Posted by Moby on February 03, 1999 at 07:54:03:
My worst nightmares came true yesterday. I pulled apart the knuckle on the left side and it looks as if a grenade went off in there! The inside of trunion is badly gouged and the lower pin( that holds the bearing) seems to be cracked where it is welded to the trunion. The upper and lower knuckle halves are gouged as well. The outer axle shaft and the 2 joint peices look fine though, leading me to belive that they were replaced. The inner axle shaft however is slightly bungered up so that the u-joint half will not lock in place. It will work as advertised as far as driving is concerned though. What to do ? Any ideas on the subject? Keeping in mind I have a complete M-37 front end. Can I cut the weld that keeps the trunion in the axle housing and replace it with the one from the M-37? Is it important for the u-joint to lock on the inner shaft on it's axial plane? How do I remove the lower bearing from the trunion pin? (probably with the use of some type of puller) Can the loose trunion pin be re-welded to the housing where it's cracked? HELP!!