Warn locking hub damage: How bad and next steps?
- Thread starter RJ'sTJ
- Start date
Do you have a pic from the front showing the knuckles? A common mod for those axles is to run Chevy knuckles and spindles with ford hub assemblies to be able to run high steer. So you may have a hodgepodge of parts. It’s not a big deal and they’re all commonly available at any parts store but if you go get bearings for a ford and have Chevy spindles they’ll be different. We can help point to what you need if we know what you have.
Isn't that also done to get away from 6 lug Chevy and convert to the 5 lug he has now?
On a Chevy axle, yes, but since he said he has a high pinion 44 I’ll assume it’s a ford axle and if it has flat tops they were swapped to be able to run high steer.
I've only done a few of them based around the Reid conversion knuckles and hunting down the parts to use on them. Mostly I recall a bizarre Chevy D-52 caliper mount (crap brakes btw.) Chevy spindle, Ford hub/rotor.
I’ve always just used the Chevy 1/2 ton caliper mount and caliper that was on the truck I robbed the knuckle from with the ford hub/rotor. I’d have to dig back through my notes but I think only one of the bearings is different. The last time I did one of these was 2005 so memory may be off.
It's what I have on mine. Back when I'd first built my HP44 Chevy knuckles were what you got flat toped so you could run high steer arms. And Reid didn't offer their Ford knuckles back then. So I have the Chevy small bearing spindles and then Ford hubs & rotors so I'd have the 5 on 5.5 BP.
As you said without seeing his steering we can't know if he's got high steer arm or not.
From what I've heard but haven't don't know for fact one of the goods things about the Ford knuckles is if you're running RCV axles the Ford knuckles have a large enough opening to fit the bell through.
Well catching back up here! Had a chat with Del at PartsMike and managed to get a list together and he spent a bunch of time on the phone with me going over the axles and making sure we identified the set up correctly - so a huge thanks and shout out there. Spindles, Hubs, Stub Shafts, Bearings, Seals - all hopefully arrive tomorrow and I can start the rebuild. Has been a fun time so far getting this thing apart and getting familiar with how it all functions. Looking forward to some trail time soon! Got a bonus bit of news that I'm not crazy... there really is no fill port on my Ford 9" rear diff... Thought I was going crazy. If anyone knows a solid way to check diff fluid levels easily, without a fill port, I'd love to hear it!
Cheers
Cheers
My phone has been stretching photos for years. Not a fan. My spare looks like it’s 15” wide in the last photo.
Last edited:
I’ve only seen a few 9” rears this close but they all have had fill ports.
Google tells me that no fill plug is because Ford moved the fill hole from the housing to the center section in the late 60s, so if you put an early center section in a later housing, you end up with no fill hole. That sucks.
I've had really GREAT service out of the guys at Parts Mike which was one of the reasons I'd recommended them to you plus they're local. And piecing together what all you'll need IMO they are great too. And as I said since mine is custom they've been great for helping me figure out what I needed.
OK so if there isn't a fill port on the drop out section is there something on the axle housing itself? If not how are you supposed to fill your axle? As Sab said from what I found also it was dropped on some housings... You're supposed to fill it by pulling an axle... Which sound weird to me.
Also found that a lot of people suggest drilling and taping a fill hole on center sections that don't have one.
Yep - that's what I saw, too. How convenient!
Saw that, too. Along with welding a bung on, but that's not so easy if it's a cast iron.
Ya'll are making this much harder than it needs to be. No reason not to convert the vent fitting and hole to a fill plug, easy weld, easily done.
See - that's the difference between boots-on-the-ground experience and Internet searching...
Is Atlas part giraffe ?
Aardvark from the looks of that snout.......
Similar threads
