Front axle off set to passenger side

[iamtherealJayy]

So just give it a love tap on one side and it should go on? I have the rotor laying on the ground right now.

 

[Redfish]

This doesn't make sense. If the old bearing came off of that spindle it should be able to slide back on the spindle. No way you got your inner and outer bearings mixed up?

You should not have to force that bearing to slide into place, although you should have some resistance.

 

[Bextreme04]

The old bearing that came off of the spindle won’t slide back on either, they both stop at the same place is what makes me think it’s my problem not the bearing.

I generally pull it all off, clean it very good with brake cleaner and scrub with scotch brite pad, then clean again to make sure it is totally free of burrs. Then I put a very light coat of grease on the spindle so that it is less likely to bind, but you still need to be very careful to get it to slide on straight.

 

[Bextreme04]

This doesn't make sense. If the old bearing came off of that spindle it should be able to slide back on the spindle. No way you got your inner and outer bearings mixed up?

You should not have to force that bearing to slide into place, although you should have some resistance.

It makes perfect sense... they are very close tolerance. If it gets twisted from going on crooked it binds.... every time. You have to make sure it is straight, mostly right at the beginning(where it is now). Once the entire bearing is over that machined area, it will no longer bind and will push right on straight

 

[iamtherealJayy]

The drivers side slid on just fine, passenger side is being a pain, I just tapped on the face with the lug studs and nothing.

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The bearing is sticking however and I’m afraid I’m going to damage the seal.

 

[Redfish]

If you know it's the correct bearing, putting a little force won't hurt anything as the bearing is supposed to fit fairly tightly on the spindle. I surely wouldn't go swinging at it with a big sledge hammer though.

 

[Bextreme04]

The drivers side slid on just fine, passenger side is being a pain, I just tapped on the face with the lug studs and nothing.

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The bearing is sticking however and I’m afraid I’m going to damage the seal.

Just look at how crooked that is.... that is your problem. If you cant tap the side that is out in... you need to pull the whole bearing back off and try again. You need to make sure it is straight and then give it some good whacks with a rubber mallet or a brass drift and hammer. Its not going to hurt the bearing, especially if it is being pressed into the race.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

It’s straught when putting it on lol, the picture was after I let go of it and the only thing holding it on was that bearing, I got it on now didn’t even need brute force, I took it off cleaned again and then slid it on wiggled it a little and it slipped right on, I got both axle nuts torqued down and now I have to go get my sister from school. I’ll reinstall the hub lock when I get home and see if after I put the wheels back on it there’s any movement. I noticed the passenger side spun freely before I messed with it than it does now. After I removed the caliper it spun easily now it only spins maybe half a rotation after you let go. The drivers side sucked before so I didn’t have anything much to compare to. @Bextreme04

 

[Bextreme04]

It’s straught when putting it on lol, the picture was after I let go of it and the only thing holding it on was that bearing, I got it on now didn’t even need brute force, I took it off cleaned again and then slid it on wiggled it a little and it slipped right on, I got both axle nuts torqued down and now I have to go get my sister from school. I’ll reinstall the hub lock when I get home and see if after I put the wheels back on it there’s any movement. I noticed the passenger side spun freely before I messed with it than it does now. After I removed the caliper it spun easily now it only spins maybe half a rotation after you let go. The drivers side sucked before so I didn’t have anything much to compare to. @Bextreme04

Its not going to spin as easily as before because you have fresh grease packed into the bearings. After you drive it for the first time, you should be able to lift up the axle and spin them both pretty freely. You should get an ever so slight "click" when pulling out hard and pushing back in on the wheel, but no up/down motion and certainly no "settling" of the wheel/hub when you lift it up. It should just barely click, but be an almost imperceptible movement. If you can wobble it around its too much.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

Truck is all back together and had no play like before, although… I noticed a new problem.

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[iamtherealJayy]

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Never done diff fluid before.. normal or garbage color?

 

[Bextreme04]

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Never done diff fluid before.. normal or garbage color?

If it was fresh, clean stuff it would be gold. Hard to say if it is that dirty from running down the case though. Looks like you have a bad pinion seal. Not uncommon after it has sat for a long time. You can mark everything and then pull it apart and just replace the pinion seal. It isn't really the "right" was to do it because you can screw up the pinion preload if you aren't very careful. At a minimum I'd pull the front diff cover, clean the heck out of it and put some fresh 80-90w in there. You might lose the leak just from putting some fresh oil in.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

The picture of my pinky was after I stuck my pinky in the fill hole. That was fluid from inside the pumpkin.
Edit: I noticed a “leak” after the truck sat while changing suspension and I assumed it was degreaser since I sprayed the axle and oil pan and everything but it was never more than a couple drops but that puddle todah was from less than 24 hours
Edit2: if I’m replacing the fluid and the cover is going to be off I’ve always wanted chrome diff covers. Last time I looked they had like 10/12/14 bolt and then different gear size. Can someone chime in and help me figure what I need.

 

[Bextreme04]

The picture of my pinky was after I stuck my pinky in the fill hole. That was fluid from inside the pumpkin.
Edit: I noticed a “leak” after the truck sat while changing suspension and I assumed it was degreaser since I sprayed the axle and oil pan and everything but it was never more than a couple drops but that puddle todah was from less than 24 hours
Edit2: if I’m replacing the fluid and the cover is going to be off I’ve always wanted chrome diff covers. Last time I looked they had like 10/12/14 bolt and then different gear size. Can someone chime in and help me figure what I need.

yeah if that was from inside the diff, you need to change it. That fluid shouldn't leak out of the pinion seal like that when sitting, the fluid level should be below the pinion shaft. Make sure it isn't leaking down from above onto the diff and dropping down onto the diff.

I can't tell for sure from the pics I've seen with the diff cover, but it WILL be either a Dana 44(Pre-78) or it will be a Corporate 8.5" 10 bolt(1980-up). Between 78-80 it could be either. It appears to be a 10 bolt to me, but I could tell you 100% with a direct front picture of the entire cover. You can also tell by looking at the little tab sticking down on the drivers side lower portion of the cover surface. If you clean it off real good and its a Dana 44, it will say "44" on it.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

It’s an 87 front axle, 3.42 gears supposedly is what the truck came with factory. I’ve counted the bolts before I bet it’s a 10 bolt. I don’t know 100% if the front and rear gear ratios are the same tho… the rear end has been swapped before(internals not the whole axle)