What the hell is in my axle housing!!!!

[oilhorsejack]

Hey everyone! New guy question here... I’m in the middle of my first ever axle rebuild on my 97 LC. Got everything torn apart on the DS. After I pulled the inner axle seal, I noticed a metal ring inside the axle housing.It moves all over, won’t stay upright and I can’t get it out because it doesn’t flex and it to big to fit through the hole. Is it part of the old seal? I can’t find any info on it online or in the service manual. Any ideas?

 

[nukegoat]

get a hook shaped device and yank the thing out

 

[flintknapper]

Its a seal...no doubt about that. Whether or not it is part of the one you pulled out...or one someone else knocked inward...who knows. Get it out of there.

 

[IanB]

From post #11 on the Front Axle Rebuild thread:
"Shine a flashlight into the axle housing and look around. There should be nothing visible loose in the housing and there should be an index ring about 2 inches from the oil seal flush against the inner lip of the machined surface (it may look like part of the housing). This ring can occasionally come loose. If it has it will likely be lying in the housing and you will need to reseat it somehow (there are posts on this)."

Front Axle Rebuild - For FAQ

I'm pretty sure this index ring is what you're looking at.

 

[-Spike-]

Not a seal. It's probably the oil baffle. Nice thing to have, not required. If you could wedge it in place it would still perform its function.

 

[oilhorsejack]

From post #11 on the Front Axle Rebuild thread:
"Shine a flashlight into the axle housing and look around. There should be nothing visible loose in the housing and there should be an index ring about 2 inches from the oil seal flush against the inner lip of the machined surface (it may look like part of the housing). This ring can occasionally come loose. If it has it will likely be lying in the housing and you will need to reseat it somehow (there are posts on this)."

Front Axle Rebuild - For FAQ

I'm pretty sure this index ring is what you're looking at.

Thanks! Ya! I just read that!

 

[Sanchez]

Same issue here. front HELP! axle indexing ring - work arounds/updates?

 

[oilhorsejack]

Same issue here. front HELP! axle indexing ring - work arounds/updates?

That’s super helpful! Thanks you!

 

[oilhorsejack]

Ok, one more question (sorry if this bad forum etiquette. As stated earlier... I’m new). I got the aforementioned POS out of the housing(using a slide Hammer), installed the seal, and installed the axle. It seats into the diff about an inch to far out. That is to say, the spindle is about an inch from seating. I’m stuck again....

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, make sure flat part of spindle is up then push down on spindle,may need to wiggle it a little. Mike

 

[IanB]

The birf should have the flat sides at 12 and 6 O'clock, a few small twists side to side and some jiggling and it should all slide home for you. If your truck has F&R lockers, you should have locked the diffs before removing the axles, as it does make this step easier.

 

[shocktower]

Not a seal. It's probably the oil baffle. Nice thing to have, not required. If you could wedge it in place it would still perform its function.

It does need to be there, for installing the axle, and holds the oil back. I would make a tool to pop it back in place, which would require to pull the 3rd and get that piece back in place just my .02

 

[-Spike-]

It does need to be there, for installing the axle, and holds the oil back. I would make a tool to pop it back in place, which would require to pull the 3rd and get that piece back in place just my .02

It certainly makes things easier when putting the axles back in, but there are folks who have removed it and managed to get along without it. I would have found a way to make it stay myself, even if I had to drill holes in the axle tube and weld it in.

@oilhorsejack - did you in fact get the axle to engage the diff? It certainly looks like it's not going in all the way. If you turn the axle, is it turning the diff? If so, do you have locking diffs? Or did you get the knuckle together?

 

[oilhorsejack]

It certainly makes things easier when putting the axles back in, but there are folks who have removed it and managed to get along without it. I would have found a way to make it stay myself, even if I had to drill holes in the axle tube and weld it in.

@oilhorsejack - did you in fact get the axle to engage the diff? It certainly looks like it's not going in all the way. If you turn the axle, is it turning the diff? If so, do you have locking diffs? Or did you get the knuckle together?

I haven’t had a second to to get back to it yet... Hopefully I can on Saturday. It does turn the driveshaft the way it currently sits but no locking diffs on this Cruiser.

 

[-Spike-]

I haven’t had a second to to get back to it yet... Hopefully I can on Saturday. It does turn the driveshaft the way it currently sits but no locking diffs on this Cruiser.

No locking diffs simplifies things. Did you disassemble the birf joint? If not, it must be that the inboard end of the axle isn't fully seating, I'd guess IanB is right, you might need to get jiggy with it, maybe lift it a bit.

 

[IanB]

No locking diffs simplifies things. Did you disassemble the birf joint? If not, it must be that the inboard end of the axle isn't fully seating, I'd guess IanB is right, you might need to get jiggy with it, maybe lift it a bit.

If that indexing ring isn't there, the axle might be sitting low at the diff end to find its home in the differential.

 

[-Spike-]

If that indexing ring isn't there, the axle might be sitting low at the diff end to find its home in the differential.

It does turn the driveshaft the way it currently sits

 

[shocktower]

Did you pull the cages out of the birf's ??? You may have flipped the cages back wards

 

[oilhorsejack]

Did you pull the cages out of the birf's ??? You may have flipped the cages back wards

I’m not sure what the cages are ‍.

 

[BILT4ME]

I’m not sure what the cages are ‍.

If you disassembled the birfield itself, there is a "cage" that hold the large roller balls inside the bell of the birfield.

If you disassembled that...assembly.... It CAN be reassembled backwards, thus having the "cage" in backwards and causing an interference.

Either way, the birfield/axle assembly is either not seated in the differential far enough or it's not assembled correctly because that's what's stopping your spindle from installing.