Axle Replacement and Shock Upgrade - Ranger

Well.. this is what happens when you put 225lbs of torque to the floor with a stock Dana 28 front end:


So, go to pull a part since these axles are $70 a piece from a wrecking yard and discontinued from the dealer and all aftermarket vendors. I decided to ditch the stock shocks up front as well due to them being so old and oil filled. I chose the nitro filled Pro Comp ES9000..


Start by removing the wheel and in my case, the spacer, locking hub assembly and brake caliper...


The next part is where I left off but I'll need to get the rotor off as well to remove the hub but the hillbillies at Ford decided to have the bearing inside the rotor which is pressed onto the hub. Nice and thanks.. Assholes.


To be continued.....

Called my alignment shop and they said the bearings are in the rotor but they dont need to to be pressed.. Guess I didnt use a big enough hammer! I'll try again when there aren't gale force winds and rain making things difficult.

Not working today? You should pop theose ujoints apart on the new axles and grease them up. Your old ones look dry as a bone.

The new ones from PAP feel real nice with ZERO play... They are a bitch to get apart too.. not like driveline u-joints.. They sound well lubed so I think I'll just rock em.. I'm sure the yokes will break again before additional lube is needed anyway.. and yeah.. unfortunately, I work every day...

Wussy, just pop the inner c-clips off and press out the joint with a c-clamp.

I guess you'll be swapping the whole axle out soon enough anyways

Like I said.. It's not like a driveline u-joint that's held in with c-clips and easily hammered out.. They are pressed in there so tight it's like one piece. I wasn't able to even budge them with a bfh or a c-clamp.

Here's how the front axle/hub is configured..

Oh yeah, and according to Ford I'll need the following specialty tools to accomplish this task (in addiation to replacing the axle I'd like to replace the bearings and seals while I'm in there...)....

4 prong spindle nut removal tool
seal removal tool
spindle bearing replacer tool and handle
keystone clamp pliers (for the band on the slip yoke)\

I can see the clips in the pic of your broken u-joint...They are full circle clips just like the ones on my axles

...and you don't need any special tools. Maybe the spindle socket if you don't wanna use a hammer and screwdriver (That's how I tighten/loosen spindle nuts)
When you drive out the inner race it will push out the seal and the bearing, no need for a seal removal tool.


Why are you messing with the slip yoke? Are you pulling the driveshaft?

i see the clips too, i got a 3 jaw bearing race puller and 2 different tie rod pullers, and imagine anything else ya'd need.



it also looks like the ujoint failed on the inner shaft a while ago, and it finally broke. if you do pop em apart drill a lil hole 1 cap to load with grease, or all of em maybe.

i got a 54mm socket... is that big enuff for your spindle nuts, or are you nuts small?

His spindle nuts are round with 4 notches...

Should be able to pushing the bearings and races out with a hammer and a punch

Ok, I see the clips.. but I still dont think they need to be lubed, they seriously feel new... I got my 4 prong socket and I think thats all I'll need. Friggin snowing though! We need our own shop!

So how are you supposed to get those clips out if they are full circle?

Screwdriver in the 1/8" or so gap and pry them out of the groove. You might have to spin them to get a better shot at the gap.


You might save that inner shaft from the broken axle in case those are the ears that go on your new set.


There are a few BIG shops for rent near me but they are a few $

For sure! I'm putting all my spare driveline and axle parts in there for next time. And spare batteries! So whens the next wheelin trip?

Next Sunday maybe? (this weekend is fix junk/new tires)

Alright, well that was easier than I thought. I now have 4x4 back and some tight new bearings that got rid of my 3mm of wheel slop. The procomp shocks are installed and feel like a friggin dream come true! Thanks to Nuff for helping me muscle that stubborn hub out of the knuckle! What a bitch. I'll have pics up tonight. Time to do the driver side now as it has the same 3-5mm of wheel slop due to a well-overdue spindle bearing. Should be able to button that up by the weekend though.

Awesome, how'd you finally get that spindle off?

A LOT OF BANGIN WITH A HAMMER AND CHISEL, WD40 AND A TORCH! That axle shaft shouldnt have that much play in it like I showed you. Replaced that bearing and it went away. Correction for up above: the wheel slop was because the lock nuts holding the wheel bearings in were not even finger tight so the whole mess was just floppin around in there. Left the wheel bearings alone save for repacking them and after tightening them correctly the slop went away. The spindle bearing fixed the floppy axle shaft though..

Probably the main reason it broke, bein all floppy like

hmm.. thats why I had pieces of bearings falling out, a broken axle and -5 camber... the lock nuts were backed out as far they could go without the wheel falling off on the drivers side.. Replaced the bearings and tightened everything down and it feels like new! Thanks again to Nuff for helping me beat beat off the drivers side spindle.

ok 2 things...



1.

your knuckle wasnt hard to beat out...

it was normal for a truck that no PO thoght would ever see dirt and actuall need for 4wd. you should of seen some of the shit that was on my truck when i got it.




2.

over titghten your wheel bearings now that you have bigger tires. bigger tires have a lot more unsprung weight to them and work your bearings and other related wheel wobble shit alot harder then they were ever meant to.

for more research see www.pirate4x4.com

Ah maintenance...now you'll be in there every 10 trips or so