Its almost nice enough out side for me to swap out my d30 for a d44. I have the d44 out of a 75 I believe. This is my first complete front axle swap, Where is the best place to start? Anything I need to for or know in advance? How do I know what degree of C bushings to buy? O and does anyone know where I can get some super tall jackstands? I have a 5 1/2 lift.
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Cody
69 Bronco, 351W, Edelbrock performer, Holley 670 T/A 35'S 5.5'' Wildhorses lift, Locker rear, F-100 power steering and a slight rear main leak
87 Bronco XLT, 302, rust, rear locker, tape player + IPOD, and the most comfortable (stock) seats ever.
To start with, you need 7 degree C bushings for a 5.5" lift in most cases. All Broncos react differently, so you want to have the alignment checked to see if the caster is back in spec.
Do you have any small tires that you can put on to get it down lower? If not, jack up the front end and remove the tires and then let it down on jack stands as low as the suspension with extend without hitting the ground. Be careful that the fulcrum point where you have the jack stands will not allow the rear end to want to come off the ground. I have chained the rear end down in the past. I have also used jack stands under the front bumper, but it doesn't leave much room to work with. I have also used an engine hoist (rated at 2K lbs) to hold the front end up along with the jack stands.
***Safety is the most important. If it doesn't look safe, don't do it. ***
Are you looking for a step by step, or just some things to watch out for?
I have found that leaving the tires on when you are doing one on the ground can help. If you have a good rolling floor jack, it will also work. I usually like to have 1 on either side. One to get it rolled into position and the other to jack it up evenly and slide it into the bushings. A transmission jack works the best if you have access to one, but you need to build an attachment that will keep the axle level.
There is special lube for the poly bushings. A little bit on both sides will help with the installation.
You want to tighten the C-bushing caps, as evenly as possible. Go back and forth in small increments until they are tight. And try to ensure that the front end stays level and the radius arms stay as parallel as possible. This will help prevent "Bronco lean". Sometimes, it may help to loosen the frame end of the radius arms a little bit to help get things lined up. Other times, having them loose will make it tougher. You just have to adapt and not give up.
Remove the coil spring, not just the lower mount. It is easier and quicker to remove the entire spring. If you loosen the lower bolts, and remove the upper coil retainer, you can turn the spring out of the lower coil cup. Then you can get to the lower coil cup bolts easily. Reverse the order to install. Beats trying to get your fingers between the coils to get the bolts started and going little by little to get them tight.
There is a difference between a D30 and a D44 track bar. Be aware that you may need to install one if it rubs the front cover excessively. I ran mine for several years and had only slight rubbing with the suspension crossed up and in a bind.
Hope that helps. If you have any other questions, let me know.
I suppose I could take the tires off my 87 bronco (stock). The replacement D44 has the track bar and steering linkage all connected to it still. Do you happen to have The torque specs for everything? I tried to find a step by step in the forums, Didnt have much luck. If its not too much trouble (since its my first time) a good step by step would be awesome. Im sure it would help a lot of people on here. Now when you say keep the radius arms parrallel do you mean with eachother or with the frame?
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Cody
69 Bronco, 351W, Edelbrock performer, Holley 670 T/A 35'S 5.5'' Wildhorses lift, Locker rear, F-100 power steering and a slight rear main leak
87 Bronco XLT, 302, rust, rear locker, tape player + IPOD, and the most comfortable (stock) seats ever.
Torque specs are as follows:
Radius arm cap bolts 90-110 ft lbs
Radius arm nut at frame 80- 120 ft lbs.
I mean parallel with each other (and with the frame if it is sitting level). What happens is that you can put a little bit of preload "bind" into the bushings. When you get it back together and on the ground, the Bronco will look like it has a weak spring. It will be tipped to one front corner. This doesn't happen all of the time, but enough that you should be aware of it.
If someone doesn't beat me to it, I can do a write up for you if you'd like.
It will prob be a couple of weeks still till I tackle the swap, but if you ( or anyone ) would be so kind to write one up,I would appreciate it. I was wondering, what should I do to paint it. I have taken the cover off and checked the gears ect. I would like to have it painted black. I thought id wire wheel it, clean it and rattle can it. Or should I spend some $$ and tape it off and have it spray on powder coated? Suggestions? Not going for a show truck but id like it to look decent...
__________________
Cody
69 Bronco, 351W, Edelbrock performer, Holley 670 T/A 35'S 5.5'' Wildhorses lift, Locker rear, F-100 power steering and a slight rear main leak
87 Bronco XLT, 302, rust, rear locker, tape player + IPOD, and the most comfortable (stock) seats ever.
The first thing to do is get it jacked up and jack stands underneath. If you are removing the tires first, loosen the lug nuts before you get it in the air.
1.Remove the breather hose and the brake hose at the center of the differential.
2. Remove the track bar at the frame end. At this point you can remove it from the axle or wait until it is out.
3. Take the steering linkage loose from the pitman arm and tie it to the main tie rod so that it won't drag. Remove the steering stabilizer if you have one.
You can also remove the linkage from the wheel ends and tie it up to the frame.
4. Undo the driveline from the front differential.
(remove anything else that may be attached
5. Support the axle with a floor jack. If you plan on removing the tires before you pull the axle out, you may want someone to help you steady it while you're pulling on the jack when you are removing it. As I mentioned earlier, a transmission jack works really well and will give you more control when you are putting it back together.
6. Take the upper coil retainers off, and loosen the lower coil cup bolts.
Depending on your shock extended length, you may also want to undo the lower shock mounting at the radius arm.
7. Lower the jack so that the springs will come out of the coil towers. Once they are loose, turn them so that they will disengage from the lower cups.
8. Remove the lower coil cups and inserts.
9. Make sure that the axle is secure and steady on the jack. Remove the 8 bolts that attach the radius arm caps, remove the caps and pry the axle loose from the radius arm bushings.
Your axle should be sitting on the ground at this point.
I changed axles on the ground and on a lift. With or without tires on. What works best is having it in the air and using a transmission jack with a support to keep the axle level. The transmission jack will also let you tilt it slightly to help on assembly.
You just need to use what you have.
If you don't have trans jack, having two floor jacks can give you more control but it can be a little tricky to deal with.
If you don't have access to a decent floor jack, leaving the tires on can help you get it underneath the Bronco and then you can jack it up into place. But you will fight it more.
Tomorrow I will cover reassembly.
Reassembly:
1. Install the new C bushings. Make sure that you have them oriented correctly. A little bit of lube on the surfaces will help them go together easier. I usually tap them in with a hammer. They make special lube for poly bushings, but I have always used regular chassis grease. I've heard that reg grease will eat the bushings, but I've never had a problem.
2. Get the axle underneath the Bronco, forward of the radius arms. Use 2 floor jacks (or a trans jack, if you have one) and raise the axle up into position evenly.
3. Once you are lined up with the radius arms, push the axle back and line up the bushings with the axle wedges. A little bit of grease on the inside edges of the bushings will help.
4. Once the axle is somewhat seated in the bushings, you can install the caps. I have a couple of sets of longer bolts to help pull the caps into place. I install them in the diagonal holes, pull them down, and then install the next size shorter bolts into the opposite holes. Sometimes they go right together and the OE bolts can be installed without using the longer ones.
5. When you get the original bolts started, you want to go in steps to tighten the caps as evenly as possible top to bottom, side to side as well as the left and the right caps. Try to make sure that the axle stays as level as possible. As well as keeping the radius arms as level as you can. This will help you from problems down the road.
6. Start the bolts through the lower coil cups and retainers. Do not tighten.
7. Let the jacks down under the axle. Leave one in place so that you can jack the springs into position.
8. Screw the coil springs into the lower retainers until they are oriented where they will sit into the upper towers.
9. Jack up the front end to fit the springs into the upper towers. Install the upper coil retainer straps. You can now tighten the lower cups and the upper retainers
10. Reinstall the shocks, steering linkage, stabilizer, driveshaft
11. Reinstall the track bar. Put the axle end on first and then attempt to line up the upper mount. If it doesn't line up, you can use a come along to pull the front end into position. Or you can wait until it is on the ground and have someone turn the wheel to move the frame and help it line up.
12. Depending on your possible brake upgrades, now is the time to make any plumbing changes or modifications.
13. Put the tires on and set it back on the ground. Double check your bolts, bleed the brakes, do all of your final checks.
I forgot to mention previously that it can help to loosen the rear of the radius arms to help you get the axle lined up and into the bushings.
