2001 XLT D44-SAS

[cdsl227]

Actually on the gears I've been checking and it's called "runout" it's the amount of inconsistency in the thickness of the ring and/or the carrier. The only way to "fix" it is to run them on a big lathe...and that's not happening.

I pulled the ring off and hit it with a Scotchbrite pad then did the carrier...it seemed to bring it down to a workable number about 0.002 which can be made up for in the backlash. They should break in to a consistent wear bringing the entire carrier and ring into spec...if I take the middle ground on the backlash.

Randys' sent me the wrong axle seals or I'd have been done with the pumpkin today. It seems nobody has the 2.625" seals, everybody has the smaller seals. I'll have to try and hunt them down tomorrow.

For the T-Case I'm going to be getting an Atlas II from Cory...I just want to be sure I've got the axle completed and then grab some tires and rims, I'm starting to think 37x12.50 instead of 35s. I just wonder if the stock axles will hold up or if I need to get something a little beefier. Then again I went with 4.56 for the front the rear has yet to be ordered...so I might settle on 36x12.50.

I'm thinking I'm about a month off from ordering the T-Case.

Damn, I was hoping to get this done by September 03' and it's starting to look like February 04'.

 

[cdsl227]

another quick round of pics...
First off- I read on one site the easiest way to get a decent read of the pattern was to oil the bearings and run it with a drill...works pretty good if I do say so myself.

Final drive pattern after the carrier preload.

After going in both directions with the pinion I was satisfied with the pattern. Backlash is 0.0065 to 0.0105, should be 0.006-0.010, so I'm gonna live with the 0.0005 overage.

The final ARB locker installation, the vent tube was gone so I threaded the hole and put in a fitting so I could extend the breather tube with steel braided hose- I put the ARB air tube close because I figured they could help protect each other (in as much as tubing that size could) and run them up into the engine compartment together.

Now the axles needed some work, I don't feel like purchasing new axles at this point in time so I just worked over the stub axle with a wire-wheel on the grinder and used various grades of emery cloth to clean up the contact area for the seals- they'll never miss the amount of metal I had to remove because the seals will adjust to compensate and the splined area is perfectly fine. The first is both axles one before and one after...

I know I should just spring for new inner shafts, but I'd rather not at the moment- perhaps sometime toward the end of the summer I'll go for alloy and CTM joints, but I'll hold with what I have now. after sanding with the emery cloth the seal area is perfect- if it didn't come back as well as it did- I'd be buying shafts. That last pic is the long axle...I'll get a close-up of the seal contact area tomorrow.

I figured I'd go with splitting the brake line on the axle that way I've only got to worry about getting one line down to the axle.

Any suggestions on tubing size on the axle and what size I should be looking at to bring down from the Master Cylinder?

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Awesome... You doin this project is inspiration for me, man. Keep up the good work and keep posting.

 

[Hotweels]

Any suggestions on tubing size on the axle and what size I should be looking at to bring down from the Master Cylinder?

tell ya what man.... order a 78-79 ford bronco extended front brake line from skyjacker it is just a stainless steel line about 14" long or maybe a bit more (mines under the truck right now and my shop is -20) with a T fitting on one end and there is a hole in the centre of it so it can be bolted into that hole you ran the ARB line out of .
Now get the stock waggy flex lines from the caliper if you think they can be ran along the tube if not just grab a set of 76-77 ford early bronco lines they are just rubber brake hoses about 12" long that go from the caliper to a bracket about 5-6" down the diff tube then get some bulk brake line and a double flare tool and make it work... thats what i did and it's a thing of beauty i cant understand why people run 2 lines down to the caliper's in the stock location when doing a SFA just seem's like a waste of good brake line

BTW what brand of gear did you buy from randy's?

Dont feel too bad about the shafts most stock shafts have some pitting and chipped area's near the splines as long as the seal surface area is good and there are no visable crack's they will hold for a while....
well back to slurping on this 40oz of OE have fun with yer project

 

[cdsl227]

Yukon Gears at least that's what the box said...

I've read on a few sites about them repackaging stuff, but what can you do...there's no telling where half the stuff you purchase is really made anyway.

I looked the axles over good and they don't have any cracks or major pitting and they're in good shape where it matters most- splines and seal area.

I'm going to try and get them in today along with the hubs and rotors.

I bought new hub bearings/seals and a new set of rotors while I was at it.

One problem, I'm missing one of the plastic rings that goes in where the hub bearing is. I looked at 6 or 7 different bearing/seal kits in different stores and only one had the flat plastic ring and it just happened to be the last one he had...

 

[Hotweels]

One problem, I'm missing one of the plastic rings that goes in where the hub bearing is. I looked at 6 or 7 different bearing/seal kits in different stores and only one had the flat plastic ring and it just happened to be the last one he had...

That plastic ring sounds like the wear bushing that rides on the axle stub shaft and pushes on the spindle when the wheels are turned so you dont have metal to metal contact... that is something you NEED LOL

Yukon Gears at least that's what the box said...

yukon's aint all that bad best i have heard of is US gear supposed to be real nice for setting up, i went with quality gear and was dissapointed to see the PG (precision gear) stamped into the crown gear basically quality gear is factory second's re box'd and getting a decent pattern was errrr shall we say a challenge

i will be watching this post close so if ya need help just ask but everything from here out is pretty simple

 

[cdsl227]

You're pissin on my parade with that wear bushing!!

I looked everywhere after seeing it in the first bearing/seal kit I bought.

NONE of the other kits had that piece- and I kept looking, but no luck. I know I saw something like it come out (in pieces) when I took the knuckles apart.

Grrrrrr!!!!

And I was just ready to put those axles in tomorrow, hell I even put the new universal into the long axle shaft.

Oh well...back to the hunt- unless can I just break out the dremel and make something to put in there?????

Hmmmm...what'dya think? I'm going to try and get one tomorrow, but if all else fails- can I rig one? It's just plastic- a hefty piece of Tupperware ought to do.

 

[cdsl227]

Alright, after looking at the wear bushing the closest thing to it appears to be the plastic used for electrical PVC boxes.

Any opinions? Would that work instead of an actual wear bushing?

Because I'm not getting it in the auto part stores up here, they just don't have it.

 

[Hotweels]

well if you have a piece of teflon impregnated plastic i am sure you could rig something up

every D44 i have seen has that wear bushing, you can get it from any wrecking yard i am 95% sure a TTB ford uses the same bushing too..... all else fails take the good one you have to ford and tell em to start looking, you dont wanna halfass this kinda stuff.

side note.... bronco graveyard could drop one in a envelope and express mail it to you if you can wait a few day's......

 

[cdsl227]

I got it!! This spindle bearing kit even came with the ring that goes on the outer stub shaft, the one the V-Ring Seal rides on...but the ones already on the shafts are good so I left them on.

Now I've got to get spindle bolts, one popped when I spun them tight- so I'll try and get them and change them all.

Welp, I've got one axle shaft in- too bad I'm working tomorrow or I'd hunt them down.

Damn 260ft. lbs. impact wrench- great for taking stuff off, but hell for putting them back together...but then I've always had that problem- too tight isn't tight enough!

Thanks for the help!

 

[cdsl227]

I called Randys they didn't have the spindle studs...he recommended I just drop a Grade 8 bolt in, he said what's in there is probably Grade 5.

I ordered 10 studs from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard- $50.00, he said they should be here by Wed/Thurs.

I figured the ones they sell are new and I'd save myself the grief and just change them all. Oh well.

 

[JoshC]

Man, there is a ton of info in this thread!

I'd love to be able to setup my own gears like you did. Did you have any idea what you were doing before you decided to do it yourself?

 

[cdsl227]

I've done antique vehicle restorations (about 15-20 years ago)...everything from rebuilding motors to rewiring a piece of toast, but with axles I'd never done gears, just the usual brakes, maybe an axle seal or change the gear oil and diffy cover gasket.

To be honest without the right tools- don't even think about it"."

I had to get an Arbor Press (12 Ton ), Bearing Race and Seal Driver set, a Dial Caliper, and a Dial Indicator, 2 Jaw Bearing Puller and while I was at it I bought the Deluxe Ball Joint Repair kit. The spacers come in real handy...not to mention I hadda do balljoints.

In between the cursing it was fun...I'm thankfull the weather held out long enough to get it done. I'm working in a shed I built to store tools in and a coupla work benches for projects.

I'll be doing the actual SAS in my friends garage, but all in all doing the axle rebuild myself was worth it- now I know exactly how it's done and the next time I have to do it will be a breeze.

With the right tools it's not hard at all.

 

[JoshC]

So what all tools were involved with setting up the gears? Besides the basic hand tools.

 

[cdsl227]

Without a doubt.

The Arbor Press is to put the bearings on the Carrier, of course in order to get the backlash right you need the 2 Jaw Bearing puller to remove the bearing on the ring gear side so you can modify the thickness of the shim pack (took me a few tries to get it right)...the Preload is also done by removing the bearing opposite the ring gear and modifying the shim pack on that side. If you're installing the ARB Air Locker there is no shim pack between the bearing and the carrier the shims go between the Master shim and the part that has the air tube to pressurize the locker it just pops off and back on, no pressure needed.

The pinion bearing has to be pressed on- I paid to have that pressed on before deciding I needed the Arbor Press to finish the job.

The Dial Indicator is used to check the backlash- no way to do it without it...you'd have to have done a coupla hundred of them to be able to judge anything as minute as 0.00X.

The Dial Calipers are to check the shim thickness.

Bearing Race/Seal Driver for driving the bearings and races smoothly- although a block of wood would work for the Races...but for the bearings themselves it was definitely useful.

The Ball Joint kit I used the spacers for when I was pressing bearings also...although in hindsight I guess I could have done without it- but I've got it if I have to do the ball joints anytime in the future.

The compressor and air tools came in real handy for getting the old rusty azz nuts and bolts off/out.

Not to mention the impact wrench is great for knocking that pinion nut up in there tight...mine is 260ft. lbs. which is about right for the torqueing of the pinion nut.

I forgot to mention in the previous post you also need a Torque wrench- one ft. lbs. to tighten bolts (you might be able to get away without this one..), and one in. lbs. (needed) to measure the drag on the pinion.

Of course a plastic or rubber mallet, one BFH , and a coupla brass punches.

Definitely a little more than the average hand tools to get the job done.

I used a Dremel with a cut-off wheel to notch the bearing cap.
Drill to punch the hole for the air tube, and a coupla NPT taps to thread the hole(s).

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat- I thought it was fun...but then I have a warped sense of humor.

 

[Hotweels]

i did my setup with a hammer, wood block and mag mount dial indicator... BUT you need to build carrier cheater bearing's out of the old bearing's if they are in good shape just ream the inside of the bearing out till it slips on and off the carrier set the preload loose so you can remove the carrier with minimal effort makes it a hell of a lot smoother.
once you have the pinion depth set up where you want it use the mag mount and mic the old bearing's with them sitting in the old races them slide em out and slide the new ones under and see what the diff is between the two, if you get it all right just add .003 on each side of the carrier put the new races and bearings on and use the block of wood and hammer to install into the housing, you cant over preload a carrier bearing it's next to impossible to do but it is not uncommon to under preload them....
only thing i did not do was press my pinion bearing on, i took mine to a buddy who had access to a press.
pinion bearing preload is another area where you dont want to cheap out, set the drag on the bearing then red lock tight the sucker on there... but when you are playing around with the pinion depth shim's make sure you use the old nut as pinion nut's are a one time use once they go on and off they are garbage for everything but setup's in other diff's
my .02

 

[cdsl227]

The old stuff that came out of this axle was- nasty! To say the least...

I've read stuff on reaming the old bearings and measuring using them, but didn't want to buy a second set...plus with the ARB it's a little different setup because they supply a different bearing for the side opposite the ring, it's thinner than the original.

You can do it without some of the tools...but I think that's inviting some headaches. I wanted to get this done right the first time so I'd never have to come back to it.

Since I did this one I'm going to do the rear also.

I had to make a case spreader out of 1/4" ...cause popping that carrier in an out was a PITA!! It's butt fugly, but it works!

 

[JoshC]

That sounds like a butt load of work! And tools, but you can never have to many tools.

I'd love to try it, but i would have to work with someone to get the feel for it.

 

[cdsl227]

Got the studs from JBG, I didn't even realize one stud isn't going to come out without dropping the balljoint- so that stud stays.

I got the hub/rotor on passenger side together and just when I was cleaning the Warn hub to regrease it I noticed the snap ring that holds the inner gear in the hub was weak...it wasn't tight enough the hold it together so I ordered a set of Warn Premium hubs from OK4WD. I almost went for the Superwinch, they were cheaper, but I prefer the almost full turn to lock on the Warns.

Besides Warn makes a hub fuse so you don't snap universals or shafts...maybe someday I'll swap out the gear for the fuse.

They'll be here Mon/Tues.

I guess I'll get the other shaft, spindle, hub and rotor assembled tomorrow so I can just drop them in on Tuesday.

 

[NOTAJP]

Sounds like fun! Keep up the good work!