Axle swap tips / Frozen rear wheels

[jeepcoma]

This weekend I hope to swap both front and rear axles on my '91. I've got stock 3.07s in an open D35 (w/C-clips) and D30 rear and front, to be replaced with 3.55 w/ Aussie lockers front and rear in a D44 rear and a D30 w/ 297x solid axles in the front (no CAD) (which I bought from board member Twisty :thumbsup: ).

 

I had planned to do the rear last week, but was stymied by the fact that the rear wheels are frozen solid to the hub. Seriously, I mean it's as if someone took a welder and welded those suckers on. No amount of torching, beating with sledge hammers front and rear, saturating with PB Blaster, and driving around with the lug nuts loosened would get those things off (the lug nuts were apparently tightened with tectonic forces, it took a 4 foot metal pipe breaker bar over a 1/2" breaker bar to get those suckers loose). The entire day was wasted trying to get those wheels off and in the end we got nowhere with it.

 

I'm in a bit of a time crunch to get the truck reinspected so I bought some new (better, 235/75R15 turbines) wheels (from board member comanche87 :thumbsup: ) and so hopefully will have an easier time just leaving the wheels on the old axles, removing the axles, and then putting in the new axle and wheels.

 

That being said, are there any tips for axle removal and installation? Do I need a spring compressor to safely do the front? I've been shooting everything with PB blaster to loosen stuff up. Nothing is really rusted, it's just caked with stale cow crud from the dairy farm I bought it at which seems to have the properties of JB weld. I may or may not try to take the front wheels off before removal of the axle.

 

For those of you that have done this before, can you think of any tips you learned after doing it that would speed things up? Special tools you rigged up to get things done? Things you wished you had known before starting?

[FxRacing282]

you may want to get new U-Bolts and fasteners for the rear axle. i strongly recommend it. and you gotta keep re-torquing the u bolts in the rear. torque them, drive to the end of your drive way, torque them. corner store, torque them. after they stop settling you should be good just check them about a week later. if they aren't torqued enough then the spring perch will bend and look like a semi-circle

[mjeff87]

Rear axle is fairly straightforward....drop the driveshaft, disco the shocks and brakeline, cut the old u-bolts off with weapon of your choice (so you're not tempted to reuse them :no: ). The only problems you may have would be with the e-brake cables. Does the replacement axle have them still connected? If so, disconnect your old ones at the yoke underneath the bed and pull the axle out. If not, leave them connected there and disco them at the parking brake struts inside the drums and install the new axle and reconnect them. A good pair of needle-nose vise grips help tremendously in reconnecting them.

 

Front is fairly easy as well. Block up the rig at the framerails behind the LCA mounts as high as you safely can and let the axle droop fully. Disco the driveshaft, calipers (or just the brake hoses if you want but you'll have to bleed the system once you are done), lower shocks (or remove them completely), spring clips, sway bar links, steering stabilizer, and tie rod ends (leave the drag link connected to the tie rod and pitman arm, just tie it all up and out of the way). Disco the axle side of the trackbar and then you should be able to push down each side of the axle and slip the springs out. A small bottle jack between the axle and framerail helps here if you have one). Disco the LCA's at the axle, then the UCA's and pull the axle out.

 

When you reinstall the new axle, connect the control arms and reinstall the shocks, then the trackbar. If it doesn't line up, hook the steering back up, put the wheels back on and put the front end back on the ground. Have a helper turn the wheel in the cab until the TB sleeve lines up with the hole in the bracket then slip the bolt in. Reconnect everything else and recenter your steering wheel if needed via the sleeve on the drag link.

 

Jeff

[pingpong]

Jeff Hit al the high points. My recommendations are

 

Use 12 ton jack stands

Keep the tires on the axle until it is out from under the vehicle.

 

 

For the rear... Undo the u-bolts then support the axle using a floor jack unbolt the shackle at the spring side. Laslty roll axle back from under the jeep. Depending on how tall your rig is, and what size tires you have it should not be an issue (did this with 35's under pong when it had a bed)

 

 

 

For the front I like to use a lil different approach then jeff. I disconnect the shocks, sway bar, brake lines at the frame, driveshaft at the axle. I also unbolt the control arms from the body, and the trac bar from the frame. The steering I unbolt from the pitman arm. Then using a engine lift I raise the vehicle up as high as i can safely, then place jack stand behind the lca mounts. Roll engine lift out of the way, then said axle.

 

This way you are swapping the hard parts outside of under the vehicle where it is a lil easier.

 

ON reinstallation, connect the uppers first, then use an anchor point and a ratchet strap to line up the bottom. Then replace al lother said components.