Replacing walking spindle nuts

[heviarti]

About october my '70 F100 spat out a left hand lock hub. It turns out that the spindle nut assembly that is supplied stock sucks. The center component that engages the keyway is manufactured to such sloppy tolerances that it can rotate into the threads. It also does not help that the K.D. four wheel drive spindle nut socket is not very tight either.

I've decided that I'm replacing them with the Stage 8 X lock. One failure due to faulty design and manufacturing is enough.

Problem is there are two front drive axles supplied on the '70 F100, and there isn't a convenient vehicle information plate like on my Dodges to tell me which axle is supplied on mine. Any tag on the axle.... well, let's just say there isn't anything hangy left under a 4WD pickup in this part of the world for long.

Anyway, before I can buy the Stage 8 I need to know which axle I have, and they couldn't tell me anything. Anyone know what the two axles were and how to tell them apart? I'm getting sick of going in every other week to reset my wheel bearings.

This next one may belong in brakes and steering, but since this part was probably only supplied on 4X4 models I'll pose it here:

The TRW 24JC06 steering box that came on the 4X4 F100 has a sort of a cup/u-joint sliding dealie connecting it to the steering shaft. There's a rubber boot to keep the shmutz out of it. Can you still get that boot?

[averagef250]

Never had an issue with a spindle nut. don't take this wrong, but are you installing them correctly? The spindle threads need to be DRY, the nuts need to be DRY and the second nut needs to be torqued pretty darn good. I always use my impact with the socket to run them down hard.

You have the light duty dana 44.

[fordman]

the door data plate has the axle code on it. you just need to decode it on the decode page for your year of truck.

[heviarti]

Don't matter what I do, the centerplate is too sloppy. If the tab would take up the whole keyway and was tight there'd be no prob.

But, I'll just install the X lock and be finished. If something is failure prone, I generally replace it with overkill, and forget the problem. I've got plenty of other issues to worry about.

[heviarti]

Had a min to take a look at the decode page. the only trans/axle code is 'A 09' which tells me I have 3.70 ratio... but no dice on the front axle. I know the half ton was available with a dana 44, and something that's not a 44. Is there some test, measurement, or feature I can identify to know for sure it's the 44 or not?

[averagef250]

if it's a 1/2 ton it's a 44. There was no other axle used under a 1/2 ton ford until 1997. It is 100% no doubt a 44. If that isn't enough for you take a good look at it. The center part will have 44 cast into it all over the place.

[cep62]

Don't matter what I do, the centerplate is too sloppy. If the tab would take up the whole keyway and was tight there'd be no prob.

You can buy new ones for about $5 at Carquest.

[averagef250]

I've put a few miles on ford 4x4's. All 3/4 and 1 tons, but the 3/4 tons with 44's use the same spindle nuts. I've never had this problem, I've never had any issue with front wheel bearings in several hundred thousand miles on them. The OEM locking nuts work great for me. I have good sockets to take them off and install them, I install them dry and I run them down hard with the impact.

[heviarti]

The door tag on my PW lists the front axle as a Dana 44, however it bears little or no resemblance to what's in my Ford. Spindle locks are WAAAAY beastier. Heck, the spindle is bigger too. I've bought parts for my Ford before and called Stage 8, and for 1970 theirs and Napa's books list another axle. Dana 35 maybe is what they said.

Why would I buy another part manufactured to the same specs if the fact is that it was a failure due to shoddy specs? It's a stamping with too much play. want more milled components.

Yeah, the X lock is expensive. I think some peace of mind is worth $. I'd like a unilite too... but that ain't gonna keep me from spitting out a lockhub.

[averagef250]

Not much of a metalworker eh? I have friends that are jobshop R&D sheetmetal guys. They work in the tenths on every part. That's .0001" in laymans terms. A punched part is not inferior to a milled part, in many ways it's superior in certain applications.

I think the big problem here is your PERCEPTION of the anti-rotation washer is it's poorly made because it's punched, the REALITY is the part is perfect quality and works fine for everyone but you.

Me? I want some slop in the little tang on that anti-rotation washer the slop is what allows me to get the darn thing out of the hole!

Also, very curious here, even with slop in the washer key, how in the heck does that effect the nuts loosening? Do you have the washer that you have to actually bend the tangs up into slots in the nuts or are the washers the normel style that lock into the alignment pins pressed into the inner nut face?

[heviarti]

Between the difference in the diameter between the spindle and the lock plate (approximately the same as the depth of the threads on all sides) and the tab being at least 1/32nd shy of the keyway size on three sides and ROUNDED on the shoulder... well let's say I found both of them an eighth of a turn CCW on the threads. after they do that, then the outside left nut accepts motion from the wheel. it loosens. Your lock hub flies out. I've heard of the exact same thing happening to three people I know. Way too much margin for failure.

I wisht they'd have had Selectros available for my Ford instead of the Warn premiums I installed. The instructions for those hubs also spoke of another axle that required something, I forget what.

[jeepermc]

Sorry man...Gotta agree with Dustin on this one....The parts store replacements leave alot to be desired to me but the factory parts have never let me down...Also never heard of anything other than a 44 in a 1/2 ton....You're obviously convinced you are right and we are not...so do what you need to do and get it fixed to your liking. The rest of us won't lose sleep over the factory stuff...

[averagef250]

Warns are junk, selectros aren't much better. The OEM Ford lockouts are the best you can buy, they are steel, not potmetal junk.

[heviarti]

Well, the Warns were all NAPA had in stock. I've got Selectros on my PW and love them. I did rebuild the step rings in mine... I replaced them with hand made units. The factory used some kind of cast dookie; I opted for bushing bronze. I also made the wall heavier.

I kinda thought the OEM hubs looked a little chintzy myself. The twist knobs in the OEM unit were plastic and the caps were die-cast. The Selectro is cast, but there aren't hollows in it. Then again, my Selectros are very old.

I'd like a lockhub made of milled material, but nobody seems to make one.

I called stage 8 today and got measurements. If I can't find out what axle I have, I can measure against the part I am wanting to see if it'll fit

[Doug Comer]

Can you post a picture of it?