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thanx 4 the bent front axle

My rockwell has 12 degrees of crown built in to the housing STOCK. Should I throw it away?


Just keep tryin. Take a grinder and bevel the edge of the axleshaft end. Just about a quarter inch. It will slide in way easier. Some axlehousings need to ground out for chrome birf clearence.

The axle end hits the carrier the same time you need to push down on the birf, rocking in the seal area so it will tip up at the other end and go in and hits the housing before you can tip it enough.

I have installed over 50 birfs (easily) and a bunch being 30 spliners (the hardest to get in). I still get one once in a while that will make me furrious:beer:
 
well im not so concerned whith wheel camber,but the outer axle seal would be non functional.the last toy i owned was 18 years ago and never had the front end apart.thanx for any advice
CHOP SHOP said:
My rockwell has 12 degrees of crown built in to the housing STOCK. Should I throw it away?


Just keep tryin. Take a grinder and bevel the edge of the axleshaft end. Just about a quarter inch. It will slide in way easier. Some axlehousings need to ground out for chrome birf clearence.

The axle end hits the carrier the same time you need to push down on the birf, rocking in the seal area so it will tip up at the other end and go in and hits the housing before you can tip it enough.

I have installed over 50 birfs (easily) and a bunch being 30 spliners (the hardest to get in). I still get one once in a while that will make me furrious:beer:
Click to expand...
 
chuck pierce said:
well im not so concerned whith wheel camber,but the outer axle seal would be non functional.the last toy i owned was 18 years ago and never had the front end apart.thanx for any advice
Click to expand...
i havent been running those seals for YEARS. and im just now getting the smallest leak on the drivers side. i mean its just a slight drip, occasionally.
passenger side is good. or was the last time i checked.
 
CHOP SHOP said:
My rockwell has 12 degrees of crown built in to the housing STOCK. Should I throw it away?


Just keep tryin. Take a grinder and bevel the edge of the axleshaft end. Just about a quarter inch. It will slide in way easier. Some axlehousings need to ground out for chrome birf clearence.

The axle end hits the carrier the same time you need to push down on the birf, rocking in the seal area so it will tip up at the other end and go in and hits the housing before you can tip it enough.

I have installed over 50 birfs (easily) and a bunch being 30 spliners (the hardest to get in). I still get one once in a while that will make me furrious:beer:
Click to expand...

thanx for the input maybe ill put er together and see what it looks like
nevada said:
i havent been running those seals for YEARS. and im just now getting the smallest leak on the drivers side. i mean its just a slight drip, occasionally.
passenger side is good. or was the last time i checked.
Click to expand...
 
Get the Marlin HD front seals, they will work a lot better for this :awesomework:
 
I can come by and help if you want Chuck? Not that you need any help but sometimes a fresh set of eye's or idea's is all you need. If this is the worst problem you encounter during your build then it's not too bad. I called you back but we're playing phone tag, I've been at work for the past 2 days. Sucks you got a bent one but it is pretty comon. I like Neveda's outlook on it, pull the seal and throw in your axle and wheel it! In the long run I still think you'll have better luck with a toy front end over a dana44.
 
THANX DARBY that would be great.i think its bent pretty good cant believe i didnt see it.but id like you to see what i got goin together here.i figured you were probably on duty.anyhow ill try callin ya tommorrow
Darby said:
I can come by and help if you want Chuck? Not that you need any help but sometimes a fresh set of eye's or idea's is all you need. If this is the worst problem you encounter during your build then it's not too bad. I called you back but we're playing phone tag, I've been at work for the past 2 days. Sucks you got a bent one but it is pretty comon. I like Neveda's outlook on it, pull the seal and throw in your axle and wheel it! In the long run I still think you'll have better luck with a toy front end over a dana44.
Click to expand...
 
Also concider some machine shops can true an axle housing with heat placed in the right spot. I would call odie or fullywrecked on this board. I dont know where you live but they are both local tacoma, puyallup.
 
I had a wagoneer front I shortened for a CJ. after rewelding the knuckle on the shortened side, just like you, I noticed it was bent when the axle wouldn't go in. So I grabbed a big@ss bottle jack and piece of chain, put the chain from one knuckle to the other so it drooped underneath, and then put the jack between the chain and the housing, like a truss kinda. Then I jacked the crap out of the setup so that I had about 3" of reverse bow to the whole housing, released the jack, and it was now straight again. Ran it for years afterwards with no troubles.

Yeah, it was kinda sketchy, it took a couple tries to figure out how much arch it needed to actually make it bend, but if you sneak up on it, it should be ok.
 
Weld a truss to the bottom and warp that puppy straight. :awesomework:

Same thing happened with the rear in my zook. Bought it from a guy who had bought it for spare shafts, and never needed them. Of course it wasn't till after I got everything together I noticed the rear tires had a little camber to them. :redneck: I've been running it ever since, with a spare ready to go in, but never needed it. Should the guy have checked it out before selling it? Maybe. Should I have checked it out better before buying it? Maybe. Did I warp it welding the truss on? Maybe. :fawkdancesmiley: It's done and over with and I made the best of it. Either straighten the housing, or get another.
 
Fordzuki said:
Weld a truss to the bottom and warp that puppy straight. :awesomework:

Same thing happened with the rear in my zook. Bought it from a guy who had bought it for spare shafts, and never needed them. Of course it wasn't till after I got everything together I noticed the rear tires had a little camber to them. :redneck: I've been running it ever since, with a spare ready to go in, but never needed it. Should the guy have checked it out before selling it? Maybe. Should I have checked it out better before buying it? Maybe. Did I warp it welding the truss on? Maybe. :fawkdancesmiley: It's done and over with and I made the best of it. Either straighten the housing, or get another.
Click to expand...

You musta bought used parts before?:corn: These words are truth and from a fair mind.:awesomework:

I have refunded more money for parts for the strangest of reasons. Ive heard it all, from parts legitimatly bad to crazy stuff you cant make up.
Just not worth the bad PR to me.:beer:
 
Can you put the axle in without the Birf?

Pretty much every toy diff I have ever seen is bent, when truely straight they actually have positive camber, where most trucks you see are either at 0 deg camber or negetive cambered.
 
CHOP SHOP said:
You musta bought used parts before?:corn: These words are truth and from a fair mind.:awesomework:

I have refunded more money for parts for the strangest of reasons. Ive heard it all, from parts legitimatly bad to crazy stuff you cant make up.
Just not worth the bad PR to me.:beer:
Click to expand...

Most of my rig is built from used parts, and aside from gears, tires, and front shafts, it was built for less than most guys have into their front axle. :cool:


A good rule to remember. People don't sell parts cause they're bored with them. :awesomework:

Best seller would have to be Wheresmyhat. He gave me a warranty on a set of used sami calipers I bought from him. :haha: (they both still work great)
 
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