front axle shaft removal

[suntadz]

I was starting my x-over conversion now and had a few questions about the axle shafts. I tried searching and after reading 1/2 hour of junk I decide to post. basically a simple question for some. after hub removal can i just pull the axle shafts out and then slide them back in? Or do i have to open the carrier and mess with some c-clips or something? maybe have the axles aligned some certain way?? Im swapping the knuckles out with some dedenbears so that why i need the axle shafts out of the way. Was thinking it was pull out shafts, swap knuckles, put in shafts, done!? maybe not right????

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Once the hubs are off, the front shafts just slide in and out.

 

[suntadz]

ok so no worries about any clips or pins in the pumpkin becoming dislodged ehh. simple as pull in pull out. I like that. thanks
oh yea by the way it was a 10bolt front too.

 

[Tabb]

What about the seals? one of mine is leaking and saw a diag. showing 3 different seals and a oil deflector on each side. The oil deflector is close to the diff. should I replace all seals and the deflector on the right front?

 

[loafer]

you have to remove the differential carrier to replace the seals. 10 bolts just have a one-piece seal that has a connical type guide to guide axle shaft in. I have never seen a three-piece seal for 10 bolts.

 

[86dieselburb]

What about the seals? one of mine is leaking and saw a diag. showing 3 different seals and a oil deflector on each side. The oil deflector is close to the diff. should I replace all seals and the deflector on the right front?

Sure it's the seal leaking? When I did my cross-over, pulled the passenger axle and noticed that there was a ridge worn into the axle shaft causing it to leak. You could have the same problem as mine. Heck of alot easier to replace the shaft than those seals. They look like you would have to take the whole carrier out to get too.

 

[Tabb]

Sure it's the seal leaking? When I did my cross-over, pulled the passenger axle and noticed that there was a ridge worn into the axle shaft causing it to leak. You could have the same problem as mine. Heck of alot easier to replace the shaft than those seals. They look like you would have to take the whole carrier out to get too.

No I'm not sure it is a seal. Once I get the axle out I will check it to see if has a groove in the shaft. I hope that is the problem. Thanks for the info.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

What about the seals? one of mine is leaking and saw a diag. showing 3 different seals and a oil deflector on each side. The oil deflector is close to the diff. should I replace all seals and the deflector on the right front?

The three seals you saw are: one pinion seal and two axle seals. Don't try to replace the pinion seal on a 10 bolt unless you know how to setup gears.

As for the axle seals, yes you have to pull the carrier. And again, unless you have setup gears I wouldn't really recommend doing this yourself. This is because the 10 bolt's carrier shims are outside the carrier bearings. They can be tricky to reinstall without bending the shims and if you bend one of the shims you are in trouble.