diff/knuckle replacement ?

[spuds015]

i have a set of diffs with 4.56's that i want  to put on my 81 pickup, my knuckles need to be rebuilt but marlin is currently out of the knuckle service kits (the ones without bearings). can i remove the birfs to just change my diffs without damaging the knuckle wipers/gaskets while i wait for the service kit? can i replace the axle seals while im at it? this is my first time doing this so any help is awesome

[sparkys83yota]

Ive seen people remove every thing w out disturbing alk the seals by taking off the outer c clip ( inside the hub) then remove their bearing caps on the knuckle. It took some effort but the entire wheel hub assembly came off that way. Hope that helps. Might be better to just wait though. That way you only have to rip into the axle once.

[84ToyCrawler]

The problem is you go do all that work and put it back
together and you find out you have a bad inner axle seal (Crap)
and have to do it all over again.. I would call Marlin to make sure
there out I called last week and they said that they had them in stock
BigMike said he didn't know why the web site said thay were out..
As far as changing your diff's you can do it with out doing your knuckles
Just pull your hubs and axles and you can swap out your diffs...

[spuds015]

ill give them a call i was going to wait if it wasnt worth the effort

[spuds015]

ill have to get the service kit w/out wheel bearings. do i need to mess with the shims and knuckle alignment when i put the new trunion bearings in and new gaskets? or can i just put all the original shims back in the exact same position when the were removed?

[sparkys83yota]

I always keep track of the shims and put them back in the same spot.

[BoG-ToY]

hmm, wonder if your knuckle bearings are bad?

I normally re-pack wheel bearings, pull spindle, put back plate eliminators on. pull birfs. check knuckle bearings from inside the ball, you can replace the axle seals (go marlin if you can) change diff, put it all back together. silicone of your choice, axle seals, and wheel hub seals

[79coyotefrg]

Ive seen people remove every thing w out disturbing alk the seals by taking off the outer c clip ( inside the hub) then remove their bearing caps on the knuckle. It took some effort but the entire wheel hub assembly came off that way. Hope that helps. Might be better to just wait though. That way you only have to rip into the axle once.

yea because its about 40 pounds your trying to hold up 

ill have to get the service kit w/out wheel bearings. do i need to mess with the shims and knuckle alignment when i put the new trunion bearings in and new gaskets? or can i just put all the original shims back in the exact same position when the were removed?

NO,  if you use the same knuckle bearings then you can use the same shims in the same position but if using NEW bearings you have to start with 1 thin shim top and bottom and one thick shim.  put it together and use a fish scale to check preload.  too much and you need to add a shim too little and you need to subtract a shim.

[spuds015]

oh ok. i dont think ill need the bearing but its the only way to get the seal/gaskets from marlin for the time being. the truck only has 113k on it and has never seen offroad till i bought it

[BoG-ToY]

leave the knuckle alone? pop off the spindle and pull the birf like the FSM says
then you can change the inner axle seal (which marlin normally sells seperate)

[spuds015]

leave the knuckle alone? pop off the spindle and pull the birf like the FSM says
then you can change the inner axle seal (which marlin normally sells seperate)

i definitely need new seals, wipers etc. the inside of my tire is a bunch of greasey splatter art so ill just wait

[DRTYLUVN]

i dont mean to hi-jack your thread but i just took off my knuckles for a full axle rebuild
my dumbaxx didnt think about the shims

well when i finally realized it, i had 4 shims laying on the ground and no idea of which shim goes to where
what do i do now??

im a total newb with workin on cars/trucks so im lost on where to start

[mudmaster]

See 79coyotefrg's reply

[DRTYLUVN]

thanks mudmaster
i wasnt paying enough attention to the replies