Ball joints?

[LONGHAIR]

68chevyfuelie is correct. You are going to have to deal with the source of the interference between the bearing and the spindle. Both bearings should slide onto their respective places on the spindle rather easily....not sloppy, but definately not hard.
The bearings (inner and outer) must be packed with grease and the inner gets installed into the back of the hub/rotor. Then it gets "trapped" by the seal.

I have never seen anyone attempt to install a knuckle with the axle and spindle already attached? It certainly didn't come apart that way....

Either way, you still need the socket that turns the upper ball-joint sleeve. There is a specific sequence and torque specification for this...

[zac]

Originally Posted by SeventyOne

I'm rebuilding my Dana 44 now if you want me to post some pics for reference.

Please do. I bought a '70 K10 burb last spring that has a 10 bolt up front that I need to get rid of. I have a '72 D44 to replace it, but it needs to be completely gone through, and I would love to see pics.

Also, I need to do the balljoints on my '79 K20. "Popping" the old balljoints has been a problem. How do you deal with ones that are very rusted?

[SeventyOne]

Originally Posted by zac

Please do. I bought a '70 K10 burb last spring that has a 10 bolt up front that I need to get rid of. I have a '72 D44 to replace it, but it needs to be completely gone through, and I would love to see pics.

Also, I need to do the balljoints on my '79 K20. "Popping" the old balljoints has been a problem. How do you deal with ones that are very rusted?

Ok - I'll get some pics on here in a couple days.

By "popping" do you mean breaking the knuckle free from the axle housing after the balljoint nuts and snap rings are removed? You need a pickle fork and a hammer/5 lb. sledge. Should drop off after a few hits.

[SeventyOne]

Here's a quick run down...

My ball joints were already pressed out and new ones pressed in along with new knuckle studs.

Without the axle shaft in the axle, slide the balljoint studs into the axle and thread the nuts on. Tighten the lower balljoint nut to 80 lb-ft. If the stud spins before reaching the required torque, like mine did, try tightening the top nut some, then torque the bottom. The sleeve that threads into the top of the axle "C" gets torqued to 40 lb-ft, then the top nut gets torqued to 100 lb-ft. Don't forget the cotter pin.

This is where I left off.




Now insert the axle shaft and prepare the spindle.





Then....

[SeventyOne]

...take some grease and liberally apply it to the spindle bearing and basically the entire rear of the spindle. While this may seem unnecessary, having grease on the knuckle-spindle mating surface will aid in dissassembly next time around since the knuckle and spindle often rust fuse together after time.




Below are the rest of the contents of the spindle bearing kit. The spindle seal goes into the back against the bearing and the rubber axle seal goes onto the axle shaft along with the plastic spacer.

[SeventyOne]

Here is where the seal and spacer should sit at the flange of the stub shaft.



Then carefully slide the spindle over the stub shaft, making sure not to mess up the seals you just put into place.



Then place the brake caliper bracket on the knuckle studs and tighten the nuts to 30-40 lb-ft (From Pirate4x4.com) or to 65 lb-ft (From Pavementsucks.com). I'm leaning towards the lower spec ~35 lb-ft. These are the only sources I can find with this spec so if anyone knows for sure I'm all ears. In the end it will look like this.




Note that I am doing an 8 lug conversion on top of my axle rebuild so your spindle and caliper bracket will look a little different but the process is exactly the same.

I didn't get to the wheel bearing and hub/rotor install yet but hopefully this Fri or Sat.

[zac]

Excellent pics! They should help alot. One other question I have is about the seals down in the axle tube. The D44 I'm going to use came off my '72 suburban. It's a parts truck now, but when I was driving it the left side leaked axle lube like crazy. What's the easiest way to replace those seals?

I bought two 10 bolts with the right gears (they're so cheap) when I did the axle swap on my '79. I figured I'd get it on the road with one and go through and totally redo the other at my leisure and put it in at a later date. But I'm stuck at removing the balljoints. The lower one on one side just will not come out......
b

[SeventyOne]

The seals in the axle tube (basically at the center section) are a bit involved to replace. You will need to remove the carrier, press/drive them out from the outside being careful not to mess up with machined surface they are pressed into, then press new ones in from inside the carrier. I have never done this but I know they make special tools to do it. Then bolt the carrier back in place and check the contact pattern.

As for your stuck balljoint - you can't get it out of the knuckle or you can't get the knuckle off the axle? I stated a few posts ago how to get the knuckle off the axle.

You will need a press to get the balljoints out of the knuckle. You can actually rent the press at Autozone or Kragen, etc. By rent I mean pay a deposit and get all your money back upon return of the tool. Be aware that the balljoint press alone will only work to remove the ball joints; you will need another tool rental "4x4 ball joint adapter" to work with the press to get new ones in.

I didn't take pictures of this process but it really is as simple as it sounds.

[zac]

I figured the axle seals would be complicated. But there's not much point in putting that axle in as-is since I know it will leak.

I have one lower balljoint that will not come out of the axle. I have pickle-forked it and gotten to the point where I'm just BFH-ing it. The clip and nut are out, and it won't budge. I will probably just have to redo the axle that is installed currently in the truck. I'm afraid at this point I've damaged the other one.

[SeventyOne]

Maybe post a pic of what you're dealing with...

The two balljoints should be pressed into the knuckle and once you remove the nuts the knuckles are pretty easy to knock off the axle ends with a BFH and picklefork. THEN you would need to remove the snap rings and use the press to remove the ball joint from the knuckle.

Also I went back and edited a previous post because I found a list of Dana 44 torque specs that give 65 lb-ft for the knuckle-to-spindle nuts - sounds higher than I remember but it's the only written spec I can find.

EDIT: just found a source on Pirate4x4 saying 30-40 lb-ft. I think that sounds more accurate...

[zac]

I'm actually on the road right now, so I'll take another look at everything when I get home. It's possible I missed something. It wouldn't be the first time.

As for the D44, I'm thinking I may be better off getting a different one that's newer. I've never had one leak axle lube like that before, maybe I could avoid having to tear it completely apart just to replace some seals. And maybe I could get one that isn't almost 40 years old. I need a 3.07 ratio, and I doubt those are in much demand.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by zac

I'm actually on the road right now, so I'll take another look at everything when I get home. It's possible I missed something. It wouldn't be the first time.

As for the D44, I'm thinking I may be better off getting a different one that's newer. I've never had one leak axle lube like that before, maybe I could avoid having to tear it completely apart just to replace some seals. And maybe I could get one that isn't almost 40 years old. I need a 3.07 ratio, and I doubt those are in much demand.

A leak i would think has to be a seal or possibly a wear groove on the axle from the seal because unless a axle housing is damaged in some way, it does not matter if its 1 year or 40 years old its still an axle housing. The only other thing i could think of would be if there are different diameter axle shafts for the 44 then maybe you have a small axle shaft and a large seal installed so it dosent seal on the axle? Just a thought..

[zac]

I never had that axle apart, just remember having to constantly put gear oil in the thing. It would be on the inside of the tire and in a little puddle if it sat long enough. The truck seemed pretty unmolested, but you never know.

When did D44 fronts disappear from Chevys? They were phased out after the 10 bolt came out, right?

[LONGHAIR]

The conversion took place over a pretty long period of time. Somewhere between '77 and as late as '78. I guess it depended upon the available supply?

[zac]

Never mind that balljoint. I hadn't messed with it in a couple months, turns out I was pounding on the axle I pulled out--I guess for "practice." That axle had issues. The one I want to rebuild is still sitting untouched on jackstands. I'll be back when I start having problems again. But I can't help thinking it would be easier to change balljoints on an axle that's bolted to a truck.

[OLDCHEV4X4]

seventyone, your plastic thrust washer is in backwards. The chamfer goes towards the inside.

[SeventyOne]

Could be. I've never done this before and just guessed. At this point I'm not going to take apart the entire front end to flip it. In fact I am not even sure what it does or how that chamfer affects anything, whether inboard or outboard.

Zac: It shouldn't matter if the axle is in the truck or out of the truck when replacing the balljoints - the steering knuckle needs to come off of the axle before you can press the balljoints out of the knuckle anyways.

[OLDCHEV4X4]

Originally Posted by SeventyOne

Could be. I've never done this before and just guessed. At this point I'm not going to take apart the entire front end to flip it. In fact I am not even sure what it does or how that chamfer affects anything, whether inboard or outboard.

The stub shaft has a radius where the plastic washer seats against it. The chamfer makes clearance for the radius.
The job of the plastic washer is to keep the stub from grinding against the back of the spindle. Years ago they where made out of oil-lite bronze.
Its no biggie, next time you got it apart, check it for wear and flip it around. If you need to replace it its part number SBK-1. That will get you the plastic washer, slinger, torrington bearing, and the 2 seals.

[SeventyOne]

Awesome - thanks for the help.

[JDSurge]

Originally Posted by silver7

You can see on the pictures where the top ball joint will not fit in the upper yoke mounting hole.

I have a question. When you took the hub off, did you have to remove the axle in order to get to the lower ball joint nut? I don't see any other way but I have not found anyone or any site with explicit details on how to remove the ball joints. I have a 72 blazer 4 x 4 and they are a little bit loose.

[enaberif]

In this picture the round piece is on backwards. It needs to go the other way for the seal on the hub to sit against.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by JDSurge

I have a question. When you took the hub off, did you have to remove the axle in order to get to the lower ball joint nut? I don't see any other way but I have not found anyone or any site with explicit details on how to remove the ball joints. I have a 72 blazer 4 x 4 and they are a little bit loose.

Yes you have to remove the axles first.

[JDSurge]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Yes you have to remove the axles first.

Thanks for the fast reply swamp rat, I guess the plate on the outside of the hub is holding the axle in place. And I assume the axle will slide out once I take the plate off? Thanks again.

[swamp rat]

If you don't have a service manual please get one, there is a downloadable PDF manual available on this forum.

You need to remove the outer locking hub first then then straighten the large washer locking tab and remove the large nuts that are used to preload the wheel bearings, then remove the outer bearing, then pull off the outer hub and rotor, then unbolt the hub nuts holding the stub axle, it can be stuck with rust so get a piece of wood and a hammer and work it off, then pull the axle out.