Front axle overhaulin' questions!

[semlin]

or you can use the kingpin bearing races.

 

[tucker74]

I cannot imagine how difficult to remove it would be under these circumstances.

Basically, orient the tapered side the same as the new one you're putting in.

Don't worry man - it can be done

I'm sure Dan sent you everything you need - the freezer trick helps more w/ the trunion races (don't have to be driven as far). Be [highlight]sure[/highlight] and rig up some sort of tool to drive the axle seal - if you bugger it up your back to square one...and all is wasted.

Good luck!

Tucker

 

[Doc]

HELP! The birf won't budge!

Yes I have the flat spot on top.

There's that little "hangy down thing" in the way. What is it? How do I get it out of the way?

 

[Scamper]

You've neglected to remvoe the ABS sensor (on top of the knuckle) before tugging on the birf. Just the one bolt holding it in; you may have to gently but persuasivly twist it out--it should come out pretty easily though. But do be careful as this is one of those parts that will break if you pull on that birf without removing the sensor first--and then Dan's dogs will be well fed that night.

Tom

 

[Jomama]

or you can use the kingpin bearing races.

I removed all the old races, cut one of each size, and used each one to pound in the new ones, including the trunion bearings... I also used the large hub race to get the hub seal in...

 

[Cruiserdrew]

This is exactly right. The slot in the race prevents any tension from developing and the "tool race" can be pulled out by hand.

The kinpin bearing races can be driven in directly with the brass drift.

edit: Bone head move getting used to the new forum. I mean Jomomma is correct, I had quoted the wrong person before the edit.

 

[Beowulf]

There's that little "hangy down thing" in the way. What is it? How do I get it out of the way?

The ABS sensor is made of plastic and sold in pairs. If you were following the Birfield repack instructions posted in the Tech articles then you should have seen that step. If you are following instructions for mini's and pre-80 Cruisers then you better grab Jim's instructions before you do more damage.

-B-

 

[Big_Moose]

I'm doing the wheel bearing first. I'll get to the seals and birf's next.

I bought the front kit from c-Dan. So I'm pretty sure I have everything- I think the confusion is in the 'official' names.

I wish the part numbers on the baggies from C-dan matched the part numbers in the FSM, it'd make things soooooo much easier.

Doc

I'm sure Cbiz provided you with all the necessary parts

You will get some experience this way as you will have to disassemble the front axle / front hub again to access the birfields. The potential problem with this method is the damage to the paper gaskets, but if you do the birfs fairly soon after - they should still be pliable & can be reused. At least the cone washers will pop right out next time you rebuild the front

Don't forget to inspect your spindles for wear, and also make sure you set the wheel bearing preload properly, and then check the bearing preload within a couple of cruises.

Joe

 

[semlin]

Big Moose, from the looks of things he was just doing the wheel bearings first then continuing the same day to do the birfs. Luckily for us it's all in real time. To recap, right now he is getting a tongue lashing for not yanking the ABS sensor. Pretty soon we'll know if he had the steering wheel pointed straight ahead or not. This is true cruiser porn.

 

[Big_Moose]

Semlin

Getting used to the new format, and never saw the pics or sec. page of responses
Hopefully the ABS sensor did not get damaged from pulling too hard on the birf.

Joe

 

[Doc]

If you were following the Birfield repack instructions posted in the Tech articles then you should have seen that step. If you are following instructions for mini's and pre-80 Cruisers then you better grab Jim's instructions before you do more damage.

-B-

I'm not following any 'set' of directions other than the FSM. Which is woefully neglectfull on issues such as removing the aBS sensor.

I neve did pull hard on it to do any damage, I knew something was wrong. Snapped a pic, and got direction.

OK, the ASSEMBLY process has begun.

I got the birf/axle out just fine, cleaned everything up, knocked a couple of bearing races out, and started putting things back together.

I'm using all new gaskets and races/bearings. It should be nice. Valvoline synthetic greases all around. Moly grease in the knuckles, full syn in the wheel bearings. Pulling the inner oil seal was the toughest part of this job so far. Well, that and cleaning everything!

I was leaking liquid grease over the backside of the knuckle, must have been from the bad felts.

So, the new gaskets are mostly in, looks pretty good so far! The spindle looks good, no real wear noticeable anyplace, infact- the OLD bearings looked brand new. I think I could have gotten away with replacing the felt seal on the back of the knuckle and setting bearing pre-load again and would have been fine. But, it's good to have fresh grease in there.

I packed the birf pretty full of the moly grease, left about 25% of the space empty I'm estimating. It took about 1.75 tubes of grease to fill 'er that full. I will have about half to 3/4 of a tub of syn grease in the wheel bearings when I'm done I bet.

I've only been able to spend about 2-3 hours a night on it, as the mosquitos are really bad right now.

Tomorrow night I have to put on the dust cover, and disc assembly, and all the goodies that go with it.

I put the spindle on tonight to keep any bugs out of the grease, but odviously will pull the bolts to put the dust cover and other gaskets back on.

 

[ppc]

I was leaking liquid grease over the backside of the knuckle, must have been from the bad felts.

So, the new gaskets are mostly in, looks pretty good so far! The spindle looks good, no real wear noticeable anyplace, infact- the OLD bearings looked brand new. I think I could have gotten away with replacing the felt seal on the back of the knuckle and setting bearing pre-load again and would have been fine. But, it's good to have fresh grease in there.

The leaking liquid grease is caused a failed inner axle seal that has allowed gear lube to mix with the grease in the birfield. The felt seal is not designed to keep that kind of mess from leaking out. It allows small amounts of good grease past to lubricate the other parts of the seal and to keep dirt out.

The wheel bearings should be OK but the kingpin/trunion bearings should be replaced at each service. They support the entire load of the front end of the truck and take a lot of abuse under normal driving conditions from bumps and potholes not taking into account any trail use. If you look close you will see wear on the races. The rollers move very little except for turning and tend to settle in the same spot producing the wear.

The axle lube should also be changed as the mixing occurs in both directions and the lube is going to look like a muddy goo.

 

[Doc]

Hey guys, another question- The brake pads were dragging on the rotor when I took them off, so- If I use the C-clamp to push them back in a bit for re-installation, what's to keep them from dragging again?

Shouldn't the pads be retracting a bit after I let off the brake?

What is causing them to drag, and what can I do to prevent it in the future?

It's almost time to replace the pads anyway...

 

[Scamper]

Disc brakes always drag a bit--even after letting off the brake pedal. They don't/won't back off the pad. But if the calipers are sticking, you will get uneven wear of the pads and will probably need to rebuild the calipers.

 

[Doc]

The disc on the drivers side was noticeably hotter than the disc on the passenger side, so something is amiss.

 

[Scamper]

Hey Doc,

Your avatar looks like a Malamute--do you have one? My pup is a Malamute (13.5 yrs); great dog, as friendly as one could imagine and scary as hell to delivery people--great combo!

Tom

 

[Rookie2]

The disc on the drivers side was noticeably hotter than the disc on the passenger side, so something is amiss.

Doc,

What do you mean hotter? When you were disassembling, the DS disc was hotter than the PS from the last time you drove it?

What about the evenness of the pad wear?

R2

 

[Doc]

Doc,

What do you mean hotter? When you were disassembling, the DS disc was hotter than the PS from the last time you drove it?

What about the evenness of the pad wear?

R2

I mean just that, when dissasembling, the drivers side disc and wheel studs were at least 20 degrees hotter than the passenger side. Evidently from greater drag on the pads. Or at least- that's what I'm guessing. I didn't look at pad wear comaprision yet.

Hey Doc,

Your avatar looks like a Malamute--do you have one? My pup is a Malamute (13.5 yrs); great dog, as friendly as one could imagine and scary as hell to delivery people--great combo!
Tom

Yep, a Mal and a Siberian. Both are 'pound puppies', sort of. We got Timber (the Mal) from a mal specific shelter here in Iowa, and the siberian showed up on our door step about three months later, and never left.

They do look mean, but are the nicest dogs ever in my opinion. My 98 lb mal doesn't know he's so big. He keeps trying to sit in my lap when I'm watching the tube- he thinks he's a lap dog.

I can talk forever about them... they're so cool.

 

[Rookie2]

I mean just that, when dissasembling, the drivers side disc and wheel studs were at least 20 degrees hotter than the passenger side. Evidently from greater drag on the pads. Or at least- that's what I'm guessing. I didn't look at pad wear comaprision yet.

Hmm... I didn't quite follow, since I thought your rig had been sitting around a couple of weeks while you were waiting on brass drifts and what-nots.

 

[scottm]

While we're on this, how long does it typically take to do the front axle? I'm headed for Dallas Monday for a week, and want to do my wife's front axle this weekend.