Dana 44 front rebuild questions

[roachrider]

The Dana 44 front in my '67 F-250 just started squeaking yesterday. It's topped off on fluids. I *believe* it's coming from the drivers side. I haven't had a change to listen from outside while someone drives yet.

So, two questions: First, what is a reasonable weight to expect a Dana 44 to haul around all day. I've got a bunch of extra stuff on the front of my truck, with more to be added soon and I don't want to rebuild this axle if it's time to step up to a Dana 60. However, I don't want to get a Dana 60 if I don't have to as I do *mostly* street driving with the occasional unpaved trip with a trailer to a work site.

Second, if I do open this up, I'd like to not touch it for a while. What's good for getting rust off? What should I paint it with? What should I replace while in there(bearings, seals, u-joints). Is there a complete list(or kit) for a rebuild? Is there a guide? Other than making sure I get shims back in the same place and order, what else do I have to be careful of?

Who is a reputable spring shop in the Tacoma, WA area to have the front springs re-arched while I'm in there. Any reccomendations on brands for poly bushing sets?

No more questions, I promise

[heep70]

Hey roachrider, Your forum name should be Mr. Winch.

The small ball is a 3,000lb axle. They are plenty strong enough for what you are going to use it for. There are no kits for this axle besides center bearing kits. Best money saving bet is to go through Mcguires Bearing for your bearings and races. They only need the PN#s not what you are working on. The ball seals are still offered at any 4x4 part stores along with the u-joints in the shafts. The spindles are junk yard items only as far as I know.

The sqweaking might be your brake shoes. If not you better get into the bearings and make sure the spindle is OK. You can lift your truck and place a bar under the tire and lift. If the tire and rim moves, the wheel bearings need adjusting or the king pin bearings are shot. The king pin bearins are also available thru McGuires Bearing. They are known to go bad because they hold water and rust out.

As far as rust, you wanting the rust off the housing? Wire brush and some rustolium.

Let me know if you need help. By the way F.O.R.D. I think stills has a small ball for sale if you need parts.

[roachrider]

Mr. Winch....I like it

There is play in the drivers side wheel.

I think I'm going to tear into it this weekend and see what the condition is like inside. Will this require any axle specific tools or just regular shop stuff?

I'm sure I'll be back this weekend with plenty of questions

Thanks for the tip on Mcquires Bearings. I'll order my stuff through them.

[heep70]

You will need a spindle nut socket. Get one from the auto store. They are around $20.

[roachrider]

OK, my socket arrived and I finally had time to tear into this today. Upon giving it a closer look, there isn't really any play in the wheel. There is plenty of brake shoe left and the drum looks great. I don't think it's the brakes squeaking.

Now that I'm able to get it all apart, what do I check for to find out what's making noise? With the bearings out, how do I check them to see if they're worn out or not?

How much would I be looking to pay to replace u-joints, bearings, seals, wheel cylinders and kingpins?

The axle currently pukes gear oil and brake fluid all over the place so I know it's time to at least replace the seals and wheel cylinders.

When I put everything back together, is there a chart of the torque values for various nuts and bolts?

[heep70]

Check the races and see if they are pitted or a dark gray color. If so, they are wore out. The bearings can be checked for pitting or blueing. Also push the bears and lift the retianer. If the bearing surface is under the retianer they are bad. The races are usually the ones that go first, but it is a good rule of thumb to replace both when replacing either one.

The king pins are not replacable as far as buying them new. The bearings and races under them are what you want to replace. Agian here look for the same signs. Make sure you put the shims back in the same place.

Torque values

wheel bearing adjustment nut 50ft/lb (back off 90 degrees)

Locknut 80 to 100ft/lb. spin wheel occasionaly while tightening.

Bearing cap bolt and studs (king pins) 25ft/lb
the prelaod should be between 60 - 120 in/lbs.

I have a manual here if you need to use it you can.

[willowbilly3]

I would also reccomend filling the knuckles with chassis lube or regular high temp grease. You can never get the seals to hold gearlube on these old trucks.

[roachrider]

I had to throw the axle back together so I could use the truck today. I took pics of the part #'s on the bearings/etc at the request of the 4x4 shop tech and I'm going to stop by there later today to order parts. Thursday I'm going to tear the axle down and do the rebuild.

First, to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything...I've highlighted everything I could find in the diagram and attached it. Can somebody check it for me before I put in the order? I'm going to replace the following:

Inner and outer wheel bearings and races (#4221,#4222)
Inner wheel bearing grease seal (#1190)
Spindle needle bearings and grease shield (#3110)
Kingpin bearings and races(#3123,#3126)
Axle seals(#3254,#3248)

Is willowbilly talking about packing grease into the area I highlighted blue, behind the dust seal to stop fluid from leaking out?

How do I tell when U-Joints are worn out?

[heep70]

You will also need two 3132 seal kits $10 - $15 a piece. Other then that you got it covered. JB is talking about the area inside where the u joints are on the axle shafts. If the u-joints are bad they will be real lose and you can twist the shaft making the U-joints move with inside themselves. It would also be a good idea to check the u-joints in the driveshaft. They like to squeak also.

You want a manual? Looks like you got it covered.

[roachrider]

Got it, added the seal kits to the list.

Are there any bolts or nuts in this that are non-reusable?

A manual would be great. Could you email it to me if it's electronic or could I borrow/photocopy it if it's hardcopy?

[heep70]

The manual is a hard copy. What hours and days do you work? PM me

[heep70]

raochride has a small ball

[roachrider]

Har har har heep...

[roachrider]

So...the original plan was to replace all the bearings, seals, shields, u-joints, etc but after finding out what they all cost, I'm going to leave in some of the bearings that are still in good shape. Since I only took apart the drivers side before to get part numbers, I'm tearing the whole axle down tonight to inspect and see what needs replacing.

When I got to the passenger's side, I had a little surprise. I've always known it leaked a bit of fluid from there...(this would be a good time to check out the pics)

That side's DEFINATELY getting new seals About two quarts of diarrhea drained out of the axle before I pulled the axle shafts. Kindof explains my poor braking performance as well...

Now for the question. I'm working on the type of joint that's visible in the "oily_brakes_and_steering_gear" picture. I used my impact wrench to loosen the nut, unscrewed the nut partway to protect the threads and then walloped on it with a hammer. No luck. So, I used my puller and it popped loose no problem. Now I can't get the nut off because it just spins the whole joint.

Is there a polite way to get those off or should I just cut the rubber boot off and put a set of vise grips on it to hold it while I hit the nut with the impact wrench? If I do that, can I buy new boots? If possible, I'd like to do this without messing up the joint as this axle is sucking up ALL my free cash and then some at the moment.

[460 crew]

Mine usually drop out with a few good wacks with the sledge on the knuckle itself surrounding the balljoint or use a pickle fork Hitting the top with the nut on never really works. On the boots you can buy new ones rubber or polyurethane. Think I might have some laying around. Something like these http://www.energysuspension.com/pages/tie_r.html or here http://store.summitracing.com/default.a ... 4294925130