this is how i fixed the stripped threads in the knuckle. i got a 5/16s bolt and slid it in from the back. had to grind the head a little but it worked good

this is a pic pf the funky weld on the yoke of the axle. i still dont know if this is factory or if it has been replaced.

and a pic of it all put back together minus the lock-out

in that pic you can see the shock on the tie rod. when i hooked the tie rod up the steering got really tuff. didnt really know why so i figured i would start with the easy stuff and remove the shocks. shazam......steered easy again!

 

took the right front off today. have you heard the saying "you want the good news or the bad news first". thats how i felt today. i came apart fast since i gained all the knowledge from the left side, then i got to the spindle bolts and noticed different sized bolt. it had been tapped with bigger bolts after the threads had pulled out. three in total. before i put it back together i will make sure it holds 20 ft.lbs of torque. the good news is that the right side had alot more gear lube than water. another thing that looks a little scary is the inside of the ball is beat up from the axle yoke hitting it. it seems like there is a brass bushing missing from inside the axle tube for the axle to ride on but i cant remember if the other side had one and im not gonna take it apart again to check. pics to follow.

 

turns out the inside of the ball was beat up because at some point the axle joint broke and the yoke beat up the inside of the ball.
turns out that two of the three retapped threads are ok but one had pulled out again so it got the bolt from the backside treatment.
the rest went together pretty quick. everything is back together and its on the road again. set the toe with a tape measure and must have done a crappy job. it will go in for a real toe adjustment soon. i ended up reusing the lockouts because i went over budget on this project. anyway, i ended up replacing all four upper and lower knuckle bearings, all four wheel bearings and seals, both tie-rod ends, both wheel cylinders, new brake pads and had the drums turned. both axle u-joints and fixed the broken bolt in the diff cover. made sure the diff bearing caps were torgued to the proper spec. i still need to replace the front driveshaft u-joints and then it will be time for the studded tire test.

 

Great write up you did here. My Upper Knuckle bearing is destroyed like yours probably from having Lockouts like you mention.

What about using a sealed bearing if one where to be found.

 

chet, i doubt you will find a sealed knuckle bearing because they are tappered. pack with quality grease and call it good for a year or two. when i put mine all back together i left out all the shims. i figured with age and abuse things were gonna be loose and i was right. zero shims and i think the left side could be a little tighter but it is what it is. i will tell you it drives and steers like a dream. money well spent and piece of mind. the only thing i would do different is that i would use carrage bolts from inside the knuckle to bolt the spindle on. i lost a little turning radius because of the bolt heads on the inside of the knuckle. then again, my bolt are grade 8 and i doubt you can get much more than grade 3 with a carrage bolt. i will try to keep up with your thread in case you run into any more snags. good luck

 

Awesome help there, thanks!!

I struck out at NAPA tonight looking for knuckle bearings, the dude there was very helpful and is going to look into finding me a set. I like the bolts from the inside concept. I was thinking that might work for the studs that ripped out with my steering arm.

 

Back to the top!

 

Question for you guys. I bought a small ball closed knuckle for parts. I really just needed the steering knuckle. But I may just rebuild this one...still not sure. Im trying to take apart the one I bought. Any tricks to getting the brake drums off or is it just corrosion? Do the locking hubs need to come out to get the brake drum off? I don't recall having to do that on mine but maybe this one is different? There are large screw caps in the drum itself are those for inspection or to get at other bolts? Thanks guys.

Also Im not sure Ill be able to get the WARN hubs off due to the screws being corroded. Can I just drill those screws out?

 

There may be three large flat bladed screws between the lug studs that hold the drum on to the hub. As far as drilling the allen headed cap screws, you could carefully drill the heads off and slide the Warn locking hub off the main hub and then take some vice grips the leftover screw studs. Is this dana 44 a 3/4 or 1/2 ton axle

 

Thanks I finally went after those 3 flathead screws. Sure enough that drum came right off. Its a 3/4 ton axle. This one has the WARN Hubs and mine has the Ford hubs. So is the one with the WARN hubs and the flathead screws a Dana 44 HD? I think mines a regular Dana 44. I got the brakes off. I may try and get the locking hub off today. im thinking I should rebuild this one and put it under the truck. just not sure about changing out gears if I have too. Originally I was just after the steering knuckle to replace mine.

 

As far as the Dana 44 for the 1959 Ford 1/2 and 3/4 ton axles they are essentially the same except for the hub 8 lug vs 5 lug and the differential gearing, 1/2's got 3.92:1 and 3/4's got 4.55:1
Small ball Danas were found in a lot of vehicles.
Here is a good link on all Dana 44's and more. Mr.N's Dana Articles to Include 44, 60 information.

 

Thanks for the info. Ill let ya know how it goes when I get a chance to tear into it some more. I know the gears I have in the current axle are 3.54s. Ill check this new axle when I get it opened up. Do I need to take the steering arm off the knuckle to get the axle out? There are upper and lower bearings right?

 

Once you take the spindle off you can remove the axle. Yes two cone bearings, with shims under the caps to adjust preload.

 

I finally got around to drilling the heads off the screws so I could get the hub off. I got the inner ring out and now Im wondering how and where the outer ring is? Once I get that ring out then the rest comes right out correct? Also the tag on the differential say 4.09 on it. Thats the gear ratio correct?

 

I found the outer ring and eventually got the whole thing apart. Now to begin on talking my axle apart so I can use the replacement knuckle and steering arm...