Front D44 Rebuild Suggestions
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 1,448
Likes: 163
From: East Texas
Front D44 Rebuild Suggestions
This week my son and I are planning outer rebuild of the Dana 44 front axle on his truck: new hub/needle bearings, seals, u-joints, and ball joints. While we have things apart, we were hoping to be able to replace the C bushings and radius arm bushings. Anybody have any suggestions on any of it?
Is there a way to get the bushing replacements done with out a complete removal of the whole axle?
I know we'll need to disconnect the front drive shaft, but really don't want to have to remove the front coil springs if I don't have to.
Will we have to disconnect the trac-bar and steering components?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Is there a way to get the bushing replacements done with out a complete removal of the whole axle?
I know we'll need to disconnect the front drive shaft, but really don't want to have to remove the front coil springs if I don't have to.
Will we have to disconnect the trac-bar and steering components?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Tuned
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 361
Likes: 7
From: Bliss NY
I have done it this way. Twelve ton jack stands on the frame. I cut a 6x6 post into 16" blocks. Stack three under each axle side. Leave steering and track bar attached remove shocks and Cool springs. Then remove the spring lower buckets. Now you can remove the four bolts on the radius arm ends to change c bushings. Pay attention how bushings come off. Some are reversable for different degrees. Oh the four cap bolts on each arm are a bear to remove so use antiseize when they go back on.
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 357
Likes: 11
From: Roanoke, VA
Be sure to have a torch on hand to heat up the radius arms around the bolts. I’m doing this job right now on my 78. The lower spring cups/retainer bolts all snapped even with extra precautions... will have to be drilled & tapped again by machinist as all tricks I have, have failed.
Elder User
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 567
Likes: 3
I am not as familiar with the coil spring suspensions as I am the leaf spring suspensions, but I've heard of guys using a come-a-long to pull the axle forward enough to remove/replace the radius arm and "C" bushings.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 213
Likes: 6
From: Maysville, Ky
Do a Google search for Bronco Lean. There are some detailed write-ups on removal and the alignment of the radius arms when installing new C bushings. If they aren't equal (parallel to the ground) it tends to pull one side or the other down. I like to remove all the steering links when I do my Bronco but, that's a personal preference. You have to pull the axle forward to get the radius arms out and pull it back to get them back in.
Mark.
Mark.
Cargo Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 2,387
Likes: 138
From: Northern California
Loose both sides but do one at a time from there. Use a floor jack to carry the weight of the axle. The truck needs to be on jack stands. Pretty straight forward in my experience. A breaker bar is a must but an impact driver is nice. The bronco graveyard has replacement shankless bolts if you need them. I used grade 8’s from the hardware store; I was concerned they would shank out but they didn’t.
Dont over think this job. Not that bad.
Dont over think this job. Not that bad.
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