Replacement Axle Assemblies from SurTrack.....

[LittleBeast]

Oh whoops, yeah if you have inspected the green cup and made sure it is in fact damaged then yes you need to drop the diff, because the plates that mount the diff to the frame are used to hold the green cups in the diff. But still many of us (me included) have done this in our garages or driveways. As stated before it is just messy and time consuming.

[MSHardeman]

Ryan, thanks for the heads up. So it sounds like you don't actually have to get into the center pumpkin (diff) to get the whole axle assembly out. I've got no problem taking my time and getting dirty so this will be a "fun" weekend project.

[Marlin]

X2 on Ryan. Remember, you don't have to break the Pitman arm loose, you can wiggle it out. I think that was the hardest thing to do the first I time I pulled it down to do the locker. The second time I did it, when I did the diff drop brackets, much easier, leave the steering alone. You will have to lower one side, then turn the wheel to the other direction and voila, problem solved! Have fun, it isn't a terrible job except not messing up the wheel seals. I screwed mine up, didn't prelube them, now I have a tiny gear oil leak, but not eenough to make me take it apart...lol. I would recommend some gear oil stable RTV.

[MSHardeman]

OK, got the SurTrack axles have been delivered and are sitting in the garage ready to go. I have axle bearings and axle seals on order and they will hopefully get here in the next week, or so. I'll pick up some gear oil and additive (which I can't remember what it is called right now) to replace any that may leak out during the axle swap. I plan on re-packing my front bearings while I'm at it so I'll get a couple of tubes of grease and some new seals for those.

Is there anything that I am missing? Do I need any kind of special tool? I already have a seal puller and access to a press to get the new bearing on the new axles (if that is necessary). Just want to make sure that I have everything lined out an ready to go before I start pulling things off the VX.

Thanks y'all!!

[MSHardeman]

Chris, you mentioned that you do NOT have to remove the pitman arm, but you do need to wiggle it out of the way. HUH? I'm guessing that once the lower ball joint is disconnected from the lower A-arm and maybe once the axle is loosened from the housing that there will be enough room to move things around without disconnecting the pitman arm?

Also, what is the purpose of turning the wheels? Does that give you enough room to slip the axle out of the front hubs?

I'm sure that I'll figure this out as I go, but I like to get a complete picture in my head before I dive into anything like this.

I'll try to remember to take pictures as I go so that others will benefit.