Drive Axles, Bearings and Joints: Service and Repair

Fig. 1 Disconnecting parking brake inner cable:

Removal

1. Raise vehicle on hoist.
2. Remove rear wheel and brake drum. If equipped with rear disc brakes, refer to Brakes and Traction Control/Brakes for removal procedure.
3. Remove brake shoes and disconnect parking brake inner cable, Fig. 1.
4. Disconnect brake line from wheel cylinder.
5. From inboard side of brake backing plate, remove the four nuts from bearing holder through bolts.
6. Pull out axle shaft assembly. Do not strike backing plate in an attempt to remove axle shaft. Use tool J-5748 if necessary.
7. Flatten locking tab on lock washer, then mount axle shaft in vise, clamping vise jaws around locknut. Do not tighten vise excessively.
8. Place tool J-24246 onto studs and secure with two wheel nuts, then turn axle shaft from locknut.
9. Remove locknut, washer, bearing and holder, then using a press, remove brake backing plate from axle shaft. Only a small amount of force is required to remove bearing from shaft. Make sure to support backing plate solidly and hold onto axle shaft to prevent it from falling.
10. Remove oil seal from bearing holder and drive out bearing outer race using a drift.
11. Reverse steps 7 through 10 to reassemble shaft. Torque locknut to 190 ft. lbs.

Fig. 2 Measuring axle shaft clearance:

Installation

If both axle shafts have been serviced, the following steps should be used for installation. If only one shaft has been serviced, skip step 1.
1. Insert a .079 inch shim between the bearing holder and axle tube end-flange. Slide the axle shaft assembly into the axle tube and tighten the four bearing holder-to-flange bolts evenly to 55 ft. lbs.
2. Push the opposite axle shaft, assembled without shims, into the axle tube until it comes into contact with thrust block in the differential. Measure the clearance between the bearing holder and flange, Fig. 2. Add .012 inch to this measurement to obtain the correct shim size.
3. Withdraw the axle shaft, and install correct thickness shims between bearing holder and flange face. Torque to 55 ft. lbs.
4. Reverse steps one through six of disassembly procedure. Torque through bolts to 52 ft. lbs.
5. Bleed brake system.