Warn Full Floater Axle Install — Dana 44-19 Spline

by Jon Heikka, 69CJ

Edited by Adam Sparks, sparky

In an episode of, I can’t contain myself, I pulled the trigger and bought the Warn Full Float Axle kit for the Dana 44/19-spline (P/N WAR37348).

After calling several places, I finally settled upon http://www.milehijeeprebuilders.com/ (Denver) who not only had the parts in stock, but they were beating everyone else’s prices as well. Don’t kid yourself however, this is an expensive upgrade. The plus side is, stronger axles, flat tow with no problems, break an axle and your wheel will stay on rather than leaving you looking like a three-legged-dog, easy maintenance, etc. Warn’s instructions are very good. Here’s a brief write-up on how the installation went. If you want to upgrade to 30-splines axles, now is the time to do that is well. You could order the 30-spline kit, then upgrade your differential gears to 30-spline units, or get yourself a 30-spline LSD or locker.

Okay word of advice. READ and follow the instructions that come with the kit. This write-up was intended to provide some info to others who were thinking about doing this upgrade. It is not intended to replace the instructions issued by the manufacturer. Those instructions are more comprehensive than what you see here, and they contain some cautions that the installer should heed.

Disassembly

Get your vehicle up and pull the rear wheels:

Support your vehicle properly and give yourself some room to work. You might want to break your axle nuts loose while the tires are still on and bearing the vehicles weight. They are torqued on pretty good. Mine were already cracked loose, so I had no problems with spinning the nut. Oh, and make sure you have an adequate supply of beer in the fridge, I mean this is fun stuff right?

Pull the rear hubs:

Remove the axle nut dust caps and remove the cotter pin. Remove the axle nuts. I can remove my brake drums without a puller. You may not be able to depending on what has been done back there. Regardless of whether the drums come of however, you will need a substantial puller to get the hubs off. I use an OTC Universal Hub Puller. I strongly recommend NOT EVEN TRYING with anything less substantial, as you will probably just be wasting your time. I picked up a new puller on-line and saved a few bucks. (If you’re buying a new one just for this job, keep in mind they are expensive and as long as you don’t return to tapered axles, you’ll never use it on this Jeep again)

If the drums look big, they are. I did the 11″ conversion, I bought the drums from Michaelo @ www.earlycj5.com/forums/,and the backing plates came off an early Wagoneer. The rest of the components are for parts for a ‘74 CJ.

Editor’s note: Hub pullers are available from JC Whitney for ~$50 USD. P.N.: 12ZX8895A, I can personally recommend this puller as I’ve used it on my Willys Truck with success!

Disconnect the brake lines; remove the backing plates, spacers and shims:

Remove all shims and spacers if they are there. All you should have left are the axles protruding from the housing. You can see the bolts still in there, but they just push out the back.

Remove the axles

This was the most time consuming, frustrating part because I did not have the proper tools (an axle puller). To get it done, I reattached the hubs and finger tightened the axle nut. I sprayed some PB blaster in the bearing seat, and then beat on the back of the hubs with a hammer until the axles decided to comply. As my hammer was not that substantial, it took about 100 blows to get the axle out. The only thing holding your axle in is the bearing cup, where it’s pressed into the axle. Once these are out, the install is a piece of cake. The three pictures below show the hub reinstalled to facilitate a good pounding, the striking point and my way too small hammer, and finally,the bearing cup almost all the way out (blow number 97).

Clean everything well: I prefer wiping the big stuff (grease) away with paper towels, then finish up with brake cleaner. Get everything nice and clean. Warn says there may be an inner axle seal in there (not the one by the pumpkin), if there is, remove it now. Also, take some 220 sandpaper and clean up the area where the bearing was

pressed in. This will be a new sealing surface when the new spindles go in. The o-ring on the spindles needs a clean, smooth surface to work. If yours is not, help it out with a little high-temp RTV when the spindle goes on.

The Instructions say you can discard the axles shafts,retaining plates, shims, outer seals, bearing assemblies, retaining rings, inner seals, and all the bolts your stripped off (but we know that some of this stuff should be kept, right? I mean, someone may be able to use some of it.)

Installation

First off, you need to decide whether you want oil-lubed bearings (oil from the differential) or grease lubed bearings.

Here’s some of info that accompanied the printed instruction sheets:

Advantages of using differential oil to lube the wheel bearings:

• OEM full floating axles always use differential oil to lube wheel bearings
• Oil in the wheel bearings provides better lubrication and cooling than grease
• Water entry is much less leaky because any leak point of entry for water will first show up as a messy oil leak out
• Bearing life is much better due to numbers two and three above
• Any rubbing of the spindle due to a bent housing is protected from failure. This rubbing in a dry, non-oiled condition can lead to very high heat build-up and literally weld the axle shaft to the spindle.

Disadvantages of using oil to lube the wheel bearings:

• Any maintenance of the wheel hub or locking hub is very messy
• Wheel hub seals must be in perfect working order or the axle oil will leak out creating a mess on the wheel and or tire or worse in the brakes.

I decided to stick with packing my bearings.

I used some sand paper on the surface where the bearing cup was. The reason being, there is an o-ring on the back of the new spindle that will help seal out the differential oil; if it ever gets past the other seal and hopefully, it’ll help keep water out of the axle.

Install spindle seals

If you decide to let the grease do the lubing instead of the differential oil, you will need to install an axle seal in the back of the spindle. Tap it in with a hammer.

Install spindle and backing plate

Insert the six T-bolts through the back of the axle flange so that the threads are outboard. Place a little oil on the spindle o-ring, and slide the spindle into the axle bore. I installed mine so the groove in the spindle is at the 12 o’clock position. Install the brake backing plate. Install the self-locking nuts and torque them to 50 lbs using a criss-cross pattern until tight. Do not over torque. Give the spindle a light coat of grease and then slide the rubber V-Seal over the spindle with the thick part of the seal towards the backing plate.

Reconnect your brake line and bleed your brakes. Give the spindle a light coat of grease, and then install the V-Seal, with the thick part of the seal towards the backing plate.

Prep the new hubs for install

Take a look at the hubs; you will see that the bearing cups are already installed for you. Make sure the hubs are clean, and then pack the inner cavity of each hub with grease. Flip the spindles so that the backside is pointed up. Pack the rear bearings and drop them in place. Add some more grease with your fingers, and then install the rear bearing seal by pressing it in, or carefully tapping it into place with a hammer. Once the rear bearing is packed and sealed up, pack the front bearing and fit it into place. Carefully slide the new hub over the spindle until it seats firmly against the v-Seal.

After the hub is in place, install the lock washers and spindle nuts. Insert the first tabbed washer over the spindle, aligning it with the spindle groove. Push it all the way back to the bearing and then install the first nut. Torque this nut down to 50 ft-lbs, and then back off 180 degrees (1/2 turn). Then re-torque the same nut to 3-5 ft-lbs. Install the second tabbed washer and then install the outer nut. Torque the outer nut to 125 to 150 ft-lbs.

Once done here, place the rear brake drum over the hub.

Note: The two pictures below this note shows the new axle already installed. Normally the axle would not be installed yet.

Install the new axles and hub locks

Do not grease the new hub locks. Separate the body from the cap assembly, and install the body onto the end of the axle shaft that has the snap ring groove. Using snap ring pliers, install the c-clip in the into the snap ring groove, then carefully slide the axle shaft into place,being careful not to damage or knock out any oil seals.Try not to allow the axle to ride along the seals as you install it. Once in, rotate the axle shaft slowly until the splines align with the differential gear. You will hear and feel it firmly engage when it is all the way in. Once in, push the hub all the way in to expose the ring groove on the hub then install the large lock ring making sure it is fully seated all the way around.

Dial the hub lock to FREE. Insert the spacer (metal tubing) over the wave spring and look to make sure the spring is coiled properly and not overlapping. Place the hub lock on the body, install one of the little o-rings over each of the cap screws, and then thread the screws in. Torque to 25-35 INCH lbs.

Reinstall the wheel and snug the lugs up.

The instruction sheet contains a WARNING: Check lug nuts for proper amount of thread engagement on the wheel stud. The minimum amount of engagement is equal to the diameter of the stud. If the minimum amount of engagement is not achieved, then it is possible to use special AMERICAN RACING Lug nuts P/N 831142 (1/2-20 Acorn Shank) to help achieve the minimum amount required. It is the installer’s responsibility to check lug nut compatibility and engagement.

Check the hub locks

Dial both hub locks to LOCK. These hub locks are equipped with positive blocker rings that prevent the hub lock from jumping out of gear when the dial is set to the LOCK position. It is the blocker ring that makes the hubs difficult to dial from the FREE position. With the blocker rings in the hubs, the splines on the hub inner gear must be lined up with the splines on the outer gear in order for it to go all the way to LOCK. Usually, these splines won’t be lined up so the dial will only rotate about 1/3 of the distance to LOCK where it comes up solid against the blocker ring. DO NOT USE PLIERS TO FORCE THE DIAL ANY FURTHER. The trick is to rock the wheel back and forth while applying finger pressure to the dial. This will cause the splines to line up and the dial will completely rotate to the LOCK position. It is the second side hub that usually causes the most frustration. With the first side fully locked in, rocking the second side wheel back and forth frequently just causes the entire axle assembly to move together with the hub lock. This means the second sides lines never will line up using the rocking technique. Instead, dial the second hub until it stops at 1/3 the distance to lock. Then get behind the wheel and drive just a few feet ahead while turning a bit. This will cause the splines to line up and the slight spring load that the hub has will snap the splines together. Be sure to get back out and complete dialing the second hub to the fully LOCKED position.

Note: With the tires off the ground, an open differential axle will reverse rotate the wheels if the hub locks are working. For an LSD or locker, the wheels will rotate in the same direction. To check for proper disengagement,unlock one hub. The FREE wheel will be the only one spinning and there will be no ratcheting sounds.

Lock down the Allen head screw to keep you hubs in whatever position you want them in, and you’re done!

Tools Needed:

• Jack
• Jackstands
• Thread sealant (High Temp RTV)
• Torque Wrench
• 7/64 Hex Key
• Wrench
• Socket Set
• Mallet
• 4-Lug Socket for Dana 44
• Wire Brush
• Shop Rags
• Wheel Bearing Grease
• Brake Fluid
• Degreaser/Cleaner
• Snap Ring Pliers
• Hub Puller (big)
• Axle Puller (or BFH)

Replacement Parts:

• Outer Bearing Cone
  • M501349 (AFBMA bearing P/N)
• Outer Bearing Cup
  • LM501310 (AFBMA bearing P/N)
• Wheel Stud
  • 142042 (Bendix P/N)
• Inner Bearing Cup
  • LM102910 (AFBMA bearing P/N)
• Inner bearing Cone
  • LM102949 (AFBMA bearing P/N)
• Hub V-Seal
  • CR400650 (CR Services P/N)
• Hub Radial Seal
  • CR23300 (CR Service P/N)
• Spindle Radial Seal
  • 473210 (Rockwell P/N)

Thanks to Sparky at www.earlycj5.com for hosting this write-up. IMHO, Sparky runs the best site out there for the early, Dauntless equipped Jeeps.

(If you want to shoot me an email, you can find me here)