Real driveway tech: Swapping front axles (not slow conenction friendly)

[Brett Whitaker]

Thought I'd share pictures of my front axle swap I did today. It is not that hard, but it might help someone out who was concerned about the difficulty.

Here is a list of the tools needed:

• Floor jack
• Jack stands
• Wheel chocks
• Impact gun and/or ratchet wrench
• Sockets 7/8", 13/16", 3/4", 11/16", and 5/8"
• Brass drift
• 8" C-clamp 6" will probably work
• Pickle fork
• Big hammer/small sledge
• 1/4" Allen wrench
• Rubber mallet
• Flat blade screwdriver
• Needle nose pliers
• Ratchet straps or wire

This is the Scout II getting the axle swap. I bought it several years ago, and it has undergone several axle swaps.



It ended up with a two wheel driver front axle at one point. it didn't really matter, as it is not much of an off-road vehicle anyway. I am about to fishing and with the lakes the way they've been lately, I thought having four wheel drive may come in handy.

See no hubs!



The safety stuff. Skip if you don't want to see it.

I put the emergency brake on.



Made sure it was in Park.



And put wheel chocks for added security.



From here on out the pictures are from the driverside only, except where some clarification may be needed.

Jack up the front axle and place a jack stand underneath the frame. I like putting it back at about the transmission. The frame is not sloped there, like further forward.



Now the work can start.



Remove the front tires. If you are not using an impact gun, hopefully you loosened the lug nuts before this point. 13/16" and 3/4" are common lug nut sizes. If the removing of the tires seems a mystery, stop now!



Using 1/4" Allen wrench and rubber mallet remove the screw shown.



Then using a brass drift and hammer drive these parts out. I'm sure they have a name, but I don't know it.



Partially done.



Out.



The next step is to remove the caliper. You need to compress the piston, but I find it easier to move the caliper out a little before I do that. Do whatever works for you.

Using a flatblade screwdriver, pry up on the caliper a little bit.



Then a little more.



Put the C-Clamp as shown.



Turn the handle and compress the piston. You can see it through the hole in the caliper. You really need to do this if you are putting new pads in.



Remove the caliper. Tie a ratchet strap or wire to something and use it to hold up the brake caliper.



Then straighten the cotter pin at the end of the steering pitman arm.



Then you can tap it out and remove it.



Then using a 7/8" socket, remove the castlelated nut.



Insert the pickle fork and give it a whack or two or three or forty.



It also helps sometimes to give the end of the pitman arm a whack with a big hammer.

And it will come out.



All those leaks help when it comes time to remove the ubolt nuts! They should be 3/4"



Then remove the nut from the shackle bolt. The head of the bolt is typically 5/8" and the nut 11/16". For some reason these nuts were 5/8". Don't try to remove the bolt yet.



At this point I jack the axle up.



Then turn the shock so the plate is out from underneath the springs.



To get the spring bolt out, I put the floor jack under the spring and start lifting it. Then watch the spring eye/bolt end at the shackle. If you watch it you can see it move from supporting the weight of the spring to lifting the truck.



When you get there stop or lower t just a very, very little bit. At that point, there is little to no upward or downward force on the bolt. It will be very easy to tap out.



Lower the spring and axle to the ground and do the other side.



Place the other axle in place under the truck.



Reconnecting everything essentially follows the above steps in reverse. Here are a couple of tips that may help. First of all, at this point gravity is not your friend. The axle is heavy.

Lift it as shown on the driver's side. By the way, this is a good time to install those lift springs you were wanting.



Lift it high enough that you can pick the spring up and guide it into the shackle. Do not put your feet under the axle. It is bound to fall at some point. Two jacks are handy, but not necessary.

Use your hammer to coax the spring into the shackles (easier if not fixed like the ones shown), and slide the bolt in.



Then lift the passenger side of the axle at the rotor. Be careful it is pretty tippy here. If someone can help control the axle and keep it from rotating on the floor jack, all the better.

Lift it up and put the spring in place as before.



From here on out just put things back together. The caliper piece you took out before can go in from the "outside" like you drove them out. They don't have to come in from underneath the truck. When installing the castelated nut, if the shaft start turning with the nut do the following. Remove the joint from the pitman arm and clean the threads of the shaft and nut very well. Hold the shaft with vise grips on the smooth portion and run the nut all the way on and off several times. Now put it back in the pitman arm. Chances are you will be able to get the nut on to the point where you can put the new cotter pin in.

All back together and ready to go fishing.



Almost anyway. I still have to put the driveshaft in. Here are my tips for installing the driveshaft. The only hard part is getting all the ujoint strap nuts tightened down. When tightening the bolts at the axle end, lock the hubs and/or make sure the transfer case is in 4wd. This will keep the shaft from turning. The transfer case end is the hardest. I unlock the hubs and put the transfer case in neutral. You will find a spot where you can put an offset box end wrench over the nut. Turn the axle by hand or put a big screwdriver therough the ujoint at the axle and turn the axle while keeping the wrench still or letting it wedge against the truck. Do each nut. Try to tighten them fairly evenly.

If anyone has any thing or experiences to add, please do so.

Brett

[Thomas]

---Nice. Like how you walked everyone through the safety drill, but since I couldn't see you on the cameras all I can say is that I hope you listened to what your screwdriver was telling you, by wearing eye protection

---I have no idea how the rod ends were removed on the donor axle (another thing that was done off-camera heh heh heh), so I'd say that you're lacking a key piece of info that people will* take the wrong way. A joint that is going to be reused, should never meet the jaws of a pickel fork. Pickel forks are only for R&R. They are only meant for when you are tearing out the old joint and install new. They're simply a time saver. Only a special puller should be used on a joint that is going to be reused; Like my age-old Pitman Arm Remover by Zim, that works perfect on our TREs and Drag Links...

(Clickity-click for larger image)


- ... It does not separate or change in any way, the relationship between the ball & socket while it's in use like the pickel fork will. It pushes the stud through the arm that ball stud is mounted to. Mount this first and tighten it down. While working on the rest of the bolts and such, oftentimes the rod end will come loose on it's own. If not, a gentle tap on the end of the shaft and a second good tightening of the T-handle after a few minutes, and it is sure to pop loose on it's own.

[scoutboy74]

Good writeup overall. About all I can add is now would also be a good time to have those crusty rotors resurfaced, inspect/replace the pads, re-grease/replace the wheel bearings and service the locking hubs before mounting the wheels.

[Brett Whitaker]

Interesting about the remover. I've always used the pickle fork and reused the joint with seemingly good success. I am always agreeable to learning something new. I've got quite a few pullers, but not one of those.

Good to know.

Thanks,

Brett

[sullyscout77]

Your camera must be filthy!, (LOL)! Nice work Brett and thanks for taking the time to share the experience!

[WRENCH MAN]

I agree about the pickle fork, only when the part is to be replaced!

[Dennis Bernth]

Good write up, but I'd have spent $5 at the quarter car wash before I started, makes the job a lot nicer