My 96' front end u-joints have been making a loud clicking noise now for a while and need to be changed. Is this a jack in driveway, knock out the ball joints and r2 the u-joints kinda job? Any links and or pick's to help or should I just pay up and be done with it? If the ball joints are worn at all should I replace them too? Any help in the front end would help-thanks

 

When mine went south I changed just about everything; u-joints, ball-joints, and axle seals since I wrecked them taking the drive shafts out. I saved a small fortune by doing it myself and found lots of information on the web to get it done. It took under a day (8 hrs) and I'm a plodder when it comes to wrenching on trucks but I got it done! If you have any specific questions--glad to answer and help. cd

 

I thought you could pull the axles out w/o taking the ball joints apart.

Sorry to "high-jack" this thread. I'm starting to pull mine apart right now to replace the u-joints and am looking for info on this. Any good pics would help. Someone posted a 1st gen axle u-joint replacement with good pics. Mine doesn't have the lock-out hubs.

 

You are correct and I didn't want to imply otherwise. When I had mine apart a few of the ball joints were dry and loose. They are pretty cheap in the big picture. tinbenders.org has some really good pictures of how to do the job. The biggest PITA was the seals which are about a foot or so inside the hollow axle tube full of dirt/sand and everything else you don't want rubbing on a seal. The pax side is easy to change, the drivers side requires dropping the ring gear/diff. A builders square rotated in the tube works real good at cleaning it out then get the shop vac. For a "special tool" seal puller I used a piece of all thread and gently wrenched the seal into place. If you can pull the shafts out and get them in w/o trashing the seals you're pretty good. cd

 

The axles come out without doing the ball joints. To get to the axles you must first remove the axle nut and then hub/rotor assembly which can be a real nightmare. The axle needs to be supported before pulling the hub/rotor or it will drag the axle out with it possibly causing your axle carrier seals to leak when you done.....don't ask me why I know this.

Here is a thread with some pics and details of wrenchs needed etc for my 97:

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...highlight=hubs

I haven't done my u-joints or ball joints yet but after replacing front rotors my drivers side axle seal was leaking. I kept filling the front diff up to top of refill hole and the drivers side kept leaking. Then I found out it needs to be filled 3/4 inch below the fill hole or it can leak out (this tip thanks to "Infidel"). I'm waiting to see if the seal stops leaking. If it does not then to replace the seals both sides have to be removed hub/rotor etc so both axles can be pulled and then the carrier ring gear pulled to get to the drivers side axle seal in the carrier. This I'm not looking forward to doing. Be carefull pulling the hubs and axles.

Dave

 

I did mine and it took the whole afternoon. I took the hub assemblies and axle stubs out and used one of those ball joint press and receiver cup tool kits to drive the joints in and out.
Its a PITA but once its done youre good for awhile.

 

Tried to loosen the axle nut. Soaked the nut several times with PB Blaster waited a good long time and soaked the nut some more. Was using a 3/4 drive 1-11/16 socket, 24" breaker bar topped off with a 6' piece of 1" pipe. Soaked the nut some more. Pipe bent fairly easily and nut didn't budge at all.

My 99 must be different from the 97 as the pics in the link don't match my set-up, but they do give a real good idea of what I am up against.

After bending the pipe I've decided to take it to a dealer as I just don't have time to fart with it this week and need the truck to pull a trailer.

After it gets finished, I'm going to build and try a tool I've designed just for loosening the axle nut.

 

yeh the tools called an impact gun

 

funny i just saw the post and im about to do the same thing, my u-joint is clicking away and im leaking out the drivers side axle tube..... i need to do my gears anyways that wheel bearing asb. is loot, its like 280 each side then ball joints, u-joints, then breaks.... o well.

 

Well it had better be a 3/4" or 1" impact gun because my 1/2" would not budge it, and I tried both air and electric.

Floyd

 

After you remove the axles it is best to replace the passenger inner seal, no reason not to. It is a 3.00$ part that can cause a ton of hassle when it fails. Easy to remove, not too easy to replace. I tried the all-thread method and a bunch of other DIY methods, none worked, the seal would not go in straight. My friend who is always building a better mousetrap, make up a series of aluminum pieces that worked like a charm, took all of 2 minutes. If you run into the same hassles I did, I will send them to you as a loan.
As well, Mad 4wd has a set of outer seals that are installed at the end of the tubes, preventing dirt and crud from getting in there in the first place. I used them.

 

Need to be careful if it takes that much torque to budge the nut, it means the nut is galled on. If you go any further the nut can come off along with the axle shaft threads = new axle shaft = $$$.
If a 600 ft/lb impact won't get it I heat the nut.
If it still won't budge I spilt the nut.
Better to have to buy a new nut than an axle shaft.

 

I replaced my rotors about 6 months ago and I had the same trouble getting the nut off. I had a 5 ft bar and repeated hits with 600 ft-lb air impact and finally I heated it with a MAPP torch and then hit it with air wrench while hot and it broke free. The hubs were very little trouble getting off.

 

i just rebuilt the whole front end on mine. if you want to get the axles out without taking the rotors off take the 4 12 point bolts out of the back side. could be kinda hard to do the u joints but...

for the shitty passenger side seal i made a round pice of flat bar into a circle with my angle grinder the same size as the seal. then drilled a hole in the middle and tapped it for some 3/8 ready rod. I used some other flat bar against the outside of the housing and tightened the nut against the flat bar and tapped my homeade circle thing to start the seal and keep it straight. i tried the ready rod and socket thing but this was easier.

then a drunk driver totaled it a few weeks later. its a saturday/ sunday job.

 

I use an aluminum seal driver kit, depending on exactly which seals are being used in which housings, I use specific socket sizes to seat them.

I recommend the CR seals over the NOK seals - both manufacturer's designs fit the application(s), but CR are definitely better! Larger, stiffer seal housing, longer taper guides for the axles, etc. For a few dollars more, well worth it IMO.

Hard to get the right Dana parts from the dealer, or auto parts stores - a lot of the part #s have been superceded to cover a broader range of applications... sucks to pull the carrier out to discover Dodge or whoever sold you the wrong parts. Latest SNAFU is axle seals for '98-'99 D60s, during the changeover.

Best source I've found for getting the right parts the first time for a good price is quad4x4.com - talk to Dan the Gear Man... his encyclopedic knowledge of all things Dana is impressive.

I fabricated a differential case spreader out of stainless steel - definitely makes the carrier R&R easier... also, you can use the passenger side wheel shim and a few lugnuts to provide a flange for the Snap-On harmonic balancer puller - best way I've found to get those darn unit bearings out.