First job was to drill, tap and fit the brass air line fitting.
On the above pic my original diff on the left has more ribs cast into it, than the older one on the right.
So obviously between the earlier 1989-1993 models, toyota decided the LJ70 diff needed to be made stronger?
So i needed to remove this bit, and fit it in the new one.
marked and centre punched.
filled the inside with paper towel, and covered the top piece in grease to catch the swarf.
razor sharp dormer drill bit and cutting fluid, made light work of drilling the hole.
drilled and tapped.
wrapped the fitting in PTF tape and screwed it in.
Soaked the ring gear in boiling water, as per the FSM.
After drying it with compressed air, i dropped it on the diff, and once it was cool, fitted all the bolts with thread lock, and torqued them all up.
I managed to set the ring gear backlash easily enough, using my new dial gauge.
Im hoping I set the bearing preload correctly.
all back together and ready to fit.
I then cleaned the inside of the axle out and found a lot of chunks of metal.
couldnt find any RTV sealant, so had to settle for normal silicon.
Diff back in and air line connected.
£40 worth of genuine seals.
pulled the old seal out.
new seal fitted, O ring and silicon.
half shaft back in.
onto the other side, old seal out.
prop back on.
So today, i just needed to clean and refit the brakes, and then bleed them.
Only it was persisting it down!
Wasnt prepared to let something like the weather get in the way of what i wanted to do with my day, so out with the tarp....................
Brakes done i went on a 12mile test drive. Everything seemed OK, no abnormal noises and she drove perfectly.
When i got back i checked everything over and one thing i did notice, is that the diff was too hot to touch. Is this normal?
Ive never touched the diff after driving before so not sure how hot they get?
My broken aerial arrived back from JW this week, all fixed and looking good as new.
Thanks John, excellent work as always.
needed to add another exhaust mount, as the incompetent guys at the exhaust place had only fitted 2 on the whole system.
This one is only temporary, until i get a new system made.
welded the bolt on and gave it a quick spray of paint.
clamped another bolt to the chassis cross member.
and welded it in place.
and fitted a rubber mount.
So that was today, and my truck is back on the road!
Providing ive rebuilt the diff correctly and it doesnt self destruct.
If im able to pick up some metal this week, ive got an exciting little project I want to do, before next weekends epic 3 day laning and wild camping trip!
