D30 Upgrade

After pulling the transmission on my sons Nova I had a little time to work on the axle.
I was able to pull both spindles off and slid the axles out. Thanks Wheelie, just a few taps with a dead blow hammer. Spindles, hubs and axles look good. I am thinking about leaving off the disc brake dust covers. I left them off of my 27.
I wasn't sure about replacing the ball joints but figure I might as well.
Good advice from Tarry. The Warn cap from my 27 fit just fine. Going to pull the carrier out tomorrow.
I need to start ordering parts soon.
I took some pics but I'm burnt out and will post tomorrow.

 

You'll be pulling the "case" tomorrow. The carrier is the cast center section that the gear case (the part that the ring gear bolts to and holds the side gears and spiders) resides in. I used to call them by their opposite names too, before I had it explained to me. Pretty common and I promised to share what I had been taught.

Probably a good move to do the ball joints, too. You're in this deep. Might as well leave nothing on the table, as Terry says.

 

Took a while but here are some pics. Lots of surface rust.
Driver side spindle removed.

I tried to get a shot inside the axle tube. Looks good with no oil....no leaks!

Short axle, I thought about trying to change these dust covers. Axles look good. Wondering if I should change the u joints?

Spindle

Dana 27 Warn hub cover. The springs seem a little worn. I was looking for a rebuild kit but did not have luck with what I was looking for. Most rebuild kits are just new bolts, o rings and gaskets. If I can get the one that came off apart I may try to use those parts.

 

Pffft. That's not rusty!

 

Dust covers come with new spindle bearing kit.
I'd at least change the spindle bearings; if the axle ujoints are tight, run them as is.

 

We are spoiled here when it comes to rust on the left coast!

I was planning to replace all the wheel bearings and races, seals etc.... I will probably just run the u joints for now. Maybe pick one up in case of a trail side break.

 

I picked this up from a friend Sat. Ball joint tool.

Caps marked and ready to remove. The other side has 3 dots:

This pic is a bit blurry. I think these are fine and will be OK.

My old Dana 27 Warn hub cap. You can see the springs are worn. It worked well when I removed it. Think it is OK? Can you replace the springs?

Ordered the master install kit and new 4:88 gears today.

 

When you get ready to do your ball joints you'll need a wrench for the upper ball joint pre load collar. OTC P/N 7080 looks like this
Just removed mine a few weeks ago, you'll want plenty of leverage and some heat using the "C clamp" if they were like mine! What Did You Do To Your Jeep Today?
Also think about getting them sandblasted!
What Did You Do To Your Jeep Today?

 

I read that the socket is,1 5/32 for the upper. Sound right?
I wonder if Autozone loans it out that tool.

 

Those ball joints have specific torque specs...........lower first , I think 75Lbs then split ring about 45 and top about 100 lbs , check those numbers , just going on memory.

 

^X2 Tarry99 is correct, also not sure about exact numbers, but I think that's about right.

 

Thanks guys! I need to check out the above thread and print out a write up on this when I tackle the ball joints.

 

Correction on the socket, 1 5/16.
I was able to get the internals off the original Warn hub and use them on my cap. Springs are in much better shape.

 

Found that part at a number of locations OTC 7080, they want $25 bucks. I am going to check with the guy I borrowed the ball joint tool from to see if he has it. When I first read this I was confused on what it is for but figured it our eventually.
Lower 75 ft-lbs
Middle 50 ft-lbs
Upper 100 ft-lbs
Hope to get them off in the next day or so.
Master install kit and a couple of wheel bearings showed up today. Still waiting for ball joints, seals, more wheel bearings and new 4:88 gears.

 

Parts are rolling in. The bearings, seals, master install kit and ball joints showed up yesterday and today.
I will say if anyone is planning to do this swap shop around for parts. There is a huge discrepancy out there. Don't be afraid of ebay or craigslist. It seems most people want bigger axles (D44, D60) and D30 parts can be easy to find. I got the gears off ebay NIB for $55, exact same gears that are on Randy's for $257. They were never installed but the guy sold the truck. Today I grabbed an ARB for $250 off craigslist, the guy was swapping the D30 for a D44 in his Jeep and just needed some cash.
I am going to get some time tonight to work on this. I'll get some pics of the progress.

 

Pics
Parts that have arrived. I am keeping a list of P/N's if anyone wants it.

ARB I picked up today.

I cleaned up and painted the hubs. I used a wire brush on my high speed grinder.

Inner race installed

Bearing and seal

Outer race and bearing

Since it will be a while until I am ready to put these back on I bolted the locking hubs lightly to the hubs to keep dirt out. And yes I know one is and IH hub.

When I bought the ARB the person I bought it off gave me the bearing cap attached to the seal housing. I will need to remove this and use my original.

I think the tubing is soldered to the housing or it could be JB weld?. I am not sure yet how I am going to get it off. Maybe a little heat?

Replacement parts are available for the ARB. I am definitely going to get new Housing Seal O rings. From what I have read that is usually the reason they do not engage. I may even see how much for the Seal Housing Kit to replace all of the above.
I hope to get the ball joints off tomorrow. I need help from my son, he is much stronger than me these days.

 

Super score of the week on that ARB! Jealous here. Nice to watch to this axle build. Thanks again.

 

Thanks and keep parts numbers. I need to do this on a D30 soon.

 

Talked to a friend this weekend. I am going to grind the bearing cap off that is attached and then make a slot in my cap for the hose to fit. The other option is to cut the tubing and splice it.

 

Again, I'm am certainly no expert but, cutting a slice into the bearing cap doesn't sound so good to me. I'd be concerned about failure or premature wear.

Can the flared end be cut off (removing as little as possible) then re-flared upon reassembly? Or will this you too short?