Need to replace a, front-passenger side, drive axle shaft on a 1990 Ford Ranger 4x4

[greaseyfingers]

Bought a 1990 Ford Ranger 4x4 that has a bad, front-passenger side, drive axle shaft

The drive axle shaft is loudly spinning within itself, which I assume is a stripped out, splined connection contained within a rubber boot, nearest the outside of the differential carrier, on the passenger side

Has anyone else had this problem, before

What's the easiest way for taking apart and replacing the drive axle shaft that's failed

 

[R***A**N**G**E***R]

Bought a 1990 Ford Ranger 4x4 that has a bad, front-passenger side, drive axle shaft

The drive axle shaft is loudly spinning within itself, which I assume is a stripped out, splined connection contained within a rubber boot, nearest the outside of the differential carrier, on the passenger side

Has anyone else had this problem, before

What's the easiest way for taking apart and replacing the drive axle shaft that's failed

Had the same problem a year ago below are some pics of what my slip yoke looked like after taking it out, the last pic is the replacement axle I bought from a member.

You MUST get inside the diff to remove a c-clip in order to remove the drive axle, sucks, I know!!

 

[greaseyfingers]

Would I, also, have to remove the front-driver's side axle shaft, before being able to get inside the differential carrier for removing the C-clip on the front-passenger side, drive axle shaft to let it slide out of the carrier?

Could the u joint be taken apart on the front-passenger side, axle's stub shaft that slides into the differential carrier, and attaching the new drive axle to it there, instead, of having to take the carrier apart to remove the C-clip on the end of the old axle's stub shaft and sliding it out of the carrier?

 

[sfwjesse]

Doubtful. Not sure you could fit the u-joint press tool up in there...and any u-joint i ever did on a ranger front end takes a ton of force to remove. To remove the carrier you have to pull the drivers side axle as well. The thing about this job is that once your have that all apart....you pretty much are forced to redo all your u-joints and seals at that point because you would hate to have to pull it all apart again anytime soon. I would do the 2 axle shaft seals in the carrier and all 3 u-joints, and then your spindle seals. The slinger seal that presses onto the axle shaft and rides on the back of the spindle is a little pricey but those are almost always rotted off.

Hardest part about removing the carrier from the D35 is the pinch bolt.Not sure about the D28. That sucker is a bear to grind off.

 

[greaseyfingers]

Had the same problem a year ago below are some pics of what my slip yoke looked like after taking it out, the last pic is the replacement axle I bought from a member.

You MUST get inside the diff to remove a c-clip in order to remove the drive axle, sucks, I know!!

was just the female end of the splined slip yoke connection stripped out, or was splines on the male end stripped off too?

if only the female end of the spined slip yoke connection were stripped out and the spines on the male end were still ok?

could a air hammer be used with a blunt tip for seperating the u joint on the stub shaft that comes out of the differential carrier for replacing the female end of the splined slip yoke connection, which would save a lot of work.

 

[holyford86]

I wouldn't take an air hammer to the axleshaft for risk of either damaging the axleshaft or the differential. As previously stated it would be a good idea to replace all of your seals while you're in there. I'm assuming that your 1990 has a D35 axle or at least a 28/35 hybrid which means that you will have to pull the driver side radius arm to get the pinch bolt out. You'll also need to pull the driver side axleshaft. You may be able to save one side of the coupling but chances are since it's already that worn it's probably all junk.

 

[sfwjesse]

Ive done u-joints on this truck that registered 40000 lbs on the gauge before they let go, and shot pieces of the caps across the room. You also have to press them back in afterwards.....an air hammer isnt gonna cut it.

Also, if the splines are gone in one piece, the chances of the other piece being pristine are slim to none. They may hold for a while, but i wouldnt trust it. Pull it and take a look...maybe you will get lucky, but since they are probably both the same type of steel im guessing both are damaged.

Pull the dif man.....just get that pinch bolt and the rest is fairly easy. Dont be scared lol. If you dont have some sort of die grinder that can reach up in there and grind off that head then i can see why you are stalling on this. Honestly it was a bear, i ended up giving up and braking part of the dif with a sledge hammer (dif was junk), and replaced that pinch bolt with a grade 8 threaded rod so it went back in easily. Even then i had to slightly grind my radius arm for clearance (tch tch). The right way to do it is to remove the radius arm...which is probably another project in itself.