Ball Joint, tips advice?

[Dale99]

I'm about to go outside in an hour and start taking the front axle apart to replace ball joints. I was wondering if there are any tips or advice? It is a 72 1/2 ton.... so dana 40?

I do understand the axle needs to come out before I can knock the spindle off. Do I need to pull the diff cover and undo anything before the axle comes out? If not, when I pull the axle out, should any gear oil come out the axle tube and need a tub to catch it?

Any other tips?

['63GENIII]

Gear oil shouldn't come out as it should be at or below the drain plug level. I really liked using the ball joint separator that I borrowed when I did my D60. Tighten it up with an impact, give th knucle a whack with the hammer and voila... it's out. I think you have a D44 in that though. Pretty easy job though.

['63GENIII]

One thing that I did regret though was not doing the axle tube seals while I was there. They didn't leak before but did after. I'm hoping to do the ones on my current truck (Dana 44 also) soon.

[Dale99]

Thanks. Right now, I am stuck at getting the outer clutch retaining ring off. And I have removed the "snap ring". That clutch is catching on the brake rotor hub.

Also, what size are the hub screws? 2 of mine snapped.

:edit: also, some other snap ring is broke. I think its the axle shaft snap ring.

[LONGHAIR]

You have things a bit backward. The spindle has to come off before the axle can come out. Removing the spindle can be a real challenge. There is a specialty tool made to fit a slide hammer, just for this. I wouldn't do it without one.
Nothing, other than the spindle, holds the axle in. It will pull right thru the knuckle.
A small amount of oil may come out of the tube, depending upon how full it is and how level the housing is when jacked up.
If you intend to get into the inner seals, remember that it means tearing both sides apart. The carrier has to come out to access them.
I am not a fan of the pickle-fork to separate the joints. They have a tendency to damage stuff. The simple "big hammer" to the side of the joint works fine.
You need two more specialty tools to reassemble it all. First is a torque wrench, which everyone should have anyway. Second is a socket that is used to torque the upper tapered sleeve during re-assembly.
Beyond that, you need access to a press for replacing the joints in the knuckle, once separated.
All in all, not a simple job.

[Dale99]

ok, had a neighbor come over, we got the retaining ring off, it was bent and we effed it up royal getting it off.

The 3 notched spindle nut was loose to the point it fell out. Now I'm trying to get some nut off that has a bunch of round holes in it???

[Dale99]

ok, got it apart finally.

For some reason there was two spindle nuts. The round hole thing was a plate ontop of the spindle nut????

So over all things that are damaged that I didnt plan on...
outer section of axle shaft
the bolt on hub thing( I have a spare though)
spindle nut
axle snap ring
the locking hub assy

I expected to replace..
all bearings
bearing seal
ball joints

longhair. The only time I used a slide hammer was to get the bearing out thats in the spindle "cone" thing. Not sure whats its really called.

[LONGHAIR]

Wow, I applaud your bravery. Most guys who sound as positive as you did in the original post have more experience with this?
I was getting nervous when I read about your struggles with the lock-out hub internals.

The spindle nuts are a 3 piece locking system. The inner nut should have a small pin that engages one of the holes in that washer. The outer nut is really only keeping the washer in place.

Just so you know (and while you are in there) there is a bearing and seal inside the spindle. That is where the stub axle rides. It is the closest support for the axle joint and they get neglected because they are hard to access for lube.

The hardest part is usually getting the spindle off. I wrestled with several of them before discovering the puller tool. It's made by a company called Lisle. It will save you a lot of frustration.

Keep us posted, we will help as much as text can.

[Dale99]

Trying to make a parts list, need some help.

There is some type of seal that is on the outer axle shaft. What is this one called, or does someone have a part number?

I need a new axle snap ring. Can someone tell me a size on this?

I am looking for that socket to adjust the alignment once I go together. I found a site calling it a "ball joint spanner socket". But summit and orielly's kicks that out. Part number for that?

[Dale99]

oh, so I need that whole 3 piece spindle nut system, as I effed the washer up, and the threads are damaged on all the nuts.

I have many years experience on automotive. This is my first 4x4 though, as well as the oldest I have worked on.

:edit: I think I just need to find a dana 44 parts site. So much is jacked up.

[Dale99]

I can not verify the seal that goes between the axle, and the spindle bearing. I'm also going to post my parts list, if anyone can tell me if my info is wrong, please let me know. I'm getting my info from orielly auto parts.

Inner WB A37
Outter WB A35
Axle snap ring, 1.12 632-112
Spindle nut 1 615-120
spindle nut 2 615-121
spindle nut washer 618-040
Axle bearing b2110
wheel bearing seal 442380??
seal on spindle 1 472397
seal between axle/spindle bearing 442874??
alignment tool "otc 7080"

I'm hoping I can salvage my axle shaft

[LONGHAIR]

The seal on the outer axle shaft is just a solid rubber ring with a "lip" that contacts the back of the spindle. It usually come as a set with the steel flange that supports it. You don't necessarily have to replace the steel part, if yours is ok.

As far as the sockets, I got mine at my local NAPA store. Seems to me that they were about $20 or so, but that was 20 years ago too.

Oh, another thing (while you are in there), check the movement of the axle joints. They should be smooth and fairly easy to move. They tend to get stiff over time, since they are not really serviceable.

[Dale99]

Well I guess that lip got ripped off from the base? It just free slides on the axle shaft. I see no steel part to it??

Found socket, its 40 bux now.

Axle joints feel good. Soft movement, but no slop.

[Dale99]

So when going back together. Do I need to back that spanner "bolt" off, torque bottom bolt, then screw it down to make the top ball joint tight, then, torque the top bolt?

Both the stock one, and the after market one that came with the ball joint look centered. I thought they were to be off center for alignment?

['63GENIII]

Not sure about the spanner bolt that you refer to. I think the camber is factory set unless the axle housing is bent. The toe is set with the tie rod ends and caster or kingpin inclination is set by shims between the spring pads and the leaf springs which basically rotate the axle. I havent seen a camber adj. on the 44.
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[Dale99]

The spanner bolt is in the top of the axle, where the ball joint goes into it.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by Dale99

So when going back together. Do I need to back that spanner "bolt" off, torque bottom bolt, then screw it down to make the top ball joint tight, then, torque the top bolt?

Both the stock one, and the after market one that came with the ball joint look centered. I thought they were to be off center for alignment?

Yes, though all of the uppers I have done had a new tapered sleeve. (Spanner bolt, your term)
I have always changed it, just incase there was some variation in the angle of the taper.
You torque the lower nut while the upper is "backed-off", then torque the upper sleeve, finally the upper nut and cotter pin.

The sleeves are all centered, there is no alignment adjustment in the ball joint, and there should not be a need for it. The only way for it to get out of the correct alignment is for something to be bent/damaged. "If" there is some need for adjusting (compensating) the camber, it is done with a tapered shim that goes between the spindle and the knuckle.
The caster is determined when the spring mounts are welded to the axle housing. It is also adjustable via a shim, but would never go out of the original factory setting because of wear or use.
The "toe"adjustment is really the only one that is truly intended to be adjusted.

[Dale99]

The tool is called spanner bolt tool, so thats where I am getting my term from.

Ok, my crappy comprehension of what I read before, was that these things were off centered to help with alignment.

Its slowly going together on the left side due to having to order parts in, and more crap being damaged then planned, so lack of funds. Hopefully I can have it rolling again, just no locking hubs, by this weekend.

[Dale99]

So since I had to replace the spindle cone. I found out today while trying to install my new wheel bearings, the rear bearing is a different size now.

I checked a 76 k10, same bearings.
Would the k20 or k30's use a larger inner bearing, but same outer?

[LONGHAIR]

This is the first mention of replacing the spindle?
Are you sure that you have the right one? IIIRC the spindle from a later model corporate 10 bolt is very similar, but not exactly the same.

[Dale99]

I damaged the spindle cone threads when taking off the spindle nuts because I didnt know there was two.(post 7)

The parts store helped me figure out the two spindle cones, and rotor/hub assy left in the truck is around 78'ish k10. One of them is what I put on when I damaged my original one. The 78 makes sense since I also have a np203 transfer case.

So I have to decide to get a 72 spindle cone, or find another 78 hub in a few weeks when I do the other side. I dont want miss-matched sides.

[Dale99]

For future reference, here is the difference between a 72 spindle cone, and 78'ish

[LONGHAIR]

That's what I thought, the change from Dana44 to the Corp 10bolt was somewhere around the 77/78 model years. It can very some though. I have seen 77s with 10 bolts and 78s with D44s, it must have been a supply availability issue.

Anyway, I would do the same thing as far as matching the parts left to right, but I think you need to have one the same as the original. That's because the hub/rotor assembly is different too, and they have to match.

[Dale99]

The hub is different, but the rotor is the same.

I have decided to go with the 78 stuff. I have the left side back together in 2wd drive mode. I dont have any lockouts at the moment, I need to order them monday. I also need to find a 78+ hub.

Hopefully when I get to the right side in a few weeks, It will be much easier, faster, and destroy less.

[1972CST]

I think the "big" bearing spindle (spicer#706570X or 706529X) can be found on all 1977 and up 1/2 ton axles and all 1973 and up 3/4 ton axles. The spicer part # for the spindle service kit should be 706527X. I wasnt sure if you had that kit # or not. It came in handy when re-doing my D44.
Hope this helps.