If you are tight on money, just leave it. You do not use 4x4 all the time anyway do you? You also need to clean it up really good and check it after a period of time. Hate to see you go to all that trouble and it be a engine leak dripping down on the diff where you can't see it. A quick way to check would be to put your finger on the leak and then smell it. The gear oil in the diff is very stinky. Of course a engine leak would smell like engine oil. Could even be a steering leak with the cooler right on the crossmember over the diff housing.

 

On the TTB, the seal is part of the driver's side arm. So to replace the seal, you literally have to dismantle the entire front-end just to replace the seal. It's a real PITA for a little leak.

 

Yeah I know what gear oil smells like, and I know for sure it's gear oil.

I rarely use it, but my sole purpose to buy the truck was to use for winter driving because my FWD Fusion won't make it. I got it beached twice last year. So I want to make sure it's up and working properly.

 

Well I am corrected.
I only noticed it had bolts like the rear since I've never really looked at it. Too many leaks above it to care lol

Have you tired to clean it with brake cleaner and then squirt some ttc in the seal if you can see it?

 

IMO, unless I am misunderstanding you, $300 is not a lot if that is the total price for labor to pull the front differential, reseal, and replace the axle seals. That job would (should) also include cleaning and repacking the wheel bearings and thorough inspection of the front end/steering. You don't need to do an alignment just because of the disassembly - only if it needs the alignment before you start.

If you go the solid axle installation, your going to pay at least $300 in labor (it's a bigger job than resealing the TTB), plus the $800-900 for the axle, plus an alignment. And my guess is that you'll be buying a bunch of other parts. Steering components, etc., (will the hubs, bearings, brakes/rotors all swap over or will you need to buy these to?). Also, (obviously) you need to be sure the front and rear differential have the same gear ratios (I know you were thinking of having a gear swap too).

I would clean everything up and drive for a while to be sure exactly what is leaking and how much/fast it leaks before making a decision. Adding some diff fluid every so often is not a big deal. Maybe a heavier weight oil might help some - but you find a magic fix in an additive.

Good Luck.

 

Yeah, pitman arm, drag link...pretty much everything I would need to rock n' roll.

 

Not to brag, but I've got a man's word on 300 for everything for a front axle pulled from the truck I choose(obviously has to be correct year) so I figure 500 out the door for front and rear and leaves...kinda why I'm doing the sas once I figure out all of my shackle reversal stuff.

 

I thought the $300 was the price to fix (reseal) the TTB. But you're saying that is the labor to remove the TTB and install the solid axle. That is a good price. Any idea what it would cost to you to fix the TTB leaks?

Of course if you just really want a solid front axle - then go for it.

 

I saw the drag link and front shaft in your photos, but it's hard to pick out everything on the screen of my phone.
I'm sure someone else will take it if you decide it's too much for you.

 

What's TTC?

We cleaned it up, and now I still have yet to crawl under it and take a look to see where it's coming from.

There was a whole load of goo under there, with a bunch of grass and leaves stuck in it, and it was dripping from there, but we cleaned it out with some brake cleaner and a screwdriver, and now we have to take another look.

 

In the end, that's the conclusion I ended up at. $300 for just the labor is the start point, everything after that is not included in the $300. I'd have to pay for gear oil, seals and God knows what else. That's why I was thinking that if I could get away with doing the whole swap for what it could cost to get the TTB rebuilt, i'd just go that way. But it looks like the SAS will be more trouble than it's worth.

If I plan to lift it in the future, then i'd probably think about upgrading the TTB to a SAS. But stock height is plenty tall for me now, so i'm not gonna worry about it.

 

Apparently, he already had a guy lined up to buy it with the 3.54's that are in it now, and he can use it as-is. So i'm just going to let this one go, and worry about finding another one in the future when I definitely have the money and time to tinker with it.

Now i'm just going to enjoy it as much as possible.

Thanks for the advice.

 

I meant rtv. Man auto correct is kicking my ****.

 

Sounds like a good plan.
BTW - why do you think your TTB needs to be rebuilt (any noise)? Maybe you are just using that term generically. Rebuilding and resealing are very different of course. I have the 44HD too, and have not had to replace the axle seals (mine's a 1982 F250). I did remove the differential and reseal it when I had things apart to replace the ball joints last year - so 30+ years with only minor leakage. It was not very difficult, but does require some specialized tools (i.e. ball joint press).

EDIT (forgot): I did replace the stock gears with 4.56 around 1990 - so it was more like 20 years with only minor leakage.

 

Yeah, I could go that route. Hell, I have RTV in the holes in the roof from that stupid visor the PO installed. Holding up good there.