Axle Rebuild/2.5 OME (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 8, 2005
Threads
69
Messages
522
Location
Crestwood, MO
Yet another lift kit & axle rebuild post. Sorry, but I did it myself and I've been at it since March 3rd. Had to do a celebratory post. Thanks for all that helped (especially Landtank & ExtremeToy1).
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Questions first.

Broken nut:
The nut inside the frame holding the rear sway bar bracket to the frame is gone. Now I have 2 holes with no way to connect them. Is there a do-hickie available that works like a "toggle bolt" in the house?
broken nut.JPG

Clicking:
Front left original birf clicks a little on harsh left turns. Less clicking then before, but can still make it click. It's always clicked especially turning in reverse. I don't think its a big deal, but would appreciate comments.

HOT:
It's always seemed to run hot. After I stop, it makes a ticking noise like hot metal cooling. I believe it's the cheap CAT I had put on a couple of years ago. The diffs front & rear were warm after about an hour. Is this normal?

Dirty Oil:
It's always seemed to dirty it's oil only after a week. I've flushed it, but it still does it. Is that normal?

My next step will be to fix the broken nut and replace the thrust washer (local mechanic replaced the original with the WRONG PART). Then timing/tune up. Then, look at the drive shafts. First, make sure it's properly greased. Then once have the $, rebuild. Then new radio.

See you St. Louis folks in a couple of weeks.

Joe
broken nut.JPG
lc.JPG
 
First off, congrats on completing all the work yourself! I know I was pretty proud when I finished my first axle rebuild.

As far as the clicking, I don't think it will go away unless you swap the birfs to the opposite sides. I wouldn't be overly concerned with a little clicking, but just beware that they click because they are warn in certain places and it COULD lead to premature breakage. If you only DD it I wouldn't lose too much sleep.

Try Shell Rotella 5w-40 synthetic oil for a few oil change intervals and see if that helps clean up your internals a bit. When I first got my truck, my oil was very dark pretty quickly after an oil change. I did more frequent changes with reg. dino oil and then switched over to Rotella. Oil is basically supposed to suspend the dirt that is picks up thereby causing it to look dirty. Change it more frequently and see if it continues. http://bobistheoilguy.com can probably answer any questino you have about oil, as well as searching here. cary is one of the resident oil experts and has numerous threads on what is good for your truck.

For your swaybar bracket, since I think the frame is fully boxed in that area, you really can't get in there to weld on a new nut inside. But you could possibly weld on a nut on the outside and then bend the sway bar bracket to account for the space of the nut. Then screw the bracket back on. Other options are just welding the bracket onto the frame, or tapping out the hole -- however I'm not recommending this because I don't know enough about engineering and the forces involved to know if it's 100% safe.

Ticking after you shut the truck down is usually from cooling exhaust parts. I've never worried about the ticking. As long as it doesn't leak or rub anywhere, I would say you're fine.

And I would also guess that the diffs would be warm from an hour of driving. Re-check your fluid levels to make sure you are completely filled.

Hope this helps a little.

Rob
 
Man-e-fre~$720. Needed springs and shocks badly (15 years, 210k miles).
BFG 31dia x 10.5w I think? All Terrain A/T LT

Sweet: Only reason I kept it was it's toughness (made it through 2 years of teenager) and body/interior still looks good (most expensive things).
 
click: not too worried, but will probably replace birf in a couple of years, other one is new which is why I started this madness.
oil: thanks, I'll try it
ticking: thanks, nothing wrong is always good

broken nut: frame is boxed, but rubber grommet close. I'll try to manuever a bolt to the hole inside the frame. If that doesn't work, will try to find a u-bolt to put around the frame, if can't find one, I'll do a hillbilly fix with hose clamps.

Tips:
Don't think any other newbies out there more ignorant then me, but. .
When trying to extract a broken bolt, don't try to hammer the bolt extractor into the broken bolt to where it "sticks" in there. You'll bust the nut into your frame (see broken nut):doh: .
Torque wrenches click when they hit the torque setting, but will torque more:whoops: !
Installing hub/outer birf house/brake shield/gaskets requires two people:mad: !
Front arms are hardest part because bolts don't line up. Took me 8 hours, 6 bolts. Its a tough part, so don't be afraid too pry and pound.
Use Landtank's CC bushing template. Rides straight and steers excellent.
Buy a jack with a long stroke. Mine is only 9" and was very time consuming.
Borrow or rent 54mm hub socket from fellow mudders and save $30.
If local transmission shop says front diff is bad, they are most likely wrong!
If you are worried about "the ride" after 2.5 OME lift, don't be. It's great! Wife even thinks it's better.

Trivia:
Packing for fishing trip on a lake created from the largest earthquake in U.S. history. Name the lake.
 
Trivia:
Packing for fishing trip on a lake created from the largest earthquake in U.S. history. Name the lake.

Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee?

I see that you are from Missouri too. That's what clued me in. However, the largest U.S. quake was in Alaska back in the 1960's IIRC. Seward Alaska??

Good fishing!:cheers:
-jim
 
For the broken bolt; try this. Put a center punch in as nearly as possible to the exact center of it as you can. Then beat the holy livin' hell out of it with a BFH! The percussion may break up the rust enough to loosen the threads. Drill out the center of the bolt with a small bit. If you are lucky, the bolt might spin out with the drill. If not, then drill a larger hole thru the bolt. Then beat the hell out of it again and try an easy-out, but don't get it stuck or break it off! If that doesn't work, then drill again to the proper size and tap a new thread.
Patience is key here.
 
St. Charles, Jim: Just got back from Reelfoot. Bad fishing! Never been skunked before there, but ate bluegill and drum last night. On Thursday night, May 3rd, we're all meeting up at Sybergs in south city. I don't know anyone, but should be there. You should come.

Macgyver: DON'T BEAT IT TOO HARD OR IT'LL END UP IN YOUR BOXED IN FRAME LIKE MINE!
 

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