Ball Joint R&R "Might as Well."

[rumblecloud]

In this article in the Tech Library,
Dana 28 / Dana 35 Repair & Rebuild

It offers this "special attention" caution on the replacement of the right side axle:

NOTE: The Dana 35 front axle does not use blind, or master, splines. Therefore, special attention should be made to ensure that the yoke ears are in line (in phase) during assembly

What exactly does this mean?



I got the adjuster out no problem. Drilling the pinch bolt however was another story. It put up a good fight - 10 round TKO. I'm bloodied but it's going down in the win column.

 

[bobbywalter]

Look up u joint phasing.

And don't fawk it up.


You likely already know better.

But it is easy to overlook. Make sure the u joint yokes on the short slip side and long spline side match.

 

[rumblecloud]

Got the phasing down (thankyou BW) Simple concept after all. Pulling the axle and checking the u-joints, it doesn't look like it was "in phase" to begin with.
Here are a couple of images. The angles make it hard to judge.
But on the outer end, the yoke is positioned at 12/03/06/09..


Underneath, the yokes are at 01/04/07/10.



Got these in the drop box today"


Ball joints here tomorrow. Need to decide if I wanna rent a tool or buy one.
Still need to drill out the right side pinch bolt. Does anyone have any recommendations on drill bits? I get the process - start small and get progressively bigger -- or correct me if I am stup -- I mean wrong - I know I am stupid - don't need any help there.
I've tried a bunch. Some work, but only for an instance, then they just get hot.

 

[bobbywalter]

I prefer kn kut....

Hard to get. Not cheap

The Milwaukee and DeWalt cobalt is easy to get and will munch the bastages out of there. Those are my travelling tools.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Second on cobalt.

 

[rumblecloud]

Picked these up at Home Depot.
Worked really well. Used a smaller bit to drill through, then was able EZ-Out the leftover. First time I've ever gotten an EZ-Out to work.


Ball joints are a PITA to get out. I have the tool and the knuckles are removed and on the bench. I expected them to be difficult, but not this bad. I am worried that I'm gonna bust a steering knuckle.

I suppose after 100,000 or so miles they might be a little stubborn when you try to uproot them.
Any tips other than the usual heat and bigger hammer?

Ball joints still en route USPS-ing somewhere between Arkansas and here ....pppfffttt.

 

[rumblecloud]

I win.


Big hammer to get their attention and BJ Press for the money shot (that's for Junkie - he's into this sort of thing).

 

[rumblecloud]

One pair of ball joints installed. Not too bad.


Get the other set tomorrow, then wait for the bearing and seal kit to arrive (Thanks Shran!)

 

[rumblecloud]

Dry run fitting...



Amazing...everything fits

 

[rumblecloud]

Bearing and seal kit came in. There were parts in there that were non-existent on either of my axles or in the spindles -- like seals for instance -- geez. Anyway got it all together and both sides in. very satisfying to be getting thru this one relatively undamaged. Put all the steering pieces back in as a dry fit for now just to see how the alignment process works. So that's next on the agenda, but that part will be fun. Still need to go back thru to make sure there aren't any "extra" parts laying on the floor



The adjustable bushing chart
Since the truck isn't licensed or insured and I'll be getting new tires before spring, I'm going to try to do the initial alignment myself. Come spring when the weather breaks, I'll take it in for a proper alignment.

 

[rumblecloud]

When I was removing the tie rod ends from the knuckles, I tore one of the grease boots - that never happens.
So I bought some tie rod end boots by Energy -- Red ones.
I replaced the torn one, but the remaining existing boots are in pretty good shape and it appears they are better than the more generic Energy ones. They older ones have a metal ring that you have to force down over bushing creating a really tight fit that will definitely hold better. The Energy ones are very flexible polyurethane.

Am I overthinking this or are the originals better?

 

[bobbywalter]

This is in the fawk it run it catagory.


But....I agree....the oem ones are better.

 

[Shran]

Yup... I've used the Energy ones, they are OK. They just don't hold grease as well so expect some to ooze out. On the bright side it's like doing a grease change when you add some.

Those adjustable camber/caster bushings may lock together permanently... FYI... if they were expensive, you may consider just throwing your old bushings back in until you can get it aligned, that way you're not buying another set of adjustable ones.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I didnt think that was out of place. I thought that's what you used to pop the tie rods off.

 

[rumblecloud]

Yup... I've used the Energy ones, they are OK. They just don't hold grease as well so expect some to ooze out. On the bright side it's like doing a grease change when you add some.

Those adjustable camber/caster bushings may lock together permanently... FYI... if they were expensive, you may consider just throwing your old bushings back in until you can get it aligned, that way you're not buying another set of adjustable ones.

I hear ya. I'm gonna play with them for a bit to get an idea of how they work, but throwing the old ones back in is a good idea. I need to get everything back together and get the Ranger out so I can start working on another project. The Ranger will be out in the elements, so I can grease up the old bushings and let them suffer the elements.

Simple things....
with the new adjustable bushing in place, it's easier to undersatnd how the alignment process works. The hard part is figuring a starting point. Measuring Toe is easy enough, but Caster and Camber are another story. Caster I kinda get using an angle finder, but I'm still working on getting my head around Camber. I know what it means - sort of - but measuring is another story. I have to do it to learn it. I can read about it and watch vids about it, but unitl I get all dirty with it i won't understand it.

Thanks for the advice.
r