[Bearing repack - rear axle?]

In my estimation the kit's shoe hold down pins are 1/8-1/4" too short and really compress the springs too much, which I believe is what led to the pin letting go, and the shoe equalizer bar becoming loose and getting mangled so badly.

I am kind of at a loss as to what to do as the spring kit listed and the shoes listed are not compatible when it comes to the shoe hold down pins. Every other spring is spot on, however, which makes it all the more puzzling. In an emergency, if I cannot find the proper shoe hold down pins, I think i will have little other choice but to spot weld the pins to the cups to ensure that they hold. In actuality this poses a serious problem, because if something lets go (Take a close look at the mangled shoe equalizer/ separator bar. It's 3/16" thick+ and is literally bent in half) it can conceivably damage the brake piston leading to a loss in rear (Or all) brake pressures, and even more frightening, reducing or eliminating your emergency brake capabilities at the exact same time. Coupled with the fact that our RVs weigh a bunch, no brakes can be a recipe for disaster.

On all of the rear brake jobs I have done, I have never come across one where it seemed as stressed as this one. I should have guessed something was wrong.

If you have done one of these brake jobs, you can easily check to see if your shoe keeper pins are intact by looking behind the backing plate, and seeing if the stoppers for the shoe hold down pins are all still there. If you notice a hole instead of the metal circle, you might have a situation similar to mine. (Needless to say do not continue to drive your RV. Total brake failure may result.)

Here are some pictures of brake shoe keeper pins, springs, and cups with proper spring tension. Notice how far the cup is from the shoe, and how little tension is on the spring compared to mine. My springs are under far too much tension, either because the pins are too long, or the springs are too long.

[Bearing repack - rear axle?]

Again . . . the small outer seals are Beck Arnley # 052-3184. They are approx 1 5/8" OD, 1 5/16" ID, and 3/8" in depth. To be exact - 1.62" OD, 1.378" ID, and .359" thick. Toyota # 9031035001, Timken 710076, SKF or NAPA 13911

The inner seals on the FFs are single-spring-loaded lip made from nitrile. 2.44" ID, 3.35" OD and .315" thick. National # 226285, NAPA/SKF # 24635, Timken 226285, Beck Arnley 0522-680.

I'll post a photo of the brakes with drum off a little later (from my other computer).

You quoted the part number for a spring kit, that seemed to work. But when I installed it, it seemed that the keeper stems were a little too short. Look at how much spring compression I have:

In fact, I have less than a thousand miles on this swapped axle, and had the axle half shaft not have gone out, I wouldn't have known this happened at all. Look:

Here's a good assembly for reference:

My belief is that the brake show keeper pin was stressed so much it let go, allowing the assembly, including the mangled brake shoe separator (The curved thing) to bounce around in there. I have some grooves in my brake drum right now, on top of needing to replace the shoe separator. No wonder my parking brake was so weak.

Anyone have a part number for the brake shoe keepers? I am worried about the rest of the brakes.

[Bearing repack - rear axle?]

Someone mentioned drums from Autozone, what is the part number for the one ton drum? I just had an Ebrake lever go and destroy a bunch of stuff

["This is insanity"- Carpenter on how they put my 82 Dolphin together]

Thanks for the company name, John!

Hey... as far as insulating it goes, i want to use the radiant barrier coated polystyrene foam sheets. Should there be an air gap, or should I fill the entire area? What's a good thickness to use?

["This is insanity"- Carpenter on how they put my 82 Dolphin together]

The biggest thing you can get out of lumber yard 1/2 a 2X4 is 1 3/4 X 1 11/16 unless you go to the mill and buy rough cut then you can get two 2 x 1 15/16!

Nooooooooooooooo!!!

All is lost!

["This is insanity"- Carpenter on how they put my 82 Dolphin together]

I wish I could post photos. My digicam died a few days ago.

Actually, I need to re- do everything. The shell, I mean. My stepdad said not to buy 2x2's, as we can get 2 of them from a 2x4 for half the cost XD I plan on using polystyrene sheets as insulation, and expanding foam to seal the cracks. A gallon or two of elastomeric sealer and a few tubes of silicone caulking. It really is falling apart on the inside as it was stored by the ocean. And it's thirty years old. Being a carpenter, he said to build cabinets all over the inside (I like it more open- a bathroom only because it is mandatory) to reinforce everything, but I am not entirely sure if that is necessary.

So, the plan is to strip the tin off (Is there a product I can use to repair the holes and tears in it? It's not in that great of condition. Something like a solder?) and duplicate the 2x2's, plus maybe an inch so I can actually stand up in it.

I want to build some storage units on the underside of the RV, and maybe have them accessible from the inside, as well as outside.

Electrical will be run alone the inside of the walls, where I can get to it, and upgrade/add/repair it as needed, in a tasteful fashion, of course. Plumbing will be PEX and run underneath the RV.

I am on an extreme budget, but I need to do this. With the polystyrene sheeting, expanding foam, elastomeric sealer, and ripped 2x4's, I am hoping to get it done for less than $500. I already have the plywood. I would have liked to have gotten the marine grade plywood, but I cannot afford it. i will seal this plywood up good, though.

["This is insanity"- Carpenter on how they put my 82 Dolphin together]

So there's a massive gaping hole in the floor near the side entrance of my 82 20' Dolphin RV. The only thing keeping everything from falling onto the ground is the fiberglass sheeting underneath the 3/4" plywood.

So, we buy some new sheets of plywood to re- do the floor.

I notice, where one of the walls is separating from the RV, that there appear to be screws going into the SIDE (The thin part) of the plywood.

My stepdad looks at it, and says, "You can't do that! That's insanity!"

I think maybe it's just a fluke, but it turns out, that *is* how they secured the walls to the floor, is in the sides of the plywood with screws.

My question is, is there an easy way to replace the floor without literally tearing the entire cab portion apart?

[Transmission gear oil?]

Yeah it cost me over $100 for oil for my tranny and rear axle. Crazy. I justified it because I don't see having to change that oil again for years, and probably 50,000 miles.

I like Napa, but I've learned they only know so much...the problem is that they're so convinced that what they know is everything. It's not a sin not to know something. Being stubborn about claiming to know, when you actually don't, is another matter...

You can punch a hole in the bottom of a larger automotive style oil filter, stick some super strong magnets to the filter, and pour the oil through it. (Only pierce the outer steel skin of the filter, not the inner metal at all) It will filter out the junk that's in the fluid, and the magnets will catch the shavings. You can leave out a quart, and replenish the additive package with a fresh quart, and re- use the oil in a pinch.

I have $60 worth of oil in my trans alone, and I decided to rebuild it after I got to AZ (350 miles). I'm not going to toss this oil, I am going to filter and reuse it. It is dirty, but running it thru a filter and with magnets it should be fine.

[Transmission gear oil?]

Your 5 speed might have syncros made of yellow metal. My W50 trans has yellow metal syncros. It is best to run GL4 if you can. I run Royal Purple in my engine, trans, and differential. It's $10/qt for the engine oil and $20/ qt for the diff and trans fluid. But well worth it.

[anyone need this stuff]

absolutely incredible noticeable difference in power but I don't really drive with my foot to the floor so it's got smoother acceleration for the way I Drive I can feel the available power even when I just give it a little gag great investment

Can you tell us your fuel mileage? Did it go up or down?

[Windows or no windows in back of Toyhome?]

My huge rear window is completely useless while driving. For anything, unless a semi truck is literally a few feet from my rear bumper, than I *might* see it. Really need a camera back there.

[Beat up 82 20' Dolphin- need new everything.]

Hello,

Some years back I bought a 1982 Toyota Dolphin RV, 20' RV with a 4 speed manual and 4 cyl engine.

I put a full floater in the back (It had the dangerous axle there), plus a 5 speed and rebuilt the engine.

Well, now that that is done... The inside is just... Rotted. It was stored by the ocean for thirty years, and everything is falling apart.

I ripped *everything* out of it, so it is just a shell. The inner walls are still there, though, in various stages of rot.

Portions of the seams are so wide I can see the road through them. I can feel breeze in the cabover portion with all the windows shut.

There are large holes in the floor.

So... I need to buy some sheets of plywood for the floor, and some of the material for the inner walls. And 1x1's. I plan on insulating it with insect proof foam.

I am on a big budget. I want to get it... "Sound". I will re- use the skin, which is not that great, but it will be painted.

So... My question is, who has done this? What troubles were there?

And what materials have you all used?

[Bearing repack - rear axle?]

I wonder if there might be more than one model of FF rear axle. That could explain why the seals worked for JD and not for you.

That could be... But they were so large, maybe a number got transposed. I'm glad I have the right number now, though!

[Bearing repack - rear axle?]

When the Dana 60, 70, 70HD, etc. are full, and on level ground - hardly any oil flows from the center-section to the bearing hubs on the ends. A lot of transfer back and forth happens when on side hills, rounding turns, etc. The fill-level is just a hair above the rear-housing-tubes. Just enough to let oil trickle into the ends when level. Pretty much the same on the Toyota rear. Toyota oil from the center section surely makes its way to the ends as-is. My 1978 1/2 ton Toyota had gear oil all over the brakes because the oil got past the sealed bearing and single seal on each side. Several of the Toyota full-floaters I had apart that DID have the small axle seals also had some gear oil in the bearings.

90W gear oil is basically 40W SAE motor oil with EP additives if it's GL5. If it's GL1, it's just 30-40W SAE motor oil with no additives. #2 wheel bearing grease is usually composed of 30W motor oil with EP additives suspended in clay or lithium soap. No incompatibilities that are going to hurt anything. Rear axles with hypoid gears and no yellow metals (like brass or copper) do fine with GL5 gear oil. If there is yellow metal - oil without the EP is needed. GL1 or sometimes GL4. EP additives include zinc and phosphorus.

Lube to protect splined shafts is totally differently Usually Molybdenum disulfide. Used on many normally non-lube situations where splines get hammered and worn. If you were to buy a new clutch kit for a Toyota it is likely to come with a little packet of Moly grease to put on the clutch disk splines.

Well, I packed the bearings with grease, and I am extremely satisfied with the performance.

The part number you gave for the small inner seal is incorrect. The seals they sent me are larger (Almost as large as the drum seal). Both of the smaller inner shaft seals are leaking. One side had a little grease remaining as a lot of the fluid had gotten in, and the other was almost totally washed out. That side had some grey metal shavings spill out when I loosened the shaft. So I'd really like to separate the fluid from those bearings. It actually did really well temperature wise with only Green Grease, with a pretty heavy load on it, over almost 400 miles. (112 degrees F on the side I tightened a little too tight, and 93 on the other, barely warm to the touch)

Is there any to get a good part number for those smaller inner seals?

If anyone is wondering how hard it is to repack the bearings, the answer is, not at all.

If you want to replace the brake shoes, take pictures of the front and back angles of the brakes *before* you remove them. There are more springs in there than I have seen on a drum brake equipped vehicle before, and it can get very confusing. I took pictures before I tore it down and it came in very handy.

The part numbers for the shoes, the hold down kit, and the drum seals were spot- on. Just the smaller inner seals was incorrect. Oh, and the cylinders were correct, I installed those as well. Stops very good, actually.

Okay, so I see that the correct inner seal is Beck Arnley 052-3184 and they are plentiful. I tried going off of the number that was on the seal and had zero luck. So this is good news. Thanks a lot!

[5 speed/22R/1 ton axle]

Okay, so here's the report for the W50/ 1 ton rearend.

The older semi full floating rearend (I assume semi full floating) had a lower gear ratio than the newer, full floating rearend. This made me nervous, because it seemed the engine was already spinning pretty quick at 55MPH with the standard 4 speed trans.

I tore down the W50 to clean it out (A LOT of sludge in it. So glad I cleaned it out.) and check the bearings. The input and output bearings were a *tiny* bit wobbly, one more than the other. So, i filled it with Royal Purple 75/90 after running it for a few miles with fresh, clean non synthetic oil.

One the rear axle, I put new brake shoes on it, and thoroughly greased the bearings with Green Grease. I like Green Grease because because it is tenacious, it's almost impossible to get fully off, and it's synthetic. I try not to run nonsynthetic anything if I can help it. I used the entire 14 oz tube for both bearings. Perhaps I overdid it. But I was hauling a lot of weight.

My 1982 19' RV was gutted years ago by me. It was stored by the ocean and is in pretty bad shape. Walls are coming apart, and the gaps are almost 3/4" in some places.

Before I left, I greased the front wheel bearings with Redline CV grease. I also tightened up the steering to a minimal amount of play, and greased the ball joints in front. Without the tightened steering, I believe the trip would have been more difficult, if not dangerous. The manual steering proved to be quite useable, even from a dead stop.

The engine is fresh, bored 50 over.

I traveled from 92356 area code to 86312.

When I selected the mapquest route, I chose the least amount of miles... Big mistake. It took me through Wikenburg, and 20 miles or so of steep climbs and sheer drops, with twisty mountain roads.

Even with these adverse conditions, and the fact that I was carrying a bunch of heavy stuff (A small metal lathe, a 4x4 quad, lots of other things including an air conditioner, things like that) I still averaged 18 MPG. It cost me around $70 in fuel to come up here to my mother's horse ranch in Arizona. In fact, that's better than my father in law spends on his full size Ram truck (With the hemi, automatic) to come *down* to see me.

Something curious as well. I was concerned about not being able to use 5th gear, with my load, and the fact that I was increasing in altitude. Well, it turns out, I used it about 80% of the time. Some times were 4th gear, and going through the hills, I used 3rd, and once even 2nd to climb some of the twisty roads.

I stopped after about 200 miles to check the rear wheel hubs with my laser thermometer. I was concerned I might have made the passenger side nut a little too tight. That side measured 112 degrees F (Warm to the touch) and the driver's side was barely warm at 93 degrees F. I have felt hubs that have gotten this hot with *no* load. So considering all of the weight, I'd say I was doing alright.

But in the end the old girl made it, safe and sound. And with some great fuel mileage stats as well.

Some people tell me that i spent too much money on this RV, given it's condition. Or, they tell me I am putting too much time and effort into it. Why rebuild the engine? It's falling apart. Why invest in a 5 speed? Why put that nice axle under it?

Well, I'd do it all again. I slept in the overhead sleeper portion, and I slept very soundly. Maybe it's because I own the vehicle, and it's like being inside of my own little house. Nobody can make me feel bad about putting so much into it.

I plan on re- doing the entire shell, rebuilding it and making it more liveable.

I love to write, and look forward to repairing my laptop so that I can sit in my little RV with a cup of coffee, looking out the large rear window, and periodically looking up, seeing the rolling hills of Prescott, AZ.

I love my little RV and don't regret a single effort I put into it.

[Bad Vibrations]

Hello friend,

Toyota might not be able to get the gearbox (Steering gear as it's sometimes called) but did you try Autozone? It's kinda rare that nobodie's making it. What are the specs of your vehicle? If I have a chance I'll look. In the meantime, perhaps you could try adding some Lucas power steering stop- leak.

As an alternative, it *is* possible that with a little thinking and elbow grease, you *can* replace the seals, if they are somewhat standard and available online. But it's a lot of work to take it out only to find out you aren't able to service it. However, what a lot of mechanics cannot, or will not service, I am able to service, so if you wanted to take it on I would assist you the best i could.

In the meantime, try adding some power steering stop leak, or a thick power steering fluid like Lucas so it doesn't leak out as fast.

Second, I thought for sure it was your Ujoints that had gone bad.

[5 speed/22R/1 ton axle]

"Weak" is usually a relative term when applied to the Aisin manual transmissions in Toyotas. The input bearing is often considered the weakest part and that got increased many times over the years with newer transmissions. In the case of the Toyota RV - the 4 speed has a few smaller bearings than the W50 five speed. There are a lot of heavy 21 foot Toyota RVs around from the 70s-80s with four speeds and I've heard few reports of failed transmissions. If the OEM 4 speed manages to survive, then so will the W50 if it gets the same care. The 2.2 or 2.4 engine does not have enough power to "power lug" in 5th OD.

The shorter transmissions I mentioned all fit with no mods of the driveshaft. My W50 with the top-mounted shifter fits the same hole as the 4 speed did with the side-mounted shift linkage.

One thing that struck me when I was modifying my Toyota is the driveshaft allowance for "for and aft" movement. The rear leaf-spring package makes a variable wheel-base. The more load on it, the further the distance between the rear axle and transmission. I.e. the driveshaft gets longer. Just about any other truck I've worked on has either a two-piece driveshaft with a slip-spline, or a one-piece that slips on splines at the rear of the trans. The Toyota has neither. It has a two-piece driveshaft with slip-spline in the rear of the trans. Seems the rubber mount in the center-support has to absorb the movement.

Thank you for this good information.

[Hypermiling the 22R?]

A 'For Sale' sign in the window is typically good for 2-3 MPG.

But your best bet would be to install the complete powertrain from a Ford Explorer. Based on my experience, you'll get 'up to 99 MPG'.

Huh, 99MPG? What, are we in the dark ages, still? No, I'm only interested in three digit MPG's. Going uphill. I'll take your advice on the for sale sign. Hey, if I put them in every window, is that good for 2-3MPG total, or each sign?

[Bearing repack - rear axle?]

When the Dana 60, 70, 70HD, etc. are full, and on level ground - hardly any oil flows from the center-section to the bearing hubs on the ends. A lot of transfer back and forth happens when on side hills, rounding turns, etc. The fill-level is just a hair above the rear-housing-tubes. Just enough to let oil trickle into the ends when level. Pretty much the same on the Toyota rear. Toyota oil from the center section surely makes its way to the ends as-is. My 1978 1/2 ton Toyota had gear oil all over the brakes because the oil got past the sealed bearing and single seal on each side. Several of the Toyota full-floaters I had apart that DID have the small axle seals also had some gear oil in the bearings.

90W gear oil is basically 40W SAE motor oil with EP additives if it's GL5. If it's GL1, it's just 30-40W SAE motor oil with no additives. #2 wheel bearing grease is usually composed of 30W motor oil with EP additives suspended in clay or lithium soap. No incompatibilities that are going to hurt anything. Rear axles with hypoid gears and no yellow metals (like brass or copper) do fine with GL5 gear oil. If there is yellow metal - oil without the EP is needed. GL1 or sometimes GL4. EP additives include zinc and phosphorus.

Lube to protect splined shafts is totally differently Usually Molybdenum disulfide. Used on many normally non-lube situations where splines get hammered and worn. If you were to buy a new clutch kit for a Toyota it is likely to come with a little packet of Moly grease to put on the clutch disk splines.

How much oil comes out of the Dana axle when you remove the axle halves?

[Hypermiling the 22R?]

Well, guys, I know a racing stripe will add power and speed, but I'm not sure what it will do to mileage. I think the rebuilt engine should net me around 400MPG in town, and slightly more on the highway, if I keep it under 100MPH. (That's 300KMPH for you British people...)

[Bearing repack - rear axle?]

Hm, well I ride a V Star 1100 motorcycle, and I have heard of final drive failure (They're shaft drive) happening "For no reason". But, upon further research, i found a way for the gear oil to come into contact with the spline grease... I think in some scenarios the two are *not* compatible, and actually lose their lubricity, leading to failure. So... If the axle is perfectly level and you pull the axle shafts and no oil comes out, that might not bode will for the bearings. I think, then, one should determine how much *additional* oil, and especially *total* oil it takes for it to begin trickling out of the spindles. Then, determine how much oil it would take to establish a suitable level within the full floating assemblies to adequately lubricate the bearings.

Now, someone said something about this design being almost the same as a Dana design. Well, how much oil is typically found in the Dana full floating hub assemblies when disassembled? And- is the oil free to drain back into the axle housing, or would it be okay just being spun around within the full floater assemblies?

[Bearing repack - rear axle?]

I came across a Toyota FF that had those small axle seals omitted. It was fine. No leaks. It's a toss-up I guess. The setup is almost an exact clone of a Dana full floater except Dana never used those extra seals.

The Toyota FF when done OEM has two seals -in series - preventing gear oil from getting to the brakes. An American Dana has only one.

In regard to quality of lube? Wheel bearing grease is 30 W motor oil held in suspension by some sort of medium (clay, lithium soap, etc).

90W gear oil is near the same viscosity as 30W-40W motor oil. I suspect there is little difference in lube quality with either when all is correct. But the Dana style "self-lubes" and the Toyota style does not and requires more maintenance.

There was some past mention on this forum that omitting those little axle seals would result in oil into the brakes. That is not true. The 2nd larger hub seal prevents that just as it does in a Dana.

Almost makes me want to clean the grease out and add extra gear oil in the back.

I went to Rock auto and put all those things in my cart, and found out shipping is almost exactly the same as those parts, $50/$50 just about. I am trying to put those numbers into parts geek, but they're not finding them, except for the seals.

So... If one were to remove the seals that prevent the axle oil from entering the bearing area, would said oil leak out? I mean... would it be wise to add a little more oil to ensure the level is proper to reach the bearings?

One more thing, I have the PDF for the one ton axle, but it only shows one seal. Where's the other, smaller seal?

[How Bad Could It Be?]

Genuine Toyota parts are pricey but good quality. Plug wires, probably $70, distributor cap $50, thermostat $40... Autozone is like half those prices but the parts look flimsy and often break easily. After using Autozone's best plug wires and having the contacts pull out when changing plugs, I went back to Toyota wires. I've had better luck buying name brand parts from Advance or finding Toyota parts on Ebay.

Probably half your bill was parts and half labor. Not necessarily a ripoff but average for what a dealer is going to charge.

When I used to take my car to the dealer, I found that mechanics liked talking to the owner and they offered good advice on maintenance. They also encouraged me to do some things myself, like my brakes.

Starters, alternators, etc. were not much harder.

My main disappointments have been with non-Toyota mechanics. Sometimes well-meaning but not knowledgeable on how to calibrate a lathe for turning brake drums. Or calibrating their wheel alignment tools. Or the well meaning kid who overtorked the front wheel nut so tight that the disc warped.

Well, actually, I bought genuine Aisin parts from partsgeek (Made in japan- plugs, wires, cap and rotor) for under $40 (Maybe a *little* more, I forget) if I remember right, and i got the higher quality wires, too. If you go through Toyota, then yeah, it's gonna cost you. I just have a hard time believing the cap, rotor, wires and lines were $800, and then another $800 to install them...

No offense, but if they don't know how to turn a rotor or perform a wheel alignment, you were just going to the wrong mechanic. Those aren't difficult things to do properly.

On the dealer's side, though, you are almost assured 100% of the time that the job will be done right, by people who are most assuredly trained for the task. If I had money oozing out of my pockets I'd probably have a dealer work on my cars. But I don't. So I do the work myself and know for a fact it's done right.

[5 speed/22R/1 ton axle]

Well, the old 4 speed and the W50 are only 1/8" difference from each other, length- wise. So, I'm sure drive shaft shortening will not be required. I did hear that the W50 has weak bearings input and output.

[How Bad Could It Be?]

They also replaced the thermostat, which had been stuck closed. Yeah, I know I got ripped - but no-one else I knew could do the work and I sure couldn't. I'm currently on a mission to learn as much as possible about these things so that I can do the work myself. It's going to be a long road, but it will (hopefully) be one that saves me lots of dough!

Hey my friend, it's what I'm all about. Educating people on how to repair their stuff, when I am able to. My boss looks at me funny when I say I want to help people fix what they own. "Instead of you doing it?" He asks. "Damn right." I say If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line or post on this forum. We're happy to help out.