Front Axle: Spicer 25
I had intended on rebuilding the axles myself but the final straw on that idea came when I pulled the cover off of the front differential. The knuckle joints, along with the rest of the truck, were greased religiously every 1,000 miles and the shop that did the greasing didn't check to see if the knuckles really needed it. They just shot grease into the joints. After 35+ years of this, the axle tubes became filled with grease and eventually pushed past the inner oil seals.
It was at this point that I started looking for an axle shop somewhere to take the axles to for repair. Fort Worth Gear & Axle (FWGA) was the second shop that I called and the first that said they would work on pickup truck axles so I took both axles to them at the beginning of August, 1999. I picked up the front axle on September 3, 1999. Due to a miscommunication internal to FWGA they had painted the axle per their standard practice even though I had requested that it not be painted. FWGA did a pretty good job of cleaning the axle, especially considering the 'original' condition, but it still needed additional work. Spent a Sunday afternoon cleaning and removing paint. The axle was then painted with POR-15.
Tip: Using a paint scraper works great on the axle tubes. Follow that with a length of sandpaper (a sanding belt split works great) and finally finish with a sanding 'pad' (sort of like a big scrubbing brush.) Use the sanding paper/pad as if you were shining shoes.
While painting I discovered that one of the steering knuckle thrust washers had been damaged at some point in time. It was an old break and we do not know how it came to be damaged. A call to Carl Walck resulted in two new thrust washers. In the photo the damaged washer is on the left (obviously) and a new one is on the right. At $3.50 each I decided to replace both washers.
Removal of the old thrust washers was easy using a normal claw hammer. Just catch the claw under the edge of the washer and pull as you would a nail. The original washers were 'staked' in place. This did not matter on removal but could cause problems on installation.
To install, I tapped the new washers in place with a tack hammer and a brass punch. Be careful - the washers are easily damaged. I think I've damaged one washer and will probably replace it before installing the axle shafts.
NOTE: It appears that this thrust washer is only used with the Bendix style axle shafts.
The differential breather required extensive cleaning as it was filled with what appeared to be wheel bearing grease. To disassemble pry on the 'pinched' points on the cap. The components are as shown to the left. I had to slightly trim the rubber washer (disc in middle) to allow free travel in the cap for proper operation.
The front axle installed. I filled the differential with 85W140 gear oil per Fort Worth Gear and Axle recommendation. Knuckle installation is covered under the Steering section. Brake installation is covered under Brakes.
Copyright © 2000 David Hoelzeman
Last Updated: March 23, 2001