Birfield Upgrades

[EROK81?]

This is my first Toyota and after hearing so many stories about how bad birfields suck, I think I might want to upgrade...which is where my question comes in.

I am not super hard on axles. I ran lock rights front and rear with 35's on stock CJ axles as well as 38.5's on a 10 bolt/30 spline 60 combo with very low gearing and a v8. Never broke a single axle on those combos.

On my 4Runner I don't plan on running bigger than 35's. I wanted to run 37's but it turns out you can only get them in 17's now so 35's will have to do. I do want to lock the front though.

With that said, are the birfield upgrades worth it? I'm not talking about longfields, dirty 30's, etc. Just the outers.

Like this...

http://www.trail-gear.com/birfields (scroll down to "better than birfields")

http://www.marlincrawler.com/axle/fr...ield-27-spline

I can't afford 700+ for full axle kits so the outers only look better being so much less expensive.

 

[864runner]

Well I would say get a set of stock spares and run what you got till you break something. If your not very hard on them you might not even break stock birfields with 35's

But hopefully someone with more experience than me can chime in.

 

[abhaulr1]

I run stocks in mine. I'm not real hard on mine, but i dont baby them either. I carry a set of stocks. I've ran the snakes, moab and st george. I just dont get to crazy with the skinny pedal. Maybe some others will chime in. If you can afford them, get a set of dirty 30's and forget about them.
Dwayne

I run 35's with a 4.3, th350, locked front and rear.

 

[EROK81?]

Hmm...thanks for the advice.

Maybe I'll just buy a stock and spare and see how it goes.

 

[bschroeder]

I run stock birfs and get on the skinny pedal from time to time. I broke my first one after wheeling for quite awhile on them, I think you'll be fine to run stock just carry a spare and then when you break both then upgrade. Upgrades are a pretty penny

 

[Panos]

i ran the TG better than stock birfs. and for the price you cant find a better deal. i ran 37" krawlers. 4.10's, dual cases with stock gears, welded front and rear. i was not to nice to them and they lasted me 6 months. thats every weekend of hard wheeling. just dont hammer on it going up something steep backwards or crank the wheel all the way and get on it to much. with 35's and not being to hard on axles. you will be just fine

 

[pELYgroso]

Birfields are pretty strong, as long as you go in a straight line with them they'll almost never break unless you're going crazy with the skinny pedal. It's when you have the wheel cranked, ESPECIALLY moving backwards that they'll snap. I had a buddy that ran stock birfs forever in his yota and they didn't break, until one day when he was backing up a dirt hill (somewhat steep) in 4lo locked in the front with the wheels cranked and they just snapped. we couldn't believe what it had survived through, only to snap while backing up a dirt hill at full turn.

So be careful with the wheel cranked, and they should last awhile for you.

 

[ricsrx]

I just broke my first one today on Wayne's world, just got after it alittle to hard onthe 2nd step, didnt make it and started sliding back down, just couldnt get off of it fast enough.

It has lasted me over a year..

maybe time to upgrade???

 

[SUPERFLY]

Marlins 30 spliner were on sale for 500 bucks a while back, I put a set in for a customer, they seemed nice and he hasn't had a problem with them yet. In my opinion 500 bucks for piece of mind is very good upgrade

you'll wish you had them when your trying to swap them out in the dirt, and its getting late, and your kids are crying, and your wife leaves you, and mountain lions are circling the truck, and.... Hey I'm just thinking worst case scenario. I hate trail fixes

 

[Tacoma]

Trail fixes do bring the suck. And broken knuckles cost more than $500 in a hurry.

 

[backwoodsgoop]

core Toyota axle

 

[backwoodsgoop]

modification

At first this appeared to be damage to the housing but upon further inspection it is definitly a modification to improve lube to the upper bearing,
although it may have its merits I do not feel it is needed.

 

[backwoodsgoop]

spindle ID

 

[backwoodsgoop]

spindle housing ID

 

[backwoodsgoop]

,060

 

[Tranny Frank]

Busted Birfs

I have been reading up on birfs and studying the design of the closed steering axle

Basically there are 3 things that need to be given some thought to extend the life of a birf

While if your getting to crazy something is gonna snap some where, but here,s what I have observed

#1 check and make sure the axle is not moving back and forth more than say .060
#2 check the bushing wear, if the bushing is worn, and the axle end float is excessive, big trouble with little birf
#3 proper lubrication.

 

[Kevin B.]

Birfields are pretty strong, as long as you go in a straight line with them they'll almost never break unless you're going crazy with the skinny pedal. It's when you have the wheel cranked, ESPECIALLY moving backwards that they'll snap. I had a buddy that ran stock birfs forever in his yota and they didn't break, until one day when he was backing up a dirt hill (somewhat steep) in 4lo locked in the front with the wheels cranked and they just snapped. we couldn't believe what it had survived through, only to snap while backing up a dirt hill at full turn.

So be careful with the wheel cranked, and they should last awhile for you.

This rings a bell. I was 3 pointing at a dead end in 4lo and had something go "grrrk" and it felt like I was backing into a rubber band. I stopped before I heard anything snap, didn't see anything wrong underneath, and went on my merry way.

Wonder if I was a couple inches from busting mine.