[243]

I thought the inner axle seal installation would be easy and put a tool together similar to what was shown in the FSM, basically an internal press. One seal seated ok but the other would not go in straight. I fought with it for an hour until I finally knocked it out and used the die grinder to chamfer the leading edge and to clean up the burrs from the initial attempt.

It did not go in any better so I used a long piece of threaded rod and tried to pull it into place. That worked a little better but it still was not seated properly. After another half hour I finally went to my old standby...a BFH, the biggest that would fit in the case and got it seated.






Once I had the seals in place I cleaned up the differential bearing caps, greased the bearing and installed the differential.




I hope to start on the ball joints and axle shaft u-joints tomorrow. If there is time left in day I will clean up the case and the brake backing plates and brackets.

[blownsvtlightni]

awesome build going on here.. will be keeping an eye on this thread... couple of questions, what would you say a stripped frame weighs? how about the tub?

[243]

Maybe 200 lbs on frame, I can move it around pretty easily myself and pick up one end a time without a problem.

[blownsvtlightni]

Originally Posted by 243

Maybe 200 lbs on frame, I can move it around pretty easily myself and pick up one end a time without a problem.

Thanks for the reply.. wanting to see how hard it will be to get it to the powder coater. does not sound bad

[bbjsw10]

Great build. Looking good. Wish my YJ was that clean to start with.

[kauffballs]

Very cool. keep it up as some of us are getting a bit inspired to get out of the chair and show our jeep some Love.

[243]

Thanks for the good words

[AustinTexasXJ]

Hey man awesome build!

where in central texas are you?

[243]

I got up this morning with the intention of installing the ball joints today.

Before I started I needed to torque the pinion. I set the pinion rotation at 20 in-lbs but needed the breaker bar to get it tight. I thought it was strange that I could not get it any higher and went in to read the FSM again. On the D30 it states to replace the pinion seal and tighten the gland nut to 250 ft-lbs and says nothing about rotation torque. My 3/8” torque wrench is 100 ft-lbs max so I will have to borrow a ½” ft-lb torque wrench and re-torque it.

I spent some time cleaning up and getting part numbers for a run to the Zone. Before I left I took a few minutes to knock a lower ball joint out of one knuckle with the mini sledge. It was not that hard but I wanted to see how difficult the day would be.

I found the inner spindle seal part number on the Zone's website that I was told was a non-stock item so I headed to the parts house and while I was there I bought ball joints and rented the ball joint press. I used the same press on my Dodge D60 and I do remember it being a tough job but I did it in a weekend.

I got home and pressed the last three ball joints out in about fifteen minutes.









I took a brass drift and knocked the hub bolts out of both knuckles and wire wheeled them clean.




I tried to seat a ball joint but my twenty year old Craftsman impact was too weak so I cobbled up some junk to hold the knuckle and used a breaker bar and finished seating the first lower ball joint.




I moved on to upper ball joint and the knuckled kept slipping around so I decided I would try the shop press using the fittings in the ball joint press kit. I loaded up and headed to my Uncle’s to use the shop press and it took about five minutes to seat all three. If I had more time I would have made a fixture to hold the knuckle and have no doubt the ball joint press and breaker bar would have worked.

I washed them down with wax and grease remover and sprayed two coats of flat black on the inside of the knuckle knowing I would not get enough primer or paint in there after it was together.




Once I started to install the knuckles I noticed the nuts and rubber cups for the lower joints did not match. I had to return the press so I headed back to the Zone to find out why the parts where different. While I was there I replaced the battery in the Nissan under warranty since it was going dead frequently.

I bought a sacrificial 19mm socket I could grind down to fit the split seat. After I modified the socket I realized I need a deep socket so I will have to re-torque the split seats later. I used a hammer and punch to tighten them.








I sprayed WD-40 lubricant in the housing to prevent rust while the D30 sits. I sprayed the cover gasket with Permatex red gasket sealer and installed the cover. I had the pinion tilted down but when I installed the cover I moved my screwdriver to level the housing. After I got back from the garage with the ½ socket I saw oil all over the table. The WD-40 was leaking out and all over the gasket I had just sprayed with gasket sealer. Of course, if it’s going to leak that is the exact spot, so I pulled the cover and luckily brake cleaner cleaned up the gasket and I reinstalled it.







I get pissed when I have to do things twice…

I still had a few hours before I needed to go pick up my daughters so I grabbed the grinder and started cleaning the housing. It took another hour or so but I still had time to shoot primer so I moved it out of view of my neighbor and washed it down with wax and grease remover twice.




I shot two coats of epoxy primer and had just enough leftover to spray the Alloy India axle flanges that I did not think to paint when I sprayed the AMC 20. It was a long weekend but I finished everything as planned. Unfortunately, I am out of the satin black and I won’t receive it until after Thanksgiving. I should have the D30 back in frame pretty soon, maybe the weekend after the holiday.

[Onion22]

looks sweet....suscribed

[JaySch]

Dude, pass the popcorn! This is a great thread! I'm about to do a frame off restoration and build myself and there is a ton of great info here. Thanks for sharing your progress with us.

[Renegade86]

Originally Posted by JaySch

Dude, pass the popcorn! This is a great thread! I'm about to do a frame off restoration and build myself and there is a ton of great info here. Thanks for sharing your progress with us.

Agree. With all the forensic pics and illustrations, this thread reads like a Haynes or Chilton rebuild and restoration manual. Top notch work 243! Maybe I can hire you to do a tear down and rebuild on mine someday!

[Exposed]

Looking great Dave..... It is kind of like a flashback about 6 months when I did the same.... Great work and good write up of all the stuff needed to do the job right......

[243]

Thanks everyone, I hope the thread helps someone down the road with their own project.

I take tons of pictures while doing mechanical work, I use the manuals when available but I am more of a hands on person than a technical manual reader. Manual's are confusing really, so I take the pictures to get me out of trouble and I tend to forget things after only a few minutes. I am also an amateur photographer so it's natural to want to take pictures all the time, I think I have taken over 15,000 pictures since 2003.

A lot of these projects are the first time I have attempted them, if anyone notices a mistake holler, so I can make corrections before it's too late.

Exposed...this is ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!

I hope I don't find a good deal on a 5.0 before the 258 is finished, I might get another wild hair

[243]

Thinking back to the seal installation, this setup might have worked with 7/16" or 1/2" threaded rod and metal washers instead of the plastic washers included in the kit. My cheapo's were distorting or cracking when I cranked on the couplers. I would however, suggest using a long piece of threaded rod and pulling the seal into place from the axle yoke since there is more room to work outside of the case.