Need help re-installing front diff

[explorerman3]

I need some advice on putting my front diff back in place. I just rebuilt the diff with all new bearings/seals/races and installed a set of 5:13gears and a Detroit truetrac LSD. After I bolted the front pumpkin up to the beam, I went to go slide in the driverside axle. It fits in there just fine (a little snug actually) until I go to put the spindle on. The axle seems to bind up somewhere inside the spindle when the spindle is all tightened up. The axle still rotates when I turn the pinion gear but I think it's rubbing somewhere inside the spindle. This causes a problem when I go to install the lockouts because the axle is not in the center of the spindle. There is no "wiggle" room like there should be, the axle is really tight. The spindle and axle are both the same units that I pulled out and they fit just fine before I pulled it apart. The pass side has no issues with fitment. Has anyone ever experienced this before when reinstalling their from diffs? Should I have waited to tighten up the diff bolts and diff bracket til after I fitted the axles in place? Please help! I'm VERY FRUSTRATED!

 

[Anime]

Did you grease the outside of the stub shaft or the inside of the spindle? That's all it needs to minimize friction. The drivers side axle shaft doesn't have much play in it, compared to the passenger side, due to the short shaft and only having one u-joint.

If everything is positioned right, and the spindle seal is snug on the back side of the spindle, and nothing is rubbing or otherwise wrong, you should be able to just put the hub back on, and that will center the stub shaft in the spindle.

Maybe you didn't mark the orientation of the axle before you removed it and now it's installed differently? The splines wear with use and torque, so when they're put into different positions, they may be slightly off until they wear with their new position. Generally it's best to mark everything and re-install it in the same exact position it was before, it usually avoids stuff like this.

 

[Elgatoprerunner]

So since you replaced the gears to a very low range I'm assuming you changed out the ring carrier. (LSD comes with a carrier though)

The only thing I can think of is maybe in setting up the lash the carrier is now closer to that side thus making that side of the axle a hair too long? Never done gears on a ttb before.
I was also thinking that maybe the pumpkin is slightly tweeked to cause misalignment. I dont think that's it though. I used studs in the aluminum housing when assembling mine so the rtv didn't get smeared around.

Did you use a gasket or rtv silicone for sealing up the diff? Maybe the diff is too far away from the beam now causing some binding.

I do t think you will notice much from the other side since that side has another u joint for the pivot.

 

[explorerman3]

So since you replaced the gears to a very low range I'm assuming you changed out the ring carrier. (LSD comes with a carrier though)

The only thing I can think of is maybe in setting up the lash the carrier is now closer to that side thus making that side of the axle a hair too long? Never done gears on a ttb before.
I was also thinking that maybe the pumpkin is slightly tweeked to cause misalignment. I dont think that's it though. I used studs in the aluminum housing when assembling mine so the rtv didn't get smeared around.

Did you use a gasket or rtv silicone for sealing up the diff? Maybe the diff is too far away from the beam now causing some binding.

I do t think you will notice much from the other side since that side has another u joint for the pivot.

Already thought of the same thing, I even pulled everything apart and reinstalled it, even after that I still had the same problem. I think I'm just gonna run it, I
got everything to line up enough to get it put back together.