Front Axle rebuild - driver's side axle won't go back in

[tyweb]

Reviving this thread. There is evidence of a prior blown birf and the inner axel indexing ring is missing. How do I get this axle back in the diff? Thx.

 

[semlin]

Reviving this thread. There is evidence of a prior blown birf and the inner axel indexing ring is missing. How do I get this axle back in the diff? Thx.

check my link earlier in the thread. you need to find the index ring hopefully loose in the axle and build the tool i described to reseat it, then tack weld it if you can.

 

[tyweb]

Thanks, Semlin. The index ring was removed by a PO. I ended up following this thread front HELP! axle indexing ring - work arounds/updates? - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/front-help-axle-indexing-ring-work-arounds-updates.488856/ and using an old Samsung phone charging cord fed down through brake line bolt on top of the axle housing.

 

[mikeLC95]

Yes, there is a trick to this step. First, remove the axle and inspect the inner axle seal carefully. I just want you to be confident that the seal is undamaged from prior attempts and the small round metal spring has not popped out of the seal. It is about 2" in diameter and should be inside the inner axle tube seal.

Next, as you are inspecting the seal you will see an indexing ring about 4" past the inner axle tube seal. This ring is what you will use as a fulcrum to move the long side of the axle up as you press down on the birfield side of the axle. If you do not see that indexing ring then STOP and let us know. There has been 1 or 2 times where this indexing ring was dislodged during prior axle installation steps.

Again, you want to be careful that you don't damage the inner axle tube seal. There are also flat spots on the top and bottom of the birfield that need to be horizontal as you work the axle in.

It helps if you will visualize what you need to do before you start poking around and shoving the axle in and out.

Good luck, you'll get it.
-B-

All - I just replaced the birfield on the drivers side of my 95 LC and am having trouble getting the axel shaft to seat in the dif. I saw the above post and looked inside the axel shaft and see that the indexing ring has been dislodged. What should I do next?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or thoughts.

Mike

 

[ppc]

You could remove the fitting for the axle breather, insert a loop of wire into the housing. Insert the axle shaft beyond that point so you get the loop to pull up the shaft until you can support it high enough to get the shaft to feed into the diff. Pull the wire and reinsert the breather fitting. Easy peasy with a helper.