My front end has 4 u-joints in it. 2 close to the differential and 2 close to the hubs. None of these u-joints have grease fittings or E-clips to hold the u-joints in the axle. How do you change a bad u-joint with this setup & is there no way to maintain grease in these joints? Any help or suggestions with this would be GREATLY appericated.
Thanks,
Mike

 

I would look again, since you should have only 3 u-joints up front. Here's a picture of the driver's side.
http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/g...3d800a8b3e.gif

Here is a picture of the passenger side.
http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/g...3d800a8b3f.gif

They don't have grease fittings, since they are too small to get a grease gun in there anyway.

There are clips, but they are not on the outside like you are probably familiar with. They are little c-clips and are on the inside of the yoke.

 

Your right Franklin there are 3. Do you have to remove the steering knuckle & the differential cover to remove the shafts? I am dreading this project. Thanks for the help.
Mike

 

No, it's easier than it looks. Take the wheel, caliper, etc off. The axle comes out thru the hole in the spindle. Both sides just slide out.

I replaced the front 3 on my 86 - same truck - last November. And Dave is right - they're pre-greased and sealed and use the inside cir-clips to hold them in place. Cig around with a small screwdriver and you'll see them.

 

mtflat said it was easy, but the first time I did I didn't think so. It's hard enough to where once you are in there, you want to do everything so you won't have to go in there again. This includes checking your balljoints.

The first thing you have to do is get the lock-out hub off. My first problem; the lock-out hub bolts were stripped. I had to drill the head off several of the bolts to pull the hub out.

Then you have to deal with all the junk that is related to the hub. Try to lay it out so you put it back in correctly. You may want to do one side at a time. During this, you need to dig around the od of the hub for a wire clip that holds the the rest of the lock-out mechanism in place, and you need snap ring pliers for a clip on the axle.

Then you find out you need a special socket to get the wheel bearings out. Go get that, and then take that out, paying special attention to how that comes apart. The nuts have to go in a certain way if you have that type.

Get the caliper off and hanging on the piece of wire, pull the hub/rotor off. I remember then having to take the spindle off to get the axle to slide through. This turned out to be another can of worms, since someone had over torqued the studs, and the nuts would just spin and not come off. So I had to cut all that off. When I went to put it back together, I went to the Ford dealer to get the special little studs that go in the spindle, and the claimed they could not get them. I ground the heads flat on one side on regular bolts and used them, but when I tightened them to what I thought was tight enough, they twisted off. I finally went and got the black allen type bolts, they held.

You are now finally there, and can pull the axle out. On the passenger side, make sure to check the fit of the splines on the axle and the yoke. If these are not kept greased, it will wear out fast. Mine were worn and on one of the biggest snows we had (1996 I believe), it stripped and I had no 4wd. I went to order a new axle and yoke, and guess what? They were on backorder.

I also remember pressing the u-joints out. They were the worst I have ever taken apart. I truely thought one of them was no going to give. I took it to work and put about 20 tons on it, and it finally gave way with what sounded like a gun going off.

 

I am in it on the passenger side past the wire clip that goes around the inside of the hub. My question for right now is about the round pin that goes through one of the notches where the special socket goes. It is pushed all the way in & I don't guess it comes out the front?? I am pretty mechanically adapt, but doing something for the first time is always hard. A friend loaned me one of the special sockets (Wrong size) so I have to get the right one tomorrow & continue on. Also Is it possible to change the seals on the differential with the shafts out or do you have to remove the differential? Any pictures or tips still appericated!!
Thanks,
Mike

 

I am not sure what round pin you are talking about. There is a round pin that is made into one of the spanner nuts, but you should not see this until you take the special socket and get the spanner nuts off.

This is why I got my truck so cheap. Someone had put these nuts on wrong, and they backed out and chewed up the lock-out hub. So the hub was broken, and the 4wd didn't work. Here's how they are supposed to go.

 

The first time i had to replace an axle joint it was a chore to say the least. The hardest part was probably getting the spindle itself out of the knuckle. I doubt they'd ever been apart and I probably spent at least an hour a side hitting the spindle back and forth with a hammer as I pryed out with a screwdriver to get them out.

Then once I finally got the axle out, I had to torch the trunion out of the joint and then torch the ends of the caps and torch a split in the caps to get them out. The table on the 20 ton press started deflecting a little bit more than i was comfortable with as I tried to press it all apart.

The second time around was no problem, i had everything out and apart in about an hour. So is the job hard? No. Is it a pain the first time? Absolutely.

Justin

 

Glad I am not the only one that had some headaches with this.

I forgot about the spindle. It was a very tight fit and I had to get a chisel behind mine to get it out. But that is one piece that if it decided to leave the scene, you would have a very bad day.

 

The last time I did my u joints, I replaced them with ones that have grease fittings on them. So far they have lasted about 4 years, which beats the previous one that lasted a year. I also had problems getting the spindles off, I've found that a air chisel works great for that.

 

Dave the last picture you posted makes everything more clear. Having never saw it apart that really helped.

Seems like Ford should send an "I made it through a front axle service" to all of us. It is deffintly not the easiest thing I have ever worked on.

Thanks again to EVERYONE for your comments & suggestions. I have to work 2 jobs the next couple of days (helping out a friend after I get off) so I won't get to work on it anymore till atleast Thursday. Talk with ya'll then!!
Thanks Again,
Mike

 

Well got back on the project today. I have both axle assemblys out & I also pulled the "pumpkin" The breather hose was broken & clogged with dirt so I wanted to clean ou the differential while I was at it, I also plan to replace the seals. Found some bad news when I got the axles out, the short axles that go through the spindle are worn out where they ride on the spindle bearing. Also the spindle bearings need to be replaced which I had expected. The Spindle lock nut assembly is different than the picture you posted Dave, Mine has teeth all the way around it. All 3 U-joints are shot so I will replace them also. Does anyone know what the exact name of the front end is? is is independant shafts there are 6 bolts on the spindle The backplate of the differential is actually part of the frame arm.
Thanks for any help,
Mike

 

Any tips on where to find the short axles that go through the spindle? Having no luck so far. Thanks, Mike

 

This is the best price i've found for a new one. i got one from a carquest once and it ran me over $80.

http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-...6__1988-96.htm

Justin

 

Well alot of progress made this last week. I found all the axles & both spindles I needed at the local salvage yard (excellent shape) Excellent price ($85). Differential and axles are back in, 1 side wheel bearings done & the others ready to pack Lock assemblys cleaned & ready to go. The job over all was not to difficult after you understand how everything goes. Replaced all seals in differential, spindle & hubs. I should have it back on the road before the week is over. I can only work on it a little each night after work. Thanks alot for all the help & suggestions.
Mike