xmeatbagx Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Well I can't drive my truck for like 2 weeks. On the passenger front I need a ball joint and driver front I need a wheel bearing. I have a front axle out of a cherokee that I planned on putting in so I guess I'll be doing that sooner than I thought. How hard are front axles to put install? Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Easy, disconnect the control arms, brakes (perhaps leave the calipers connected to the brake lines and zip-tie them up to something so you don't have to bleed your brakes), disco the sway bar and steering (if the tie rods don't come off easy, take it off at the steering box and take care of them while it's out of the truck) and drop her down. haha, make sure you support the frame rails so the truck doesn't nose-dive on top of you...(saw almost kill himself doin that...he had the axle he was taking out supported but not the truck :nuts: ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefJosh Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Yeah, what he said. With no air tools, the usual minor setbacks, I did mine in an afternoon, by myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 oh, and grease the hell outta everything when you put it back together. if it's a moving part, chances are it needs to be inspected thoroughly, if not replaced. best time for replacements on Ujoints, hub bearings, and ball joints is while it's out of the truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I'll take the negative road on this one. Front axle swaps suck while working alone. The axle's heavy, and the control arm bolts never want to line up. Alone, it takes me ~3.5 hours. With a helper, 2 hours. First time alone ~6 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 have a car jack? that'll take the worry off the axle bein heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Key's to a painless axle swap: Have at least 4 jackstads, two for the frame, two for the axle. Get a large pipe wrench to twist the axle, it greatly helps lining up the control arms. get spares for the bolts, the donor you get the axle from is a good spot to scavenge. Chances are you're going to have to cut some control arm bolts, I had to cut two. They seized into the bushing sleeve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Key's to a painless axle swap: Have at least 4 jackstads, two for the frame, two for the axle. Get a large pipe wrench to twist the axle, it greatly helps lining up the control arms. get spares for the bolts, the donor you get the axle from is a good spot to scavenge. Chances are you're going to have to cut some control arm bolts, I had to cut two. They seized into the bushing sleeve. Yeah all of that. It's really not hard, but I was taking the "negative road" as to what someone could see it as. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEThomas Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Key's to a painless axle swap: Have at least 4 jackstads, two for the frame, two for the axle. Get a large pipe wrench to twist the axle, it greatly helps lining up the control arms. get spares for the bolts, the donor you get the axle from is a good spot to scavenge. Chances are you're going to have to cut some control arm bolts, I had to cut two. They seized into the bushing sleeve. That is the key to a semi painless axle swap, :D a painless axle swap is findsome with air tools, a 2post lift and a high lift trans / axle jack. Takes about 1 hr :cheers: Also with that setup you can replace the UCA /LCA's in about 30 min. Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 yeah, I've got the air tools, and they do make it easier, but with a 20 year old truck something is bound to be stuck. I hate rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I swapped mine out a couple weeks ago by myself. The trick to the CA bolts is to leave the arms connected to the frame, and leave the trackbar attached to the frame bracket. To get them reinstalled, hang the axle by the LCA's first. The pinion will be pointing more or less straight upward at that point. Rotate it backward and use a floor jack under the diff to raise the driverside up and pop in the UCA bolt, then reposition the jack on the axletube beside the diff and raise again. The other UCA bolthole will align then. Once the CA are rebolted, put the jack back under the diff and jockey the axle around some until the axle end of the TB lines up and thread the bolt in. Once that's done, use a bottlejack to install the springs, reconnect the steering, shocks, calipers, sway bar, and stabilizer. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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