johndeere01

its happened 3 er 4 times so far, no sorry i dont have any way to take pictues i have a new Ujoint to go in but i dont know if i should put it in or not

johndeere01

ALright opon ferther inpection its breaking the top of the Ujoint cap off an the needles are falling out an the rest of the cap and locking ring are staying in place axle rolls flat on table and the ears do not look bent.
Anyone?

NO_SPRK

Axle nut? The spindle nut is a 2 9/16

MrExtreme

At this point I would say you should get a junk yard axle and put your new U-joint in there, sounds to me like at least one of the yokes is bad.

Jungle

Is this on the cad side or the other side?

johndeere01

Alright i talked to a guy today and he said that if theres a berring at the end of the axle tube and one on the spindel that it might be the problem because it dosnt allow the axle to move enough and might be the reson its breaking the cap i have a berring at the end of the axle tube and one on the spindal has anyone else heard of this?

Jungle

Yes this is on the CAD side. You ONLY want the axle side bearing. DO NOT put one in the spindle on the cad side. They usually just tare the spindle bearing out & chew up the bearing surface.

johndeere01

well i have both one on the axle tube an one inside the spindel so what your sayin is take the bearing out of the spindel an only have the one at the outside end of the axle tube?

MrExtreme

He's working with an 1986 1/2 ton truck, way before that Central Axle Disconnect (CAD) I think.

JD01 does that truck have manual locking hubs?

JD01, that bearing issue is not the problem, you don't want the axle to move too much, if those are all factory installed bearings leave them alone.

After having that U-joint go bad that many times one of the yokes is most likely no longer useable. If that were my rig I would have already bought a used axle and solved the problem. I believe both Chevy and Dodge use the same axles in the Dana 44, should be real easy to find.

Jungle

Yes I am. on the cad side you do NOT want the bearing in the spindle. It has the bearing in the end of the axle tube.
In the 1/2 ton trucks the D44 cad axle started in 1985. The 1983 or 1984 had the auto locking hubs.

johndeere01

no it does not have locking hubs it is full time 4 wheel drive

Jungle

A 1986 1/2 ton truck Will have the Central Axle Disconnect on the long side Axle housing. I would not call it a full time four wheel drive. The CAD disconnects the long side axle so it acts like unlocking your hubs UNLESS you have the CAD permanently locked.