making sure the ABS sensor and brake line connections were "tight enough."

​

​

It was 5:30pm, and I'd finished the first side.

As one does, I figured it was the perfect time to start on the second side.

It turns out of course, that I now had a better idea of what I was doing, and I didn't have to take any photos - so I was able to go a bit faster. And by a bit, I mean that I completed the entire process in about a quarter of the time - just under two hours - and with fewer mistakes.

By 7:45pm or so, I was buttoning everything up - the day a long one, but a successful one. I left refilling the rear diff with gear oil and bleeding the brakes for the following morning, but those things are easy enough to do that I wasn't at all worried.

It was dinner time, and I was famished.

- - - - -​

Of course, now that I've addressed the axle seals, my next project is replacing the rear brake shoes. You know, because the current ones are saturated with diff oil from the previously leaky seals.