REBUILD OF HP44:
Since I am running 1990 V2500 Chevy outers on my Ford HP44, I needed to swap the outer stub shafts as well, since the Chevy shafts are a hair longer. In doing so, I had to press out the old axle UJoints, so I replaced them with lifetime warranty joints. (The Ford 44 and the Chevy 10b/44 use the same UJoint.)
There are many ways to press out the joint, I used a bench press to hold the shaft, while using a hammer to loosen them. You will need to remove the inner clips holding the joints in, then hammer out the caps. Hard to explain in text, but can get pics/video if more detail is wanted or needed.
Then using the Ford inner shafts and the Chevy outers, I started the rebuild of the axle. It goes in reverse of the breakdown, and I recommend cleaning/repacking the bearings and replacing the stub shaft seal and inner hub seal. Both cost under 10$ a piece.
(Before and after cleaning. I SEVERELY recommend Purple Power. It is some amazing stuff.)
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Then, using a grease packer, or the old fashioned palm full of grease method, repack the bearings with new fresh grease. (Definitely a forearm workout for the latter.)
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You will have had to pop out the inner hub seal to remove the inner wheel bearing, so replace it with a new one. A simple pry bar will pop out the seal, then pull out the inner bearing and do the same as the outer. Clean, and repack.
While open, scoop out all the old grease, and repack the inside of the hub as well. This is what it looks like with the seal popped out, and bearing removed.
(This is the old grease)
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After putting the axle back together, I sized up my wheels to check for the clearance. As I feared, I will still have to grind a little off the back of the caliper. But, my brakes should stay nice and cool!
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About 1/8" will need ground off the caliper between these white lines for my 15" rims to clear.
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Then sized up the Ford tie rod, and realized that the rod ends are a completely different taper for the Waggy/Chevy knuckles. Going to be building a custom tie rod to answer that problem, using some DOM tubing, and rod ends to match the knuckle taper.
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And at that point, it was time to go back to work thanks to the snow that just hit. Will continue the build shortly.
