dana 30 NT - axle removal

Like the title says, I have broken my axel shaft on the dirvers side. I have removed the wheel and brake drumb. Now for the warn locking hub. I have removed the 6 large bolts (behind the 6 allen head botls for the face plate) and the hub will turn but doesn't seem to come off. Having never done this I'm not sure how hard to pull or if I should be pulling?

Also, will I need to remove the brake line? or will I just be able to pull up out of the way? Bleeding the brakes always seem to be a pain in the a.. .

Any comment/help on removeal of the locking hub would be appreciated.

thanks,

 

Re: dana 30 NT - axel removal

Need to remove the 6 small allen screws and the dial assembly and cap. Then you can access the snap ring on the end of the axle. Remove that and the rest of the hub comes off then you can access the wheel bearing retaining nuts. Remove those and remove the bearing hub. Remove the 6 nuts and you can pull the backing plate back out of the way and remove the spindle. Once the spindle is removed the axle shaft can be removed. Good time to check the outer axle/spindle bearings that are pressed inside the spindle and the wheel bearings too.

 

Re: dana 30 NT - axel removal

Ican't seem to get the outer axel out through the main hub, it just hits on the inside of the wheel hub, tried turning the wheel far one way and with the larg outer washer I'll call it around the spindal outer axel I can't get it out that way either? Do I need to hammer it? Not much to hammer against/

 

Re: dana 30 NT - axel removal

See above post. If i'm reading your last post correctly you haven't removed the bearing hub and spindle. These MUST be removed. Then the knuckles must be in the straight ahead position and the axle shafts pull right out through the big hole in the knuckle where the spindle was bolted.
I'd highly recommend you purchase a Factory Service Manual as there are really good instructions and diagrams that are extremely helpful in these kinds of situations.

 

Re: dana 30 NT - axel removal

Thanks nickmil, I did get the spindle out, it was a tight fit, however a new problem, the yoke section of the axel got deformed before the u-joint broke (one hole is oblong) so now that won't fit through hole. SO do I have to try and bend that section of the axel smaller to fit through the hole, I can't imagine it is going to be easy. Any suggestions?

 

Can you turn the knuckle and expose the bent part? If so, then grind it off. Electric angle grinders are cheap.

 

It's either that or get a big punch and BFH and bash the yoke back enough to get it to slip out. A 4" or 4 1/2" grinder would be my first choice assuming you can get it into the area you need to get to. Wear gloves and eye and ear protection. A dust mask would be a good idea too. I had to do the same thing on a trail fix so I didn't have the use of a grinder. I used the bash method and it worked well. Just depends on how deformed the yoke is. Sometimes the u-joint cap will poke out a little and that's what keeps the axle from coming out. You can bash on that too as it's likely trashed any way.

 

I might be able to do that, I do have a grinder, thanks for the suggestion. I see people carring extra axels on the trail, I can't imagine changing one on the trail, at least not the front.

 

I got the axel out tonight by grinding off one of the arms. What I'm worried about now is when I put in the new axel I will put some greese around it, how do I push in the axel w/o getting it covered with dirt that exists in the axel housing? Anybody got a good idea?
thanks

 

If you support the axle with one hand right where it disappears into to the housing you can get it in without really touching the inside of it. If you try to shove a rag or something in there to get at the dirt you'll end up pushing it into the differential or the oil seal that's in there. Just my .02

 

A piece of ready rod and a washer bolted to one end makes a great tool to clean the most of the mud out when the axle is out.