dana 44 question

[willett]

Hey guys,

We started replacing a broken axle shaft on a buddies' ram charger yesterday and was surprised to find the bearing that supports the outer shaft!

It was completly dry, and the needles had mostly turned to dust!!


What do they call this bearing, and how can you effectivly keep it lubricated?? We're going to replace the seals and bearings but it still seems like a really stupid design to me!.

We also had a hell of a time seperating the spindle from the knuckle!!

[Rufton]

On SAS some bearings are oiled when turning curves and by splash so good idea to maintain proper gear oil level. Some have sealed bearings which I prefer but they will dry after a few decades.

[willett]

Sealed unit. No bath
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[BLAZERMAN]

It's just routine maintenance and that design has been successfully used by the big 3 for decades now. I clean, inspect and repack my front wheel bearings every fall on my daily driver. If yours were that bad and your replacing your bearings don't forget to replace the inner and outer races as well.
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[scoot_mcgrute]

Sounds like he's talking about the spindle bearing. It's one of those things that just needs checking annually while packing the wheel bearings.

I've had a couple go bad on me, didn't really see or remember any adverse effects though.

[BLAZERMAN]

Originally Posted by scoot_mcgrute

Sounds like he's talking about the spindle bearing. It's one of those things that just needs checking annually while packing the wheel bearings.

I've had a couple go bad on me, didn't really see or remember any adverse effects though.

Sorry about that, went back and reared it, your right..spindle bearings are often overlooked. Before reassembly clean the edges of the spindle and the bore of the knuckle, put a good coat of anti-seize around it and should make getting that spindle off next time much easier.
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