Toyota 4x4 solid front axle How to remove and replace the inner axle seals Fix knuckle leaks

How I remove and replace the Toyota 4x4 inner axle seals on the 1979 - 1985 (U.S.) Toyota 4x4 solid front axles.
Link to playlist of other videos I've done on Toyota and 4-wheeling repairs: • Tips, Tricks, & DIY fo...
Marlin Crawler Eco Seals: www.marlincraw...

[@WheeliePete]

The bulk of the gear oil sits in the differential housing. What spills out is whatever sneaks past the leaky seal into the knuckle. You should always check the level of the gear oil when your done changing the seal, but it won't leak out when you pull the axle seal.

[@WheeliePete]

@danielmooresynergyis Marlincrawler(dot)com Stupid KZbin won't let me spell out the web address so just put periods where the (dot) is. Look under "Axle", then "Front Axle", then "Front Axle Service Parts" They are called "HD Inner Axle Seal Hilux. Kiss your leaky front knuckles goodbye. :-)

[@markreynolds3850]

Thanks for sharing this information thanks again

[@WheeliePete]

I use whatever is specified in the factory service manual as far as weight (I think it's 80w90 hypoid gear oil). As for brand, I usually get whatever's cheap, unless I've got a really expensive differential (locker and gears) in there, then I like the full synthetic Redline products. You really need to change your gear oil at least once a year if you wheel hard and do water crossings. No matter how good your seals are, water will always work its way into an axle during water crossing.

[@danielmooresynergyis]

Hey Pete, thanks for the great videos just pulled out the axle on my 96 Hi-Lux all "appears" to be fine but the reason i pulled it apart was because it was binding up and pulling the whole vehicle to the right and making some horrible noises in the process. Any ideas what this could be.

[@WheeliePete]

I wouldn't touch it unless you see gear oil leaking off the knuckles. All that seal needs to do is keep the oil from migrating from the differential housing into the knuckle balls when you tip the axle side to side so there's no need to mess with it unless it is leaking.

[@patvasquez-cunningham8209]

This is a great video, well done! Do you have any plans to do one on replacing the front bearings, races, etc.? Keep posting, your vids. are super informative. Thanks!

[@WheeliePete]

@danielmooresynergyis Sounds like one of your birfield joints is broken (since you said Hi-Lux I'm assuming you're not in the states are are one of the fortunate ones that got solid front axle trucks until the 90's?) Any way, I shattered the inner star on a birfield once and it did the exact thing you're describing. The bell was intact, but the inner star was blown and jammed up the balls so the birf locked up in a turn. Scary stuff.

[@WheeliePete]

@jedkerKTM525 Osi Land cruiser jest ten sam wzór, tylko większe, zatem silniejszy. Używane google tłumacz wirte tym. Przepraszamy, jeśli nie ma żadnego sensu.

[@WheeliePete]

The problem with a stock birf is the hardness of the bell. Toyota hardened the steel so that it would last FOREVER in a stock application. The downside is that they are essentially brittle under shock loads from big tires, lockers, etc. Don't even think about it - get a set of 27spline Longfields (or better yet, get the Longfields + Shafts package) and go thrash on them without having to have that nagging feeling in the back of your head the whole time your wheeling that the birf's gonna break.

[@WheeliePete]

@jedkerKTM525 Do you mean Portal axle? or the Nissan Patrol? It all ready comes down to size of ring and pinion and diameter and material of the axles shafts. Bigger is better. They don't ship Nissan Patrol's to the US so I've never actually seen one of them... A Portal axle is an axle that has a set of gears at the hubs which lowers the gear ratio at the wheels. They are usually found on large vehicles (military), are insanely strong, and have great ground clearance.

[@WheeliePete]

You don't need the third member out to remove the birfield and axles. The inner cir-clip just holds the birfield to the inner axle shaft. Once the cir-clip is off the axle slides in and out of the birfield. There's an outer c-clip that goes on the end of the birfield stub that keeps the brifield from walking too far into the knuckle. Go check out my knuckle dissassembly video in the playlist of Tips Tricks & DIY for 4-wheeling on my KZbin channel.

[@WheeliePete]

I've put a link to the Tips, Tricks & DIY for 4-Wheeling playlist on my channel up in the description of this video. Check out my other vids.

[@WheeliePete]

@lineman733 There are two 54mm nuts that hold the wheel bearings to the spindle.

[@BigBoss-yj3hl]

Anyone know the number of the seal I need to buy one but I don't have the sample thank you.

[@WheeliePete]

I don't have the Toyota part number, but you really don't want to use the stock Toyota one as it doesn't have enough motion to deal with even a slightly tweaked front housing which, if you've wheeled the truck at all, the housing is probably not perfectly straight. I really like the ones from Marlin Crawler, but other places like Trail gear also have a version. Here's a link to Marlin's website (I'm not affiliated, just like their service.) www.marlincrawler.com/axle/front-axle-parts/front-service-parts/service-front-hilux/hd-inner-axle-seal

[@WheeliePete]

I'm going to be working on a front axle build for video stuff and I've been intrigued by that TG eliminator ring. I'll have to give it a try. I'm just down the street from S.O.R.D. so I pick up their stuff a lot.

[@WheeliePete]

@lesliesmanjeff An excellent policy! I've never had a bad transaction with Marlin.

[@hurleykid83]

Can you do this without removing entire axle guts?

[@WheeliePete]

You have to disassemble the axle enough to remove the axle shafts. You can either remove the entire knuckle as a unit (what I prefer to do) or you can go in through the knuckle by removing the spindle. Either way you have to get the axle shafts out. You can leave the 3rd member (gear pumpkin) in place.

[@RedethMusic]

Thank you so much for this video. I was trying for about 30 minutes before watching this. went to harbor freight to buy one of those tools and it pulled it right out with no trouble at all. so thank you very much.

[@danielmooresynergyis]

@WheeliePete Cheers Pete yep double fortunate as here in New Zealand 96 was the year that they changed to independent suspension. I have a local 4 WD club member coming to take a look at it next week. So hopefully I will get to the bottom of it can you give me a contact for Marlin as nobody here has heard of them and everyone has the same problem with leaking seals. Thanks once again for the great Videos very helpful.

[@acyota]

Hey Wheelie Pete! Your axle is probably gone by now but, just asking? Do the axles just slip out after removing the c clip? I noticed you had the third member out? was this part of removing the axles?? Help Please!

[@imachefmang]

Great, simple and quick vid! Just did eco seals, Marlin inner/outer kits, Dirty 30's USA and S.O.R.D. armor on my SFA that will be going on my SAS next week.... Total agreement on the Marlin seals. ... I also am doing a trans swap, so I'm doing new Marlin tcase and input and output trans seals as well. GREAT security! BUT, ....TG did one thing better, before Marlin and others, first.... The felt and rubber combo wiper eliminator ring... thing is BEEF! Thanks for all you do, Pete!

[@oxdudepoege]

Excuse me, what is the ball shaped surface of the axle called in english? The one the big deal attached on the hub rides on and keeps the cvt grease inside. And maybee you could even make a video on how to refurbish the surface if it's scratched up and a bit rusty.

[@WheeliePete]

We've always called it the knuckle ball because the steering knuckle rides on it. I'd just run a wire cup brush on an angle grinder to clean up the surface of it and then lightly grease it to keep it from rusting again. When the knuckle is installed over it there is a sealing set consisting of a metal ring, a rubber ring, a felt ring and a retainer ring that bolt to the back of the knuckle and seal against the ball to keep water out and grease in.

[@oxdudepoege]

@@WheeliePete thx for the quick answer. I saw a ton of videos on youtube on how to replace the seals on jimnys landrover and so on. But not a single one tells how to treat the knuckle ball. I saw cars where the ball looked like the surface of the moon and the guy installed a new seal to it. Doesn't make any sense to me, cause the seal will be ripped apart after two weeks of driving around corners 😁

[@WheeliePete]

@@oxdudepoege You just clean it up the best you can, maybe lightly sand it if there's actual sharp edges in it. They (the knuckle balls) are just rough machined from the factory, lots of little ridges and such, it's not like they polished them. The sealing system (felts, rubber ring, steel ring, etc.)isn't so much designed to keep stuff in as it is a dust and moisture seal/scraper to keep oustide stuff from getting in. The inner axle seal is what keeps the gear oil in. there should be NO gear oil in the knuckle. The factory procedure is to pack the birfield (CV) joint and then pack the void in the knuckle with grease. If the pitting is REALLY bad on the knuckle ball I suppose you could try and fill the pitting with JB weld and then sand it back down smooth, but that's more work than it's worth in my opinion. Just knock down any sharp edges, get rid of rust, put the new seals/scraper in and run it. If you do a lot of mud, snow, or water crossings, I would just plan on servicing the knuckles once a year to make sure you don't have a bunch of moisture mixing in with the grease inside the knuckle. Toyota actually has a plug on the solid axle knuckles that the service manual says to remove and just keep pumping grease into the knuckle until it is full. I stopped doing that years and years ago with the wheeling rigs because it's just a mess when you take it apart. Instead, I just lightly coat the inside of the knuckles before I put them on and just make sure the joint is fully packed with grease. If I end up wheeling in mud/snow/water a lot then I'll pull the knuckles apart and inspect and repack the bearings and joints once a year or so.

[@oxdudepoege]

@@WheeliePete Oh, I thought theses balls would have a baby butt smoothe surface form factory to help the seal ring not to wear out that fast. Btw I drive a 2000 Jimny. This sucker doesn't even have the additional felt washer over the seal itself.

[@aymanv6525]

could you please give the dimension or the size of that disk which fits their regular ln106 inner axle seal?!

[@analog56x]

nice man, always look forward to more vids from ya! cheers bud!

[@sox775]

hey man i am just wondering how strong are the stock birfields. I sas'd my 90 toyota with 33's and am wonding would a front locker break them or should i get some longfields

[@masnor2]

hi,wheelie pete,can you show how to replace rear bearing and differential on toyota pick up and simple tools so i can do by myself...thanks.

[@hoareplussy]

Addition, a reason that oil leaks from the diff to the knuckle is that the axle is off centre, this happens when people mix up the top and botom shims whilst cleaning, there is a toyota tool to measure at reset the shims so that the knuckle is central to the axle hole of of the diff housing.

[@96hondarider]

When doing the inner axel seal will a bunch of gear oil spill out. Will u have to put gear oil in after putting the new seal in ?

[@Warmspringsrezbuck]

If I have axle fluid inside my Toyota hubs,I took the 6 10 mm bolts off and I had axle fluid dripping out of them is my inner seals bad? I have a solid 1984 axle

[@WheeliePete]

Yes, most likely the inner axle seals are shot. If you look up in the video details I have a link to Marlin Crawler's inner axle seals that are pretty good, they have more movement allowable in them to help deal with bent axle housings also.

[@lineman733]

whats the socket size of the axle nut ?? would be great help thanks

[@Homehous]

Thx for info exactly what I needed, 92 4runner rear axle repairing

[@Wyominghusker1]

I have a '94 cruiser, how often do you recommend changing the front axle seal?

[@haideralifarooq]

Hello, can l use this seal on my land cruiser 80 series?

[@WheeliePete]

The axles are built the same way, but the FJ80 series parts are bigger than the early mini-trucks. Marlin Crawler sells an excellent replacement inner axle seal for the FJ80 series Landcruisers: www.marlincrawler.com/axle/front-axle-parts/front-service-parts/service-front-fj80/hd-fj80-inner-axle-seal

[@haideralifarooq]

@@WheeliePete Thanks

[@mrcox87]

Thanks for this! I remember you from the Pirate days! How long will this take me, both sides, cradle to grave. Rig inside, tires off, brakes off, etc, etc. Never done it before!

[@WheeliePete]

It's really going to depend on how much grief the cone washers on the arms give you. Once you get the steering arm off, the whole knuckle just basically falls off.

[@acyota]

tHANKS wHEELIE pETE!! THIS, is so helpful!! I am stoked!!!

[@rambostallone300]

Do you have a video on removing the axle shaft?

[@Helixxification]

Awesome video. Will the marlin crawler seal work on my 80 series axle that has a groove where the old seal was at ? Thanks

[@WheeliePete]

Once a groove is worn in the axle shaft sealing surface it's probably not going to seal as well as it could. The new seal may be a bit tighter than the old one though and keep it sealed for a while. Best thing to do would be to get a new inner axle shaft with a good sealing surface and keep the old grooved one as a trail spare.

[@bigdazza001]

Great video. Thanks mate!

[@scottvassful]

Your toyota videos are much appreciated. Thank You

[@markreynolds3850]

Thanks for sharing.

[@riccardoscalcon1577]

Hello.... Compliment for the video.... where can I find the flexible seal that you mount in the video? You have a brand or part number ??? I am interested for Land cruiser HDJ 80 and HZJ 105 //// Thank you

[@WheeliePete]

I would try: www.marlincrawler.com/ I think they have them for the Landcruisers.

[@riccardoscalcon1577]

Thank you very much

[@96hondarider]

Thanks a lot. What gear oil do u recommend?

[@guadalupecovarrubias3487]

Nice technique 👍🏻

[@MrAddison79]

nice thanks!

[@skhochay]

some told me not to use Marlin seals use OEM Toyota I am confuse , definitely do not want to take knuckle apart twice just because I experimented with better seal.

[@WheeliePete]

Who told you that? A Toyota dealer? The aftermarket seals from Marlin Crawler and Trail Gear both have extra flexibility build into the seal lips to better deal with never-perfect rotation of the inner axle shaft. Housings that are this old are almost never straight (especially if they've been used for wheeling), the brass spindle bushings are usually worn, almost nobody has the right tools to properly set up the top and bottom bearing cap shims to properly align the knuckle to the axle housing (which, if the housing is bent will still trash an inner axle seal) all of those things leads to an inner axle shaft that wobbles around in that seal. The rigid Toyota seal gets worn out really fast because it doesn't have the flexibility to absorb the wobbling of the inner axle shaft. I've done a LOT of these axles and the Marlin inner-axle seals have always done a better job than the Toyota seal at keeping gear oil on the differential side and out of the steering knuckle.

[@skhochay]

I looked at the both seals under the microscope I am not joking I will post video later about the seals . made by Toyota and Marlin Crawler. I do not see any superior advantage by Marlin Crawler over Toyota. Marlin Crawler is thicker insert but have o ring instead of flexi spring I do not know but I think it is have some advantage . I will install it and see how it will perform..

[@WheeliePete]

The complaints I see are from FJ80's series axles with axles that are always spinning. I've only got experience with the mini-truck solid axles. They don't spin unless a hub is locked or the transfer case is engaged. Mini truck axle housings are ALWAYS bent if they've been wheeled at all, and the marlin seals have always worked better for me than OEM. They also seat on the face of the housing axle tube, not down inside it like the OEM seals which makes them (the marlin seals) a lot easier to drive in properly. I'm also running aftermarket birfields so I've got good sealing surfaces (not pitted or grooved) which may have something to do with it. www.marlincrawler.com/axle/front-axle-parts/front-service-parts/service-front-hilux/hd-inner-axle-seal

[@westoniii]

Fj40 owner, if its shitting grease, theres still grease in it...

[@4015_]

2:02 did you cut the axle housing? why is that?

[@WheeliePete]

I had another housing that was severely bent so I cut the knuckle balls out of it. The knuckle balls assemblies are VERY stout and are welded into the thinner axle housings when they were originally built. You can cut the thin housing away, grind down the welds, and then send the knuckle ball assemblies off to custom axe housing builders like RuffStuff and they will weld the balls into a custom housing at your spec. www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/R2137.html As a side note, you can take a good axle housing, cut the welds that hold the knuckle ball assemblies in and then rotate the the housing to the desired angle you need (if you want to tip your pinion up a little) and then weld them back in. Of course you may need to mess with the spring perches too if you get aggressive with housing rotation.