Buying tools for Dynatrac and front end work... need advice.

[foolkiller]

I'm to do the dynatrac free spin kit soon and will do ball joints and CV joints at the same time.



has any one used the ball joint tool that Quad4x4 offers?? looks like the ticket.



is the hub tool for setting the spindle nut the same old hub tool i used on the dana 44 in my old bronco??



i don't know what size pickle fork to use either.



and any other advice is welcome...



jeff

 

[rbattelle]

Hub tool? I'm not sure what you mean on that. The axle nut is a 1-11/16" hex castle. Cotter pin is 1/8".

There are no CV joints in the front axles - they're universal joints.

I'm not sure what you need the pickle fork for... are you removing the tie rods?

Ryan

 

[MickeyMiller]

I had a Montana/California truck so the hubs wern't welded on like Ryan's... here is a list of what I used to install my Dyna Trac Hubs... I didn't change the ball joints, mine are/were still tight.

Here's a quick list of the items I used:

1. 1/2" ratchet and various extensions.

2. 18mm socket for the bearing bolts and caliper adaptor bolts.

3. 1/2" socket for the caliper bolts.

4. Pry bar or long screwdriver for removing the caliper.

5. Some sort of straps to secure the caliper to the truck while you work. I used a couple cargo tie-down straps and tied the caliper to the upper control arm.

6. 6-point 3/4"-drive 1-11/16" socket

7. 3/4" breake. r bar. The longest you can find

8. At least a 6" extension for the 3/4" breaker bar.

9. A 1/2-to-3/4 drive adaptor.

10. A 3/4-to-1/2 drive adaptor.

12. Sledge hammer

13. Short-handled sledge hammer you can find. Mine is 2. 5 lb.

14. A minimum 7-ton gear puller with minimum 11" spread. Prefer 3-jaw. [OTC 1038]

17. A propane torch to heat up the factory red Loctite.

18. (2) 1/8 X 2 inch cotter keys

19. Blue Loc Tite

20. Safe T Eze anti seize ($40/1lb can)

21. Acetone

22. Penetrating Oil

23. (2) Precision 464 U-Joints

24. 250 lb. Torque wrench

25. Spanner Socket OTC 7090-A or 7158

26. Dead blow hammer

27. Wheel bearing grease

 

[MickeyMiller]

BTW. . this list was assembled from Ryan's recomendations on his hub removal thread.

 

[foolkiller]

thanks fellas... good info.



pickle fork... to knock the knuckle off the ball joints.



hub tool... on the dana axles i've owned, there was a big socket that had teeth on the end of it to tighten the funny looking nut that holds the hub on the spindle. we called it a hub tool. it does look like a castle though.



i know the difference between a CV and u-joint but occasionally when one refers to u-joint folks sometimes automatically think drive shaft u-joint and give bad info.



use the term CV and folks think axles.



and of course some correct you.



and i may need to separate the tie rod anyway, i don't know.



j

 

[05mxdiesel]

You shouldn't need a pickle fork to seperate the knuckle from the bj's. I have done 2 trucks so far and both of them I had no problems until it came time to get the bottom bj out. I was only using the cheap harbor freight press which is fine for the guy who is only using it every now and then. I did not use any heat whatsoever and both tie rod ends just fell after taking the nut off of them. Make sure you have a 24mm wrench to tighten the top bj along with the correct allen key. Other than that anti seize everything and next time it will be cake especially since you won't be dealing with the unit bearing assemblies.

 

[05mxdiesel]

The 3 jaw gear puller is nice for seperating the hub assembly from the axle, as in the axle shaft.