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D28 Axle Pivot & Radius Arm Hardware?


McWillies

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Hey y'all. I have an 89 BII 4WD that I'm doing some front end work on, following a mild wreck.

While I'm under there I've decided to throw in new sway bar bushings (endlinks and main supports), axle pivot bushings, and radius arm bushings. Have a couple questions about regarding the axle pivot and radius arm bushings:

1. What size is the hardware holding the axles in the pivot brackets? 11/16" is ever so slightly too small and 3/4" is ever so slightly too big (if it's a 23/32" I'm selling it and buying a chevy). Don't have anything 18mm, but I'll pick it up if someone can confirm that's what they are. Info on hardware to replace them would be appreciated as well. From what I've seen on the forums, a 3-1/2" long * 9/16" diameter bolt should work (I think, it's all jumbled up in my head right now), sound about right? How long should the shank be?
I was pissed that nothing was working so for the driver side axle (pivot bracket on passenger side), I hammered a 12-point 11/16" socket on it. Got the bolt loose, but now it's taken my socket hostage and is demanding ransom. Moving on.

2. I'm planning on grinding and punching the rivets holding the RA crossmember to the frame so I don't have to deal with the coils and such. What hardware can replace the rivets when I get there? I know some nut and bolt combo can work, but I need to know what dimensions the bolt should be. Diameter, length, shank? I'd like to avoid stacking a handful of washers to make it fit.
 


McWillies

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Had an idea... Went to Rough Country's website to look at the hardware provided in the lift kits for the radius arms and axle pivots. Once I looked at the installation instructions and material list, I jumped over to Skyjacker's site and cross referenced everything.

From what I can gather, the axle pivot bolts can be replaced with a 9/16" x 3-1/2". Don't know about the shank, but I think the leaves are 2.5" so give it some lagniappe and I'd say a 3" shank at most. That would leave me with a half inch of thread.
For the radius arms it appears to be a 7/16" x 1-1/2" (or 1-1/4"). Once again, thinking about it logically, the bolt has to pass through the frame and bracket, so maybe a 1/2" shank?

Still don't know about the head on the OEM axle pivot bolts. Anybody know?
 

McWillies

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Spent the weekend working on the BII. Got the first axle pivot bolt out and the bushing was in good condition and the other one looked to be in good condition, so I decided to leave them. They have the metal sleeve around them so I'd think they keep their form longer than a normal bushing. Next, got the radius arm bolts off and the driver side was in half decent condition, but the passenger side was actually missing half of the inner bushing on the axle side, so after the bolt was off the radius arm basically had nothing holding it in the center of the mount. Fought to get the heads cut off the rivets that were holding the crossmember in. Then I spent a solid hour hammering them out with an assortment of punches and chisels, then went for a drill with a small bit to get a nice cavity in the center to hold the punch. Eventually got them popped out and got the crossmember pulled down. Swapped in the new bushings and got the crossmember back up with the radius arm nuts holding on. Got the bolts in where the rivets were, on the passenger side, by moving the tire until the holes were close, then used a punch to line them up. Moved over to the driver side and it took some persuasion with a jack pushing up on the crossmember and a come-along wrapped around the axle beam and the frame (just behind the bumper) to pull entire driver-side axle beam forward so the holes on the bracket would match the holes on the frame. Got it lined up and bolted down. The 7/16" x 1-1/2" bolts worked alright, but I ended up having to use washers. In hindsight, a 1" long bolt would've worked much better. It only has to go through the frame and the thin RA bracket.
After that I moved to the front end and bolted up the end links, then the sway bar... Went to put the steering linkage on and realized I had the sway bar in upside down :rolleyes:. Pulled it back out and put it in the right way. I set the new tie rod ends to be even with the old ones that I pulled out of the truck. (I also made sure when I was putting on the pitman arm last weekend, that the steering wheel was centered as well as in the "middle" position (four exact rotations of the wheel lock to lock, so the middle was two rotations clockwise from the left-most position or two rotations counterclockwise from the right-most position, however you wanna look at it). Anyways, got the linkage in and did an eyeball alignment of the toe. I can tell the driver side camber is off. Was to be expected, the old camber sleeve had two of the little ears sheared off, so I had to replace it and didn't know how it was set before.

For anybody looking to do anything similar and are worried about oddball sizes, make sure you have something 18mm for the axle pivot bolts, 1-1/8" socket for the radius arm nuts, and a 19/32" or 15mm wrench and socket (They can be used interchangeably, but at some points you'll need a wrench AND socket, so make sure you have that in whatever combination tickles your fancy).

Thanks for reading. I'll probably do some more maintenance type work on it over time. Anybody out there make a DIY fuel filler neck? Mine is cracked but I don't wanna spend the ridiculous amount of money retailers ask for them.
 

alwaysFlOoReD

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A little late now...
I used 1/2" bolts when I replaced the brackets on my truck. I wanted the hole to be exactly the same size as the shank of the bolt and to also center the holes if the frame and bracket. When the original factory holes were punched the holes didn't line up exactly because rivets will take up the slight discrepancies. I used a step drill bit to enlarge the holes one at a time, placing a bolt in and snuggling it up before drilling the next hole. The bolts shank stuck out slightly and I used thick flat washer/s to take up the extra length. I wanted the shank to do all the supporting of the frame and bracket, not relying on friction to prevent movement around the threaded portion.
 

McWillies

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A little late now...
I used 1/2" bolts when I replaced the brackets on my truck. I wanted the hole to be exactly the same size as the shank of the bolt and to also center the holes if the frame and bracket. When the original factory holes were punched the holes didn't line up exactly because rivets will take up the slight discrepancies. I used a step drill bit to enlarge the holes one at a time, placing a bolt in and snuggling it up before drilling the next hole. The bolts shank stuck out slightly and I used thick flat washer/s to take up the extra length. I wanted the shank to do all the supporting of the frame and bracket, not relying on friction to prevent movement around the threaded portion.
Like you said, a little late now :dunno: The 7/16" bolts worked fine, fit snug, but in hindsight it would've been "more better" to do it the way you did. The amount of pounding I had to do to knock the rivets out definitely deformed the holes. Not by a large enough amount for me to see it, or for it to keep me up at night, but drilling them all out to the exact same shape and size would've made for a tighter fit. I don't use the truck for anything off-road, so I'm not too worried about it. I just reread your post and realized I didn't register the second half of it at all... My thoughts were the same as far as the shank doing the grunt work. I might've went a little overkill and bought bolts that were too long but I'd rather have too much shank and a few washers than no shank and a radius arm that's dragging on the asphalt.

Off topic: Took the truck to the alignment shop on Monday and when he pulled the passenger side wheel off (I never had to pull it off when doing the front end work), he found a brake rotor that was cracked clean through all the way to the center (point your finger on the center of the axle shaft, then go straight up until you reach the outer edge of the rotor). Ordered some new rotors and pads and I'll be replacing those this weekend. Any weirdness I should look out for? I know I have to pull the hub cam and the outer bearing and whatnot, just wanna make sure I won't find something in there that ruins the fun. From what I understand, since my truck has automatic locking hubs, I won't have a 4-prong locknut, I'll have a big ass nut with a keyway. Sound about right?
 

alwaysFlOoReD

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I've work on the automatic hub once about 10 years ago. Use a rare earth magnet to pull the key out. I ruined the hubs because I didn't know what I was doing then. As long as your in there a lot of people forget the inner axle bearing and seal. It for the axle shaft....also check the knuckle to hub seal. This is from memory and it may not be accurate.
 

McWillies

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Got everything tore apart, regreased, and put back together. I didn't order new wheel bearings or seals because I had no reason to think they were in bad shape. Got them out and they were perfect. For anyone that comes across this post, I'll write down some "steps" for how everything comes apart, because I had a tough time finding much about the automatic hubs on a Dana 28. I'm gonna be really thorough because I've come across guides too many times that skim over things they think are "common" knowledge. Anyways, here goes nothing.

  1. Jack one corner of the car up and pull the wheel off.
  2. Pull the locking hub cover off. It may have an o-ring on the inside which seals with the rotor to keep dirt, water, mud, etc out; and to keep the grease in. If it does and it's in good shape, be careful with it. Probably a low chance you'll be able to find an exact fit at the local parts store.
  3. Now the innards will be exposed and greasy.
  4. 15016
  5. The first piece you need to remove is a small snap ring/c-clip. I got it off by using a small flathead and hammer to rotate it so the gap was facing upwards, then pointed the screwdriver at a slight angle vertical to one edge of the ring and tapped it lightly. You'll see it start to come off. Once there's a small gap on the bottom, take a pair of small needle nose pliers and pull it straight down the rest of the way off. If you just tap it all the way with the flathead, it'll go flying once it releases.
  6. Next piece is a spacer that fits perfectly around the splines. When you pull this off, keep an eye out for a flat washer and a thrust bearing that are the same diameter to come out with it. With mine, the grease held them together and they came out all together. Nothing to worry about, just separate them and set them to the side.
  7. If the flat washer and thrust bearing are still in there, you'll have the reach your fingernail in there a little bit to get a grip around them because they sit inside the cam assembly.
  8. Now it's time to pull the locking cam off. It'll be on there snug but you should be able to pull it straight off just fine. There's another larger flat washer and thrust bearing that might come out with it because of the grease. Again, just separate them and sit them to the side.
  9. If the flat washer and thrust bearing didn't come off with the cam, go ahead and remove them.
  10. Now you should have this:
  11. 15017
  12. This picture was taken after I removed the keyway already, but you still need to remove yours.
  13. Inside that small cavity underneath the locknut, there should be a small piece that holds the nut from spinning. You'll need a magnet of some kind to fish it out of there, the area is too small to fit pliers, even those with the needlest of noses. Take some large channel locks and grip them around the head of the large locknut. Move the locknut CW and CCW slightly and you'll be able to see the key move with it. If you move it all the way CW you'll the key is pressed against the side of the cavity, and same for CCW. You need to find the middle ground where it's not pressed on either side. Now hold the magnet right in front of the cavity and rotate the nut slightly back and forth (to free the key from the grease). Pull the magnet in and out while doing this, and eventually the key will slide right out.
  14. Once you have the key out, you can use the same channel locks as before to go ahead and turn the locknut CCW and loosen it. You should be able to loosen it by hand the rest of the way out.
  15. When you start removing the locknut, you'll notice the bearing slides out of place with it. Go ahead and pull the bearing out after you get the locknut all the way off.
  16. After you've removed the outer bearing, grip the outer edges of the rotor and pull straight outwards. It should pop off the spindle and you can pull it out. The inner bearing and seal should've come out with it.
  17. Now we need to press the bearing and seal out of the backside of the rotor. Find an area where you can sit the rotor down so that the edges of it are supported, but the middle is open enough for the seal to pop out when you hammer on it from the top (I used a bench vise, but two blocks of wood or something similar would work).
  18. I had to get a little creative here because I really needed three hands and only had two. Take a deadblow hammer and line it up with the middle of the bearing, and use your body to support the handle so it stays relatively straight on the bearing. Now reach one hand to the underside of the rotor where the axle is gonna pop out, and use a small sledge to hit the top of the deadblow. You'll have to put a little muscle into it with the hammer to get the bearing pushed out, but eventually you'll feel the seal and bearing pop out and fall into the hand that you reached under there.

This is as far as I went with taking this apart, so I'll do a summary of the assembly (TLDR; it's just the disassembly in reverse).
  1. Do whatever cleaning and inspecting you need to do on your parts and whatnot. For cleaning the inside of the cap that goes over everything and contains part of the locking hub assembly, I poured some gasoline in it and rotated the inside to work it around, then dumped the gas out. Repeat until you're satisfied, then take a blower nozzle attached to an air compressor and point it into the cap, and hold a rag over the hole (or you'll end up with grease all over you), and spray until all the gunk is out of there.
  2. Pack the inner bearing with grease and put some on grease on the bearing race inside the rotor. Drop the bearing onto the race. Grab the seal and put some grease on the inner edge and tap it in slowly with a small hammer, making sure to do it evenly.
  3. Slip the rotor assembly back onto the spindle.
  4. Pack the outer wheel bearing with grease and fill the cavity where the rotor slipped over the spindle with grease. Slide the bearing onto the spindle and then into the race in the rotor. Make sure the rotor is straight in the vertical direction relative to the spindle, or the bearing won't slide in all the way.
  5. Grab your locknut, grease it up, and hand tighten it back onto the threads. You don't want to crank down on this locknut, because it tensions the wheel bearing. My method is to grab the rotor on top and bottom and try to wiggle it forward and backward. If there's still movement, tighten the locknut a little more, check again. Once the bearing doesn't have any more play, grab your channel locks and tighten it just a hair more.
  6. Now you have to slip the key back into the cavity. You'll notice on end of the key is smooth, and one end has a small "nub" of sorts. The smooth end goes towards the inside. You might need to adjust the locknut slightly so it lines up with the keyway. Once it's aligned, just slip the key in with your fingers. Now check again just to make sure there's no play in that bearing.
  7. Next is your large thrust washer. One side has a defined outlined around each needle bearing, this side goes towards the inside. Grease it up and slip it on, then slip on the large flat washer.
  8. Next up we have the locking cam. You'll notice it'll have a small ear on the inside of the cam. This lines up with the cavity that we previously slipped the key into. Grease up the cam and slip it over the axle shaft. It won't go on all the way easily, so you'll have to use a socket large enough to fit on the inner ring of the cam. Make sure the ear on the cam is lined up with the cavity, set the socket on it, and give it a few good taps with the sledge. It'll probably take you a few times to get it lined up just right.
  9. Now get your small thrust bearing, grease it up, and slip it on (again, with the side with the defined outline around the needle bearing going towards the inside). Now slip the flat washer on.
  10. Next, slip on the splined washer.
  11. You might notice you can't see the groove in the axle shaft that the snap ring slips into. Basically what happened is the axle can move inwards slightly and it did just that. Grab the channel locks and slip a rag around the splines. Be gentle and grip the axle shaft with the channel locks and pull towards you. You'll see the axle shaft move outwards slightly, revealing the groove.
  12. Now take your snap ring and get it sit to be pushed on. Use the channel locks, with a rag still around the splines, and squeeze the snap ring onto the axle shaft.
  13. Next grab your locking hub and pack some grease into it. Don't pack it too tight though, it can keep the 4WD from being able to engage properly. If you have that o-ring we talked about earlier, go ahead and put a little grease on it and slip it back into the groove on the hub. Slide the hub over the axle shaft. You might to try this a few times, each time orienting the hub differently relative to the axle. If you don't have an o-ring, take some gasket maker and put a bead all the around where the o-ring would go (make sure there isn't any grease or moisture in the groove first or it won't seal properly), then slide it on.
  14. Now you can slide your wheel back on (careful not to move the hub cover or you could mess up the gasket maker or o-ring) and hand tighten the lug nuts (you'll wanna let the gasket maker cure for about an hour or so before you torque the lug nuts down).
  15. Now you're all done... with that one side. You get to do it all over again on the other side!
 

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