New to my IDI - seeking some advice!

[seancporter]

Hey all,

Got my first IDI about a month ago. Came from a '91 Cummins, then a '03 Cummins, and now my '85 6.9 with an PO-installed ATS kit. May not be as powerful as my '03 was, but it's more fun =) Thanks to everyone contributing here I've been trying to catch up!

Anyway I use the truck mostly for small runs around town, and towing our 28' silver streak trailer, which is about 7500# loaded. We are about to move the trailer about 460mi's north to Ukiah, CA, so trying to get the truck ready. I am pretty handy, and have a decent set of tools, but more importantly I'm pretty good at following directions!

The truck makes a light grinding sound when I turn right, most noticeably after the truck is warmed up. the PO said he thought the bearings needed to be replaced. I've never done front end work, or brakes for that matter, but from the sounds of it if I'm going to dig into the bearings I should look at some other potential fixes as well.

From my research, I'm pretty sure I have a D44(HD?) front axle.

I'd love any advice on how to diagnose other parts of the front end. With just a floor jack at my disposal, is it possible to check whether or not I need to service or replace the u-joints, tie-rods, ball joints, etc? What should I be looking for?

I think I have a handle on replacing the bearings themselves, although it's been a little confusing tracking down all the parts. I figure I'm going to do both sides while I'm at it. So far I'm looking at inner and outer bearings, races and seals - although carquest is only showing "inner" front seals - should there be an "outer" as well? I'm sticking with Timken as it seems to be the preferred brand..

Anything else I should do while I'm in there? What about axle spindle bearings and seals? And if the brake pads look worn, what do people recommend? In general I'd like much more stopping power than I'm getting, but maybe not ready to jump into a hydroboost setup, etc.

Sorry for the ramble. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

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Cheers,
Sean

 

[ToughOldFord]

Nice truck, congrats!

Is there really something worth seeing in Ukiah?

 

[icanfixall]

Welcome to the forum. Nice looking rig too. You will need some special tools to take apart the front end to get at the brakes and u joints. I'm not the person to ask what special tool for the nut that huge and kind of inside the hubs. Plenty of other members have done this job and they will chime in when they see this post. What I do recall is some of the sockets for this job will not fit without grinding some material off of them. I do not recall what brand it was.. Sorry.

 

[my85ford]

Hello welcome to Oilburners ! good looking truck! Ive done mt wheel bearings I bought my socket at Napa parts store ! It wasnt that much and makes it nice once you pack bearings again!

 

[TahoeTom]

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Here is the page from my Haynes manual showing the parts of the Dana 44. You need the Ford truck/Bronco manual to cover running gear. The diesel manual only covers the engine. Removing the 4x4 locking hub requires removing a snap ring on the end of the axel shaft and a circular wire ring in the inside snout of the hub.

 

[seancporter]

Thanks guys for the replies!

I guess specifically, if I'm going to be doing outer/inner wheel bearings:

Besides the wheel seal is there anything else I *should* do while I'm in there?

What's the best way to diagnose/evaluate the condition of Alex seals, tie-rods and other bushings?

I've been considering taking it to a shop just to have them make 'the list' but of course would rather put that money toward new parts..

Thanks so much!

 

[Agnem]

Don't even mess around with evaluating. Just replace all that stuff. Those parts (in the overall scheme of things) are very inexpensive, and will last you a lifetime (or more likely as long as your going to keep it). Just put in new bearings, seals, steering joints, etc, and never be worried or nickle and dimmed to death trying to keep this truck on the road. The Dana 44HD is a good axle, but like everything it just needs love.

 

[drinkypoo]

From my research, I'm pretty sure I have a D44(HD?) front axle.

1/2 ton got the Dana 44, 3/4 ton got the 44HD, 3/4 ton with super cab got 50, and 1 ton got 60

 

[hotshotidi]

the d44 hd is just 8 lug with a lil bigger breaks axle spline counts the same . might have a lil bigger bearings. Also makes swapping to a dana 60 easier

 

[seancporter]

Thanks guys, walked away from carquest today with a big o box of stuff, will start digging in tomorrow.

Also I've read lots on removal of the inner and outer wheel bearings, but any notes on removal/installation of the spindle bearings?

oh and @ToughOldFord, I'm moving there, so I guess we'll findout

Cheers,

 

[seancporter]

Well successfully finished up replacing inner/outer and spindle bearings, races and seals today. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the guidance. And some notes/lessons for other first-timers:

First side took me about 5hrs, plus a trip to O'reillys to rent a slide hammer and the "pilot bearing puller attachment" for the spindle bearings - just get one ahead of time cause I can't see another way to get em out! Used almost 2 cans of brake cleaner and a whole roll of scotts towels haha.

Second side took me 3hrs, plus an hour to sort out some damage on the spindles. One can of brake cleaner and only a 1/2 roll of towels =)

As advised by others here, take your time, once you start pulling everything out it isn't as daunting. I bought a set of spring clip pliers and a pick set from sears, saved lots of frustration getting the clips and lockrings out. I didn't have the tools to put in the new races, so used the method of grinding down the old races and using them to hammer in the new ones. Worked well, make sure to have the wide end of the old race facing you for a bigger target to hit with the punch.

I also found these two write ups that were amazingly helpful, thank you to the authors for such detailed articles:

http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?56522-Replacing-front-wheel-bearings-and-races

http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-14.html

and this thread has lots of torque specs for the D44HD--

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/ford/679082-im-need-some-torque-specs-my-1979-ford-d44-hp.html

And lastly someone recommended painting the hubs at this point. Takes no extra time and really dresses em up! I used some low-gloss engine enamel w/ ceramic. If you do paint them, the metal dust covers that come with the spindle bearing/seal kit makes a great cap to cover the inside of the hub...

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[my85ford]

Looks great! glad you got it figured out

 

[riotwarrior]

great job and thank you for all the detail and hints and links!