NOOB Installs Axle Shafts

ScottofKSU

ScottofKSU

Caught the Bug
I am currently reassembling some D44 axles that I rebuilt and upgraded. I am trying to get the passenger (long) axle shaft installed and am wondering how I know if I got it all the way in... The outer seal gives the appearance that it is all the way in, but turning the shaft does not rotate the pinion flange and rotating the pinion flange does not spin the shaft. Is it not fully in? I did make sure no spacer ring was still in the tube. I DO have a new spacer flange/axle index ring on the shaft as I try not to bugger up the inner seal. What am I missing?

Thanks!

Scott
 
Is it safe to assume you have your axle in the air? As in, the opposite side doesn't have a tire sitting on the ground?
 
wayoflife said:
Is it safe to assume you have your axle in the air? As in, the opposite side doesn't have a tire sitting on the ground?
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ScottofKSU said:
Correct! Axles are on stands in my garage. The other side is completely disassembled.
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Put both axles in. Then make sure the other one is prevented from spinning, then try your test again. While differential is in 'open' mode, if one wheel is secured in a way where it won't spin, if you rotate the pinion yoke, the other 'free' axle should spin. And vice versa. This will tell you if your splines are actually engaged inside of the carrier/locker.
 
WJCO said:
Put both axles in. Then make sure the other one is prevented from spinning, then try your test again. While differential is in 'open' mode, if one wheel is secured in a way where it won't spin, if you rotate the pinion yoke, the other 'free' axle should spin. And vice versa. This will tell you if your splines are actually engaged inside of the carrier/locker.
Click to expand...
What he said ^^^^
 
Finally circling back to this thread - sorry, life got hectic! I wanted to share my appreciation for your responses and to close out the thread with an update for future readers that this guidance was absolutely 100% correct!

I started installing the axles last Friday and am nearly done! I netted nearly 4 inches of lift from the 2.5" Terraflex springs I installed! We will see how much they settle. Wrestling the new axles in to place and adjusting the pinion and pinion/caster angles has made every major muscle group in my body hurt! LOL
Of course we started seeing summer temps as soon as I decided to install the axles. Despite the heat we have had during my install, I was able to get the new front axle in over the course of about 8 ours and the rear only took around 4! I did take time while no axles were under the Jeep to paint rusting areas and to run extended vent lines and the electrical wiring for the lockers, and this is in addition to the time it took to install the axles. The best of the great things that have come out of this effort was when my wife said, "Now your 33's look to small. I think it is time to upgrade to larger tires." Uh... OK! LOL
This is the first time my wife has ever suggested I should buy something for a Jeep she calls "Side Chick"!
 
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