I am not the most experienced mechanic... But I am wanting to remove the rear axle and driveshaft off my 1999 f250 to clean it all up and get it painted. I cant find a tutorial anywhere on how to do it. From what I can see, it doesn't look too hard, but just wanted some input from people who have done this before. Is it something difficult to do?

 

No it's pretty straightforward. It's up to you in how you want to do it. If it were me I'd pull the drive shaft then pull the spring bolts, rolling the axle and springs out as one. 4 Easy bolts. You've got to disconnect the brake lines and the Ebrakes obviously too.

 

I just did mine last week. As mentioned, it's not as hard as it is time consuming.


Here's what I did:


Find hard (warm-dry) level ground.


Roll truck in/block front tires/place truck in Neutral and then shut her down (being in neutral lets you roll the driveshaft for removal and just makes it easier.)


Crack the rear lugnuts before jacking.
Use jack stands to support the truck after you lift it. (I put mine on the frame in front of the springs)


Remove the driveshaft after you punch index marks in the flanges and yoke.


Place rear tires under truck on each side under frame rails for safety just in case.


Remove Rear wheels/tires


Remove E brake cables at the bracket in front of Drivers rear spring perch. Then remove the two spring brackets on the frame to the E brakes.


Follow your vent tube to the top and pull the metal clip off the frame rail.


Go to the top of the Diff and you'll find an electronic sensor for the VSS and carefully remove the plug (it's fragile). Remove the plastic clips on that sensor wire from the E brake cables.


(I opted to do this due to heavy rust and access). Unscrew the nuts on Either side of the brake line block where your vent tube is on the axle. Then unbolt that block and let it hang.


Unscrew the two top nuts on your shocks and pull inward to release them from the upper bolt.


Now your left with only the U bolts.


What I did:


Measure from the ground up to the axle.
Cut 8 pieces of PVC rigid or use pipe, whichever, in 1 foot lengths.
Cut a 2x6 or whatever 1 foot long and stack and screw or nail them together until your 1 inch shy of the axle height with the pipe under the wood. Place two short pieces of wood on each end of the blocks you just built with enough room in the center that the axle will fall into.
You just made 2 nice saddles and you'll realize it was worth the time and effort and a few bucks in just a minute.


Place the blocks under each side of the axle on the pipe, outside the shock peds.


U bolts next. You should have a nice slather of PB blaster on them days before but just use a lot the whole length of the threads constantly if you want to reuse your U bolts. If your going new, start backing off the nuts in a rotation and your axle will drop off the springs onto your axle saddles. When the axle is down on the saddles, you can either cut them off or start unscrewing the nuts in a pattern. Tip: Place your floor jack under the diff to keep it from rolling on you. While your unscrewing your u bolts, tap them down as you go and it will make it easier to unscrew as the bolts like to twist a bit as the nut tops out. PB blaster is your friend.


After the U bolts are out, remove the axle blocks (between the springs and axle spring pad).


At this point your axle should be resting on the saddles you made and you can easily roll it out (watching for lines or wires to get hung up). You'll have to keep rotating the rolling pipes until it's clear.


The reason I made the saddles?? This axle weighs exactly 465 lbs loaded with calipers and rotors. It will whip yer ars if it falls. The other reason?? Now you have the perfect stand to do any prep or repair work and can virtually rotate it by the yoke with a touch of your floor jack to drain, inspect, prep, paint, etc..


Install goes in reverse.


Things to do: drain/fill and bleed brakes.
Lube E brake cables and hardware.
I went to Guzzles page on rear diff fluid change out and followed his advise to the letter.
Inspect rotors and caliper as well as lube slide pins as necessary.


I can't think of anything I missed but others will.


Save your saddles. They come in very handy for future brake work and front axle/hub work.


Good luck Amigo.


Sorry about the length but I hope it goes safe and easier.




Denny

 

Thanks a whole lot guys, I will be pulling it out next Saturday. Very helpful, I'm gonna print it out so I can use it when I'm out there!

 

Rep's sent Denny for sharing your experience and taking the time to type that up to help a Brother out.

 

Take some pictures, esp of that saddle.