If you have a Non-ABS rearend, the retainer has to be pressed against the bearing to get the c-clip in place. Due to the fact that Toyota redesigned the seal at some point and the seal lip is sitting more inboard towards the 3rd member, we concluded without a doubt it was necessary to flip the retainer like @Drcoffee came up with to get a better mating of the seal with the retainer. Watch the Non-ABS video and we go into great detail about the need to flip the retainer.

With an ABS rearend, the outer retainer is still pressed on all the way against the bearing to get the c-clip in place. The inner retainer and ABS gear are pressed on together at the same time and we determined that using @Drcoffee method of flipping the retainer was a good idea with the ABS rearend as well. In the OEM set-up, the inner retainer has the bevel facing the seal and there's apprx 5mm of polished axle showing. With the newly designed seals, the seal lip is now riding 2mm more inboard towards the 3rd member. When you flip the retainer, you gain that 2mm back because the non-polished bevel is around 2-3mm wide. So, if you flip the retainer (DrCoffee Method) and press it on with the same 5mm of polished axle showing as before, the seal lip will be riding close to dead center of the polished part of the retainer which is 10mm wide.

Thanks for the tip.

Awesome, thanks! I found Dr. Coffee's original thread and it explained it all very well.


So who in SD did you have to the press work and how much did it cost? I'm trying to decide if I should just buy the tool he used ($190 shipped) or just pay a shop to do it since I'll probably never use it again. If the shop wants anything close to that much, I'd rather buy the tool since I have all the other tools needed.

Buy the tool and maybe help somebody else you know in the future that has a 3rd Gen 4runner, 1st Gen Tacoma or other older Toyota pickup. If you decide you don't want it, just sell it at a reduced cost but recoup most of the money you spent. Just know the limitations of the tool like I discuss in the video and use some longer M10 bolts to press out the axle. I wouldn't spend the money to alter the tool at a machine shop like I did if you don't plan on keeping it.

If you have a friend who has a welder. Or if you do yourself. You can easily make the tool to pull the bearing. Me and my friend did. Took us 30 min.

I had San Diego Gear and Axle in El Cajon press them. They're very experienced and lots of knowledge. Charged me $150 for both. If I have the press, I would have bought the tools cause you never know when you're going to need it in the future.

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I know. I remember you talking about this a while back. We put a picture of one version of a homemade tool in our video to let people know there is that option if they have a welder and know how to fabricate.

Yeah we used a square tube. And some metal plate. We made the holes and pushed it off like butttee exactly like the one they sell but home made.

Oh yeah, damn for that price I'd definitely buy the tool before paying someone that much.


This is interesting. I have a welder so I might give this a shot. The tube part is obviously easy, but what did you do for the plate part? 3/16 steel? Did you just cut out a square hole in the middle with and angle/die grinder?

Care to post a picture of yours and give some afterthoughts of your design once you used it?

Yeah, I figured cheaper on my part due to not having any tool for it plus freed up a few hours of my time for family or other things. Just curiousity, where did you find the tool for that much shipped? Tim might have said it on the video but I fast forward to the un/install process.


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The link is in the video description, along with a bunch more info...

https://www.durasolid.com/product/ax...puller-toyota/

Hey Dudes,

We had heard from many people that the original tool we used for this job made by Durasolid had issues with the manufacturing (the tool wouldn't slide over the widest section of the axle). So, we went searching for an alternative tool and we found a seller on Ebay. His name is Duane, and he builds a very functional tool that is a big improvement over the Durasolid tool which saves you time and money.

Here's a video of @infamousRNR and I using the tool to do the presswork on a pair of 3rd Gen axles.

That's a big improvement over the other tools I tried for this job!

It's definitely a well built tool and Duane is great to work with. I suggested he make a bearing driver for the kit and he actually took my advice and made the driver like I asked him to. Without the bearing driver, a person would have to figure out how to press the bearing, retainers and ABS tone ring onto the axle with their own arsenal press tool accessories. Now with the bearing driver, the tool set is a one-stop shop to get the job done. I'm stoked on this tool.

Used this tool yesterday. It made the job super easy, or at least as easy as it could be. No issues at all get everything off and on. Highly recommend this. I bought the tool on Tuesday after @mtbtim posted the video and got it on Friday in time to get this done over the weekend. 10/10 would recommend.