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FLU 419 Front Axle/driveshaft locked up

Muellerter

New member
6
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Location
Augusta GA
I thought it may help someone else to start a thread regarding a recent problem I had where the front axle refused to turn which left me stuck in a field. The truck wouldn't move in forward or reverse or any gear combination. This was preceded by a couple episodes of a "catching" or "slipping" sensation while driving. When I raised the front axle and tried to spin the front wheels, the wheels would spin in opposite directions, but not both in the same direction, telling me that the driveshaft was somehow jammed. The rear axle had no problems. When I asked Scott at Expedition Imports if the U-joints ever fail in this manner, he told me that sometimes the driveshaft mounting bolts at the transmission flange could back out if the lock tabs hadn't been installed correctly.

Sure enough, after removing the lower half of the clamshell torque tube collar, I could see the flange was loose and a shower of greasy metal bits came out and I could finally get it to move enough to drive home for repairs. Not only were the locking tabs not installed correctly, but they hadn't even been installed.

I simultaneously had noted a new oil leak which appeared to be coming from the dust boot and assumed the metal bits had destroyed the output seal at the transmission. After separating the torque tube/axle enough to get the driveshaft out, I found no oil in the boot or leaks from the output seal. I did however find a missing 12mm bolt at the lowest hole of the adjacent transmission side inspection cover which wasn't visible with the torque tube in place. This hole went clear into the transmission and requires a sealing washer. Thank goodness for an easy fix! :grin:

The driveshaft yoke had taken a pretty good beating while shredding the bolts and likewise damaged a couple of the U-joint caps which necessitated changing the U-joint. I was able to clean up the yoke and install the U-joint without a problem using the 1.5mm spring clips. (different thicknesses are available) The mounting flange on the transmission was also a bit scarred up but cleaned up fine. all six bolt holes had to be chased with a 10mm x1.0 tap leaving good usable threads. test mounting the driveshaft outside the torque tube gave a good solid fit.

I've stalled on the re-install in trying to figure out how to get the original dust boot(replacement) to stretch over the torque tube "ball" I didn't think to get the split boot when ordering parts and hope that someone can share their tricks to get this installed as opposed to spending another $80+ on a second boot. I don't anticipate any other big problems on the rest of the re-install.

If anyone is wondering, I used the loader to raise the front axle about 1" off the ground. I was able to get enough clearance by unbolting the axle springs/sway bar/panhard rod/ and lower shock mounts. I was able to leave the brake lines and other tubing etc attached and used a come-along attached to the bucket to slowly pull the axle forward about 3-4 inches and lowered the torque tube with a floor jack enough to remove the driveshaft.

Again, please let me know if you have a trick to stretch the boot over the torque tube. - Thanks
 
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