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Finally build thread worthy material

took the blazer for the first drive since the axle swap / lift / tires.

turned around before I got to the end of the neighborhood...didnt feel right. checked everything, nothing had come undone, i figured it was just that different with the lift, tires, etc

got up to about 45 mph and that thing tried to throw me out of it. it was vibrating, not tracking straight, bouncing up and down, and it didnt take long for me to say "self....turn the F around and get home"

called a buddy to explain and see what he thought....possible tires out of balance, maybe, but it was shaking way worse. He tells me to jack it up, and try and shake the wheels.

left front didnt budge....the right one....well thats a different story....check out the youtube video below to see what i found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlhfywIEOjQ

....atleast I got some pics that werent in my driveway!

NOW, it seems that I have a 10bolt front axle, with Dana 44 hubs. with that in mind....what wheel bearings do I need? are they the same?

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Every thing on the 44s are interchangable from the Cs out.

Except for the very early D44s I have heard. My 73 d 44 everything was the same as far as wheel bearings and hubs,important stuff like that.

You probably just have loose wheel bearings or some such. Shouldn't matter that you have 44 hubs on a 10 bolt
 
awesome thanks. the guy I got the axles off had rolled his rig, so maybe they are bad, maybe just loose....will pull them and find out.

until then, i feel like my steering is not tight in addition. I have new drag link, ball joints, tie rod, and even did the XJ shaft mod. Is it possible my steering box is worn out? how/where do I check do see if I have the common frame crack near the steering box?
 
keep the front wheels on the ground and have someone turn the wheel, look over and see where things are moving and things are not. Where ever the difference is....is your problem normally. It's damn near impossible to find a crack on the frame without removing the steering box.

and that video needs to show the ball joints, the only way it's going to move up and down is either the bearings or ball joints. It would be crazy if it was the spindle studs/nuts but not impossible.
 
the reason I have a new HD tie rod from ORD was because I bent the stocker offroading...now i wonder if I did more than just that. like i said, almost everything else is new...but the steering box and frame area have never been addressed or checked.
 
Just pop the lockin hub off and try tightening the bearing nuts. Did you do anythin to that 60 or just buy it and put it in? Somebody coulda just hand tightened the spindle nuts for some reason.
 
Long story (its a 10b with dana 44 hubs btw)

I got it fully assembled with new everything, but it came off a rolled vehicle. I think it either came loose or is damaged. I am going to go ahead and get new bearings and check it on sunday.

for a minute, I was thinking....that everyone on this forum is crazy for driving a truck that rides like this :pimp:
 
dieselndixie said:
Long story (its a 10b with dana 44 hubs btw)

I got it fully assembled with new everything, but it came off a rolled vehicle. I think it either came loose or is damaged. I am going to go ahead and get new bearings and check it on sunday.

for a minute, I was thinking....that everyone on this forum is crazy for driving a truck that rides like this :pimp:
Click to expand...

Ahh idk why I was thinkin 60, especially since you just mentioned a d44 lol. Could have just had that one side not torqed right when the bearings went on. No clue.
 
Ball Joints or spindle nut with locking nut. Since you did the ball joints, I'd check the spindle nuts as a first step. If your ball joints are loose, I'm sure you could see them moving around on the back side.....Dang, that's loose though. It is NOT suppose to be like that so don't worry!
 
good to know...I was thinking...what the hell have I got myself into. I wanted off road ability, but not at the expense of a white knuckled driving experience.

No frame cracks here...sweet!
 
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OK, I thought you just swapped out the whole front and rear axles? Or did you leave the front 10b in and change it to 8 lug?

To check for steering box/frame cracks... truck on the ground, start it up, have someone saw the steering wheel back/forth while you watch the steering box. You want to watch where the box mounts to the frame and look to see if the distance changes/box moves differently in relation to the frame. Ultimately, if you see movement, you will have to remove the box to inspect the frame. No movement, go to ORD and buy the box brace quick.

I'll mention this too, I bent my stock tie rod very easily too. Doesn't take much to tweak those so don't worry too much about that.
 
do i have this right...in regards to the ORD brace

IF there is a frame crack - you need weld up brace AND bolt on brace?

IF NOT - you just need the bolt on brace?

Reason I ask...I am headed to my buddies ranch in like 10 days, and may order the brace anyway...that way, if its not broken, I can add it before I go. Assuming....I can get the rig right by just replacing the wheel bearing
 
dieselndixie said:
do i have this right...in regards to the ORD brace

IF there is a frame crack - you need weld up brace AND bolt on brace?

IF NOT - you just need the bolt on brace?
Click to expand...
The weld on and bolt on braces are about as stout as you can make it short of boxing the thing and changing the setup entirely. However if your frame is crack free it's just overkill extra insurance. The bolt on brace should keep you in good condition unless you truly beat on the truck.
 
so is it either / or? is is the weld on the repair, and the bolt on the prevention? sorry...I am at work, so my brain is turned off
 
Alright, 10b fronts use D44 outer stuff. That is normal. Now, with the D44 outer stuff there are big and small bearings and spindles. Seeing as how that axle came out of a rollover, I'd take that side apart and inspect everything. Enough pressure could have stripped the threads on the spindle or locknuts or both. With that much play, it's worth examining for safety sake. Hate to see you just tighten it up and then get on the highway and watch as your tire passes you... :eek1:

You are correct with the steering stuff.
No movement, get the brace.
Movement, get the weld on kit and the brace.

Just on another note, back to the vibration, I bet it's going to be drive shaft related. Take pics from the side of the u-joint angles in relation to the pinion, shaft, and t-case. Just a hunch here.
 
I did the "test" for the steering box frame crack....good news. The steering box doesnt move at all, so I think I am good there.

It seems that I can move the steering wheel, and the XJ shaft moves in perfect unison. Just that after that, the wheels dont seem to move as much as the steering wheel does. Am I just being too anal? I mean, how loose are yalls trucks? I feel like I can move the steering wheel a bit left and right, and not influence the steering of the wheels.

obviously, my wheel bearings are still an issue...maybe that will sort it out.

Do yall still think the bolt on brace is a must do?
 
YES.

The bolt on brace as a minimum. I'd run one on a box stock truck on 235/75R15's.
 
The steering box input vs output is not a 1:1 ratio. I don't know what the ratio is but it will take more turning of the steering wheel to get "x" turn from the tires.

Does that make sense?

Get your wheel bearings sorted out and move on to the next problem.

Oh, and yes, get the steering box brace now before you end up with the cracked frame and have to fix that too.
 
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