I have one side torn down so far. I started my adventure to solve the rattle while accel\turn togeather.
What parts should I look at for possible damage?
I thought I heard once you should swap sides with the birfs to even out wear? true, false or not a big deal?
I think the inner axle seal is OK. I got the usual grease dump when I opened it up but I think it was the orig grease just broken down. Is this normal at 140K miles? I will replace but I am curious.
If the grease looked good at all, or was even in there at 140K miles (with no previous maint) then you are doing pretty good. On my '97 with 65K miles, the driver's side was completely empty, no grease to be found, passenger side looked descent.
Replace the inner axle seal no matter what, it's only a few bucks, no point in going in that far and not replacing it.
I swapped the birfs on mine, they had a definite wear spot even after 65K miles (same wear amount for each basically). When you do that it does ride the balls in a new spot, so it has to help I would think. If the balls themselves are worn (not sure if that happens) then I can see how it wouldn't help, but I don't think you have alot to lose by swapping them. As far as the noise you're hearing, it's probably because the inner axle (from diff to birf) is not overly tight in the birfield, so as you turn/power it is a bit sloppy (because the balls have worn a groove so they have more play than they should). With it all apart you definetly should see some wear in the birf, compare side to side, etc.
Both side torn down, birfs soaking in diesel and garage floor full of parts and grease.
After a short soak and degrease I played with the birf\inner axle and noticed what I think is play. If I compress them and then pull apart there is some definate slop, how much is OK? If I here any noise (clunk clunk)around corners after all of thisI am going to drive it off a cliff)
The spring that is suppose to be behind the axle seal was missing on one side, is this a problem? I could tell that I was not the first person to dig in as lock tab washer was hoarked up along with some other parts.
I dont remeber seeing any shims, what do they look like and where would they have been.
That play is normal, though if you want to minimize it, breaking apart the birf and putting in a new clip might help. It's not as obvious until you clean it and then it seems alarming, eh? No worries. You can both rotate it a bit and also have some longitudinal slack. Obviously less is better, but you'll notice it more without the grease there as a dampener. Use that slack to jiggle and clean it while it's immersed.
As for the inner axle spring, a lot of guys find this missing - no worries. When you reinsert your shafts, take extra care not to place pressure on the seal as that's how they get displaced - upon installation. Also, be extremely careful not to dislodge the sheet metal axle guide that's inboard of the axle seal - a couple guys have managed to do so with nightmare results. Be sure to put the inner axle seal in properly - factory seals have the spring toward the engine.
The shims would have been on the knuckle housing and are held on with the cap that comprises the end caps for the knuckle bearings. Can't remember if they're on the top or bottom of the axle housing - someone with an FSM handy may chime in. They're just thin steel spacers - usually just one. The 80 knuckle housing is not designed to have different shims to adjust the axle alignment like the 40 housings are, so you just put back on whatever you find with no adjustment.
I would take a flash light and shine it up the axle to see if the spring is in there. It could have come off during the break down and seal removal. I would opt for not having the diff chewing on it.
So where do you put the spring before you put the axle shaft back in?
I have a definate wear pattern on both sides with the LH more advanced.
Is this what causes my click click click? If so do I replace the birfield, rebuild? I will consider the job a complte failure if I put it back togeather and here the dreaded click click again.
one more thing, what keeps the inner axle seal from burning up? If the axle is turning with the rubber seal to the metal shaft you would think it would not last.
Spring? WTF are you guys talking about? I never heard of any spring, nor did I see one when I tore my axle down. What did I miss? And what's this sheetmetal axle guide thing, don't think I had one of those either...
