Dana 35 swap into Bronco II

[JOSEPH169]

With the suspension at (or close to) ride height (supported under the front beams on stands, etc.), the spring should be such that it starts to provide resistance about 3/8 inch or so before the spindle is seated down all the way. If the suspension is hanging at full-droop (truck is supported by frame), there may still be a chance you won't be able to push the axle in all the way, so you might have to get the truck down onto some stands or blocks under the beams (or jack the beams themselves up) to get it to go in all the way.

We tried that method and it did come out about 1/8" and is still really tight in there and we're afraid it might damage the differential when offroading.

 

[JOSEPH169]

and this is on the passenger side axle into the differential side of the TTB

 

[4x4junkie]

What exactly is "really tight in there"? It should take a good 10-20lbs of force to seat the spindle against the knuckle.

 

[JOSEPH169]

Its the slip yoke on the right side shaft, got the spring in there and it bottoms out pretty easily and we're afraid that it might push the part of the shaft that is in the differential and damage something. If you can pm me your email I can send you some pics of what we're dealing with here

 

[4x4junkie]

Can't you just attach them here on the forum?

Nothing inside the diff itself can be damaged (not unless you were to whack the end of the shaft with a sledgehammer thinking it would go in then). What CAN be damaged though is dislodging the dust cap that is at the bottom of the slip yoke, exposing the shaft splines to mud & elements. It can be welded back in place if necessary, but certainly it's worth avoiding if you can.

Will the shaft go in normally without the spring? If so, then it's probably just the pressure of the spring you're dealing with (I assume you are not still trying to use an internal spring).

 

[JOSEPH169]

Can't you just attach them here on the forum?

Nothing inside the diff itself can be damaged (not unless you were to whack the end of the shaft with a sledgehammer thinking it would go in then). What CAN be damaged though is dislodging the dust cap that is at the bottom of the slip yoke, exposing the shaft splines to mud & elements. It can be welded back in place if necessary, but certainly it's worth avoiding if you can.

Will the shaft go in normally without the spring? If so, then it's probably just the pressure of the spring you're dealing with (I assume you are not still trying to use an internal spring).

No not using the internal spring anymore. We tried without the spring it it still have some bottoming out. We're going to have our machinist friend just cut down the shaft about 1/2 inch and it's would give us the proper fit were looking for. Pays to know people that do that for a picking to do it for favors they owe you.

 

[JOSEPH169]

I would take pics of it but it's at work right now on the lift

 

[4x4junkie]

It sounds to me like maybe you have another problem (maybe a bent beam or bracket). There's no reason you should have to trim a shaft, the shaft should go in normally without the spring if the suspension is at something less than full droop.

I'd be looking for why the shaft still doesn't fit without the spring.

 

[JOSEPH169]

It sounds to me like maybe you have another problem (maybe a bent beam or bracket). There's no reason you should have to trim a shaft, the shaft should go in normally without the spring if the suspension is at something less than full droop.

I'd be looking for why the shaft still doesn't fit without the spring.

Do you have a pic of how yours sits at ride height and at full drop? We just want to make sure since nothing appears to be bent at all . Just want to see for reference to what we have here.

 

[4x4junkie]

I can take some pics... though I need to know what exactly it is you want a pic of, as I'm not really sure what all there is to see in reference to this issue without disassembling things... I've got another rig here that is currently apart for 5.13s and an ARB (among a bunch of other stuff), but I don't foresee it being back together to a point where I could take an axleshaft pic for at least a couple weeks still either.

I can tell you that the axle shaft (with the suspension at ride height) should be able to push in a good ¾-1" from where it normally sits against the spindle before it bottoms within the slip-yoke (this, again, is at ride height... all bets are off if you are trying to do this while the suspension is at full droop, something that I've already mentioned twice now can prevent you from fully inserting the passengerside shaft).

 

[JOSEPH169]

I can take some pics... though I need to know what exactly it is you want a pic of, as I'm not really sure what all there is to see in reference to this issue without disassembling things... I've got another rig here that is currently apart for 5.13s and an ARB (among a bunch of other stuff), but I don't foresee it being back together to a point where I could take an axleshaft pic for at least a couple weeks still either.

I can tell you that the axle shaft (with the suspension at ride height) should be able to push in a good ¾-1" from where it normally sits against the spindle before it bottoms within the slip-yoke (this, again, is at ride height... all bets are off if you are trying to do this while the suspension is at full droop, something that I've already mentioned twice now can prevent you from fully inserting the passengerside shaft).

Got it, yeah at ride height we only have 1/8" of an inch of movement, that's when we knew something was going on and didn't know if maybe the lockrite is causing a problem. Any nothing appears to be bent either which is kinda strange. 4 of us here at work all looked at it as well. We did just put in the james duff extended radius arms when we put the Dana 35 in. Even measured the Axle shaft to make sure it wasn't longer for some reason and it checks good at 19.8-9 inches from the center of the j-joint cap to end of the splines.

 

[JOSEPH169]

Only thing I can really think of is the springs in the lockrite locker in the front are putting resistance on the axle shaft

 

[4x4junkie]

The end of the axle shaft should rest against the differential cross pin, there should be nothing between the cross pin and the axle to put any sort of resistance on it.

Do things check out as far as everything being square? (same distance to each knuckle from centerline of the truck? Frame square, etc.?) Lateral distance between the pivots (ctr-ctr) should be 14.5" (what I see on the rig I have apart, which appears to be the same on my BII as well).