patdaly

He means the outer shaft, the one that the big nut holds at your wheels? That sandwiches the unit bearing together so they cant spread. You won't have any problem with your center section, but your wheel just might fall off......

01RAMer

What brand would you consider a good bearing?

patdaly

At this point I either inspect the bearings before I accept them or order Timken, etc. from a reputable supplier. Most name brand companies now have some made in China.

US, Israel, Spain, Japan are all countries where good bearings come from. With Chinese, the problem isn't so much the material or heat treat, it is the surface finish, examined under a microscope, they have flats........

01RAMer

Thanks for your recomendation!

WHISTLINTURBO

I guess i don't really understand. My axles float. They pull right out, so how could they hold the wheels on? I am talking about removing the axles via U-Joints. The wheel bearings will stay the same.

patdaly

When I say outer, I mean the part that goes thru the bearing and is held on with the 1-11/16" nut. The reason for the nut is to hold the unit bearings together, if it just floated, a simple snap ring would suffice ( Imagine the outer just being a bolt holding the 2 separate bearings in relation to each other ). You have to pull the whole thing anyway, so just take the u-joint out, and put the outer back thru the bearing, and reinstall the nut.

WHISTLINTURBO

Thats what i was meaning all along patdaly. Thanks for understanding and clarifying. But, i not gonna do it anyway. I ordered the parts i believe i will need. Hopefully won't find i need more parts.

WHISTLINTURBO

Ok, update...had lots of problems. Ever have those days when nothing goes right? I couldn't even get a cowder pin out of one of my ball joint castle nuts! Anyway, because of the problems, it is 2 wheel drive now. I can't get the pinion gear out. Ring gear assembly is out along with axles. Trying to knock out the pinion gear. Got it to move about 1 inch and thats it. Can't get it out of the rear bearing. Also while trying to remove the u-joint from the drivers side axle i managed to bend the axle joint and not get the u-joint out. I did manage to get half of it, the end that bolts to the wheel bearing is free and I bolted it back to the wheel bearing. The passenger side i had already replaced the u-joint and didn't feel like possibly bending it up to so i left it together which gave the CAD fork and coupler something to stay attached to. Removed the intermediate shaft. Now when i can figure out how to get the pinion gear out and that u-joint from the drivers side axle, I will finish the job. But for now i need it to get around and my vacation is over. All that time and didn't get anywhere. Also removed the front drive shaft.

patdaly

Thanks for the update, your experience isn't all that different than most line mechanics face, and is why most of us won't play with Diffs, they can ruin your week in a heartbeat. It is also why repairs are so expensive.

But, once you get her together correctly, the pain will fade, and you will be proud of yourself, not too many people do their own diff. work.........

BigIron70

If you pull the front axles there will be nothing holding the front hub bearing together. You will need to remove axle spindle and install it back into hub bearing tighten it down really well and install cotter pin. Put some plug or rags into axle tube to keep the dirt out.

WHISTLINTURBO

Thats what i did BigIron70. I never had so many problems working on my vehicle. Definitely a bad day. I've always done my own work. From changing oil, steering box, shackles, to painting the truck. Of course getting older aint helping with all the aches and pains, LOL

BigIron70

I know the feeling, but we all just keep plugging along. 60 is the new 40 and l will most likely be working till 90 or until I drop, which ever comes first.