Somebody PLEASE HELP!!!!!

angelfly · Nov 26, 2007

So i am in the process of rebuilding 2 front dana 44's a ford one and a chevy one both 8 lug big knuckle type.

I have the chevy one all torn down to the housing and outer knuckles, but it seems that on top of the upper ball joint on each knuckle seems to be some kinda of special nut/retainer holding the ball joint in from falling out. . .
My question is - do i need a special tool to continue? any thoughts on the situation????

PLease help they were supposed to be back on the rigs today

sucmah · Nov 26, 2007

i think you are talking about the adjuster nut? That is how they adjust the camber(i think).

Grommit327 · Nov 26, 2007

Once you take the nuts off the BJ's it should just take a BFH to knock the outer knuckle off.

Grommit327 · Nov 26, 2007

sucmah said:
i think you are talking about the adjuster nut? That is how they adjust the camber(i think).

You can get them slanted so they can adjust camber but if it's stock they should be straight

Digger 5 · Nov 26, 2007

That nut is used to tighten the adjusting sleeve into the knuckle. You need to remove it and re-torque it after you've re-installed the the knuckle. Torque the lower BJ nut to 100 lbs, the sleeve to 70 lbs., then the upper nut to 100 lbs. In that order. There is a special socket you use, mine is a Snap-On PN S9613.

angelfly · Nov 26, 2007

Its actuualy threaded inside???? like the nut get screwed down into it. .. . ? pics in a min

Digger 5 · Nov 26, 2007

You don't need to remove the sleeve to pull the knuckle off. Just take the 2 large nuts off and hit the top of the BJ with a BFH. After the knuckle is removed, back the sleeve out then replace the BJs.

Digger 5 · Nov 26, 2007

angelfly said:
Its actuualy threaded inside???? like the nut get screwed down into it. .. . ? pics in a min

Yes, it's threaded inside.

angelfly · Nov 26, 2007

Digger 5 said:
You don't need to remove the sleeve to pull the knuckle off. Just take the 2 large nuts off and hit the top of the BJ with a BFH. After the knuckle is removed, back the sleeve out then replace the BJs.

Dude i fawking owe you thank you so much!!! live saver right here!!!!

TQJ CJ5 · Jul 14, 2008

just to clarify

I'm at the same point right now. I just want to make sure before I go any further...

I've got the nut off the upper ball joint but as Angelfly mentioned, there's a adjustment sleeve visible from above in the same hole as the balljoint threaded stud.

From the prior posts, it sounds like I can leave the adjustment sleeve in place (i.e. still threaded into the knuckle) while I press out the upper ball joint. Is this correct?

I just don't want to spend half the day trying to press out the ball joint if the adjusting sleeve needs to be removed first.

Thank you for your help...

NotMatt · Jul 14, 2008

No pressing needed to remove the knuckle from the axle housing. Just thread the upper nut back on a ways, and whack the knuckle with a big hammer. The nut is just threaded on to keep the knuckle from falling completely out and landing on your toe.

The adjuster does not need to be removed before removing the knuckle from the housing, however if you are putting new ball joints in, you will need to remove it and replace it (after you have the knuckle off) with the new adjuster that will come with your new ball joints. At least, this is the "proper" way to do it. The quick method would be to not touch the adjuster at all and just throw the new ball joints in with the old adjuster, but if you want to "do it right", you would follow Digger 5's procedure, otherwise the ball joints may not be loaded properly which can cause premature wear or breakage.

Tighten/torque lower, thread adjuster in and use the proper "Dana 44 Ball Joint Tool" tool to tighten/torque it, then tighten/torque upper nut.

Good luck.

TQJ CJ5 · Jul 14, 2008

Thank you NotMatt. I appreciate your timely response.

I'm trying to get as much information online as possible about this little job as I've never done any axle work before. So far the wealth of knowledge that I've been able to find has made this a pretty straight-forward process.

Note: it definitely helps to have the right tools. While I could have probably pieced stuff together, I purchased the specialty tools in advance of starting this project and they've easily paid for themselves by preventing needless time consumption and frustration.

Jim1 · Jul 14, 2008

That threaded adjuster is for preloading the ball joints. It's important. Here's a link to the procedure:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PDFs/Chevy Balljoints.pdf

NotMatt · Jul 15, 2008

TQJ CJ5 said:
Note: it definitely helps to have the right tools. While I could have probably pieced stuff together, I purchased the specialty tools in advance of starting this project and they've easily paid for themselves by preventing needless time consumption and frustration.

Definitely. I've lost count a long time ago of the times I've used or loaned out my dana 44 ball joint sleeve tool, and the spindle nut socket. Seems like everybody I know has some kind of D44 and no tools to work on it. :haha: