94 Ranger xlt 4wd Front right drive axle question

[miker6565]

Hello I'm new here I hope this is the right forum for this post...My dilema is i replaced the right front spindle bearing,,and when i went to reassemble I noticed the end of the drive axle on the passenger front is too short It looks like the shaft is a shaft inside a shaft at about midway on the shaft ...but i dont know if its able to seperate ...it was my dad's truck and he passed away so I don't know any repairs or replacement that have been done,,,I know that where the bearing on the spindle is suppose to ride on the shaft isnt going through the spindle far enough to reach the bearing....spindle bearing is in the right spot,,,wheel joints are ok....where the shaft looks like its inside itself is a rubber boot and spots on the shaft that look like there use to be clamps,,,i have the end of the shaft wrapped with electric tape so it doesnt bounce and tear up the new bearing,,,I'm not using 4wd now ,,manual locking hubs......any help is greatly appreciated...thanks, Mike
4.0 litre and I beleive its a dana 35

 

[Minivek]

the outer shaft on the passenger side, goes inside the splined shaft attached to the front diff. All you should have to do in order to reassemble everyting is pull the outer shaft outwards untill you have enough sticking out. Look up splined shafts on google. It is sort of a shaft within a shaft, one is splined internally and the other is splined externally, there might be a bit of suction due to the grease that's in the boot you see.. Just pull on the shaft till it's sticking out enough to reassemble, you won't break or separate anything if its done correctly.

 

[miker6565]

Thanks for the quick response Minivek.. thats what i thought it looked like ,,the boot is tore and im thinkin its got crud in it and it wont move.. i was afraid to use a slide hammer on account didnt want to hurt the wheel joints or crack the c-clip in the differential....but my other question is what holds it in place if i do get it to move? the spots where the clamps look like they use to be... i thought were boot clamps...or does the missing clamps lock the splined union of the 2 shafts in place? i have a eploded view of it but its not real clear...is there anything on the outer end passed the wheel bearings that are suppose to lock the shaft in place? I also have another noise when i take off in first gear its like a clack clack...i thought it was related to that shaft banging when the bearing was bad..but I have it secured and its not not rotating so it cant be that...i'm thinkin maybe the carrier bearing on the rear shaft..seems like theres some slop in it...all the rear shaft joints seem solid...doesnt do it in reverse just first and more when im carring a load...the best ive been able to hear it next to a wall sounded middle under truck..... new clutch and throw out bearing and internal slave is new...and front bearing of transmission is new fly wheel was turned and new pressure plate..new brakes all the way around..i repacked and both front sets of wheel bearings and set bearing nut and lock nut to specs,,,manual lock hub gears are free and clean and greased and have their respective clips but thats all self contained in the manual lock hubs...but i see nothing between that and the lock nut to hold that shaft...

 

[Minivek]

Interesting... first of all, if the rubber boot on the passenger shaft is ripped, you'll want to change that pronto, because as you've noticed, once it's ripped, crud gets in there and will either a) round the splines b) cause the sliding splines to bind up during suspension travel, neither of which is good. The passenger side shaft has one part that's attached to the diff with a clip on inner side of the side gear, that holds it in place. The outer shaft (the one that goes throug the spindle is restrained from moving by that little c clip you put on the end of the shaft, and that rubber boot, with the 2 metal circlips (not sure of the name) is what prevents the axles from separating, the rubber boot and clip are tough stuff, and you would be hard pressed to rip them volontarily.

So, get that old boot off, mark the shafts so that you know in what position there relative to one another. Thoroughly clean with a good degreaser (brake cleaner) the splines and shafts, to get all the grease and grit outta there. Once its all cleaned up, put the necessary grease on there, slide the bootover the shaft, insert the splined outer shaft, slide the boot over so it sit in those two tiny grooves (I remember having somehting like grooves, but it might have been marks left by the boot, the idea is to put the boot in the same place so it can move as intended). So compress that boot until its ends meet up with the previous marks and put those clips on there. Reattach everything and put on the shaft until you can put that end clip on. I didn't have the boot clamps so I just used massive tie-wraps, works nice. the shaft sort of "floats" on its outer end, because off turning, suspension travel etc, but if that boot in held on tightly and the outter clip is on, it'll be fine.

As for the clack clack noise, the fact it only happens when you start going forward at slow speeds seem to be related to a weight transfer going from going forward (suspension) or driveline components coming under load. Check all U-joints for looseness, the front ones are obvious, the rear ones are a bit trickier, though if they're 12 years old, it might be worthwhile changing them.

Have you checked your radius arm bushings?? they could make some noise. Check front sway bar bolts for looseness. My old front u-joints had no more needle bearings so the would make noise over bumps. My rear leaf springs made noise when loaded or going over bumps, turns out the second leaf had eaten a groove in the top leaf (it was sharpened to a knife's edge) so whenever the leaves extended under load the lower leaf would run into the notch and clack bang etc...

Try to get a real feel for the noise, tap brakes accelerate slowly, go over bumps and listen etc.. It's usually not very complicated, you just have to know what to look for... Start with this and post back here afterwards.

Good luck

 

[Minivek]

HEHE, sorry about, didn't realize how long my post was, happy reading

 

[DeRocha]

Nice response Minivek the only part that is not 100% accurate is the part about the boot keeping the shafts together.. The boot is only there to keep the grease in and water/crud out. You cannot separate the shafts at the slip joint unless you pull the stub axle out through the steering knuckle.

...the outer shaft (the one that goes throug the spindle is restrained from moving by that little c clip you put on the end of the shaft, and that rubber boot, with the 2 metal circlips (not sure of the name) is what prevents the axles from separating...

As Minivek posted the passenger axle shaft is comprised of two shafts that connect at a slip joint (@ rubber boot). The slip joint allows the stub axle shaft which passes through the wheel to move in and out changing its length depending on how the suspension is being articulated. This same slip joint can also be found on the front and rear drive shafts.

 

[miker6565]

ok i understand the slip joint now..it's frozen up im soaking it with pb blaster...looks like part of the boot is wedged in it...according to the exploded view I got ...there should be a a spacer and snap ring on the outer snub of the shaft between the wheel bearing lock nuts and the manual hub assembly neither side on mine has one ...i think once i get it to move I'll be able to pull it out and clean the splines on the slip joint ,,get a new boot and grease and reassemble... get that c-clip and spacer and be in buisness...

I agree with the clackin being in the rear driveshaft...original u-joints and carrier, I beleive, as they have no grease fittings....I'll replace them all while I have it out....I think I'll go with the timken carrier bearing...any advice on good u-joints?...I seen some called brute force...but they don't have grease fittings....I carry alot of weight..so I want some good ones....do it right or don't do it at all..is my philosophy....and i want to be able to grease them.....all the bushings look good and it isnt noise related according to bumps or or braking only taking off in first and louder under more load...probly dry needles in the u-joints and a sloppy carrier bearing......

but let me know if that exploded view is right about the snap ring at the end of the shaft between the manual hub assembly and the wheel bearing lock nuts...
Thanks so much.....I depend on this truck alot and like to make sure it's right ....hard to put it back together right if it wasnt right from the get-go....

 

[DeRocha]

If you haven't already looked at our site's Stickies then you missing out on a lot of info.. Check out Glacier's Brake thread I has lots of info and pics on removing front end components.

 

[Minivek]

Nice response Minivek the only part that is not 100% accurate is the part about the boot keeping the shafts together.. The boot is only there to keep the grease in and water/crud out. You cannot separate the shafts at the slip joint unless you pull the stub axle out through the steering knuckle.

HEHE my bad, I think I was still on mental autopilot...

 

[Mario Lofaro]

I have a 96 Ranger XLT, I'm on day three of changing ball joints. My latest showstopper is the right/passenger axle. How do I pull it out so I can separate the knuckle and replace the ball joints? Do I have to cut the rubber boot (CV?) and replace it, or will it pull out like the left side did. Also, how the heck do I get the ABS sensor out to replace it? I damaged it during disassembly. My first time doing this... Very intimidating!

 

[RangerX]

I think the abs sensor takes a 12 point 12mm socket to remove, nothing else will fit.
You passenger axle should pull apart at the boot, the inner section will stay attached to the diff unless you open the diff up.
Yes, you may have to remove that boot to separate the axle sections, it's been years since I've done so I'm not sure.

 

[massacre]

I think the abs sensor takes a 12 point 12mm socket to remove, nothing else will fit.
You passenger axle should pull apart at the boot, the inner section will stay attached to the diff unless you open the diff up.
Yes, you may have to remove that boot to separate the axle sections, it's been years since I've done so I'm not sure.

It’s a 6mm 12 pt