D60 axle shaft question

[stump_puller]

Went out wheelin yesterday and had god awful racket coming from the passenger side. The axle shaft u joint was hot. Tore it all down today and found spindle bearing came apart. Question is with the wear that’s on the outer stub shaft do you think it’s still safe to run it or just get another. I’m running still stock 30 spline outers.

It’s hard to tell but you can see a step in the diameter of the shaft. I tore apart the other side to get a reference and it’s all one diameter hence, why I’m asking .

 

[sweetk30]

Trail spare it .

There is / was a place making teflon spindle bearing replacment / upgrades . They take 1 hell of a beating and still survive . And they made a tool to gease them once all together .

Or just do new spindle bearings and the dust lip seal .

Longfield was the place but got purchased and new owners i think stopped making a lot of stuff .

 

[obijuank5]

With how common and cheap a replacement is, there’s no reason to keep that in service.

 

[stump_puller]

Kinda what I was thinking. Just wanted to be sure. Thanks!

 

[GWeakland620]

I agree with Sweetk30. Great for a trail spare to get you back to trailer or camp.

 

[monala]

If the spindle bearings came apart and wore a noticeable step into the outer stub shaft, I’d be hesitant to keep running it as anything more than a trail spare. The shaft may survive for a while, but once bearings have chewed into the bearing surface, the new spindle bearing may not be properly supported and could wear out prematurely or create additional play. Since you already have it apart, replacing the spindle bearings, dust seal, and damaged stub shaft is the safest long-term fix, especially on a Dana 60 that sees hard wheeling.

 

[monala]

If the spindle bearings came apart and wore a noticeable step into the outer stub shaft, I’d be hesitant to keep running it as anything more than a trail spare. The shaft may survive for a while, but once bearings have chewed into the bearing surface, the new spindle bearing may not be properly supported and could wear out prematurely or create additional play. Since you already have it apart, replacing the spindle bearings, dust seal, and damaged stub shaft is the safest long-term fix, especially on a Dana 60 that sees hard wheeling.

Once the Precision spindle bearings have failed badly enough to wear a step into the stub shaft, the bearing surface is no longer ideal, and new bearings may not seat or run correctly, leading to accelerated wear and potential wobble. Since you already have everything apart, replacing the damaged stub shaft along with the spindle bearings and dust seal is the best long-term solution. It’s a lot cheaper than dealing with another bearings Supplier failure on the trail, especially with a Dana 60 that gets used hard.