9" ford axles

I picked up a 9" ford from a guy this weekend. I don't have the gears yet, but it has axles and drums. I was trying to get the axles out tonight, so I took the four bolts off the retainer and it loosened up the backing plate. I can't get the axles to pull out though. I've heard you can take off the drum and flip it around and use it to get a good grip on the axle to pull with, only I don't have the drums. I tried putting my feet up against the backing plates and pulling on the axle flange, but I just can't get enough force on it.
Does anyone know any little tricks to get those things out without the drums?

Use a slide-hammer if you have one or can borrow one. If not, use a pry bar to put tension (outward) on the axle while rapping on the side of the flange with a brass hammer. If it's been in there for a number of years it may be a little stubborn, but it should break loose without too much of a struggle.

The problem is that the bearings are a pretty tight fit in the housing. You won't be able to pull them out. If you could, the bearings would spin, and that's not a good result. They have to be pulled or knocked out.

I have put about a 3' length of chain through one of the bolt access holes, and joined the two ends of the chain with a sturdy bolt. Then, I put a crowbar inside the chain loop with a lot of slack in the chain. Then, I swing the crowbar like a hammer to shock the chain. It acts like a poor-boy slide hammer.

If you can get at the axle flanges, you can whack them from behind. Just don't use a tempered steel hammer. Something like a three-pound maul works ok.

You can probably also get a slide hammer from Autozone. They will loan it to you for no charge. You pay a deposit up front, then get it all back when you return it.

Have used the same method as Henry many times. My chain has the end links large enough to go over the wheel studs and then I just run down a couple lug nuts. Either way the concept is the same. Everyone has several lengths of chain hangin' 'round the garage don't they?:D

Thanks, I'll try that tonight.
Yeah, I wanted to just bang the inside end of the axle, but in order to do that I needed to get at least one of them out first. But I couldn't, I'll have to try the chain thing.
Thanks

One more thing, I noticed that there are no seals or anything on the inside (close to spline end) of the axles. Does gear oil fill the entire axle casing all the way out to the bearings? Maybe once I get the gear assembly I'll see how it all works.

I use a longer length of chain, stand back and whip it.

No seals at the spline end. Lubricant is free to splash the bearings in turns which keeps them oild up. The old ones anyway. Most replacement bearings sold today are sealed.

Seals . . . brings up a question. With sealed bearings, do we even need the tap-in rubber seals that we always put in the 9" Fords right behind the bearing? The bearings are press-fit on the axles, and a tight fit in the housing. Logic tells me no, but I've always put them in.

Tiny spots on the floor . . . .

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Originally posted by Henry Rifle
Tiny spots on the floor . . . .

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:HMMM: Sounds like the title for a song>;)

if the axles don't have those C clips inside the diff.
then the retaining plate that bolts to the backing plate
is supposed to hold the axle in. I see how it holds the backing
plate and axle bearing in place, but what is preventing the axle from pulling out and leaving the bearing behind?

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Originally posted by tcodi
.....but what is preventing the axle from pulling out and leaving the bearing behind?

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I can hear Kenny Rogers singing now......" You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel.....":rolleyes:

The same retainer holds it all together. The bearing is a press fit and holds the axle in.

The bearing is pressed onto the axle. When the axle comes out, the bearing comes with it.

Pat

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. . . what is preventing the axle from pulling out and leaving the bearing behind?

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. . . try pulling a bearing off of the axle, and the reason becomes obvious . . .;) Sorry, couldn't resist. It takes about a 5 ton press to get the bearings on the axle to start with, so they're not going to let the axle slip out.

Actually, the Ford method is superior to the c-clip GM method in my opinion. If a GM axle breaks, the whole thing can come out, and you end up with a 3-wheeler. If a Ford axle breaks, it still ruins your day . . . but without the crash, fire, death and destruction.

oh, I was just about to ask if that press fit is the only thing holding the axle in. I didn't know it was THAT tight.
I guess I'll have to take those things to a shop to have some
new bearings pressed on.
Thanks everyone, now I'm pretty clear on this thing.

got them out last night, the chain thing worked perfectly.
Now after I get new bearings pressed on, do I just tap the axles back in to those seats with a hammer, or should I pull them on with the retaining plate?
Also, after pulling them out, left inside the housing was a seal with a rubber lip around it. The rubber didn't seem torn up or anything, can I just leave that in or does it have to get replaced too?
On a different note, has anyone ever used "mother's polish" to polish up a cast aluminum intake. I tried some and it didn't seem to work very well. I didn't use a towel, I used a shirt, does that make a difference?

I usually just tap them in. If you make sure the axle end housing is clean they should "slide" in fairly easy, just mild resistance. Using the retainer to pull it in wouldn't be too bad for the last fraction, but if there's any significant resistance (burr, dirt, rocks, birds, little children, in the way) you don't want to force it and bend the retainer.

Mother's is a very good polish, so for aluminum that's already smooth and has been polished before it should work great. If the manifold is particularly dull or dirty it could take a lot of hand work to bring it back. Personally I prefer using a terry towel because you get more surface area and there are "nooks and crannies" for the waste paste to accumulate and still leave soft material to buff with, but have used the t shirt thing too with good results on anything that just needed a light polish.

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. . . can I just leave that in or does it have to get replaced too?

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The truth about seals is that the ones that look good aren't. The first corollary to that truth is that the one seal you don't replace will be the first one to leak. Seals are cheap. Replace 'em.