ok sorry for the urgency but i came across a cop last night who has half of a duce and a half frame, front rockwell and tcase.

he only wants 100 bucks for it all but here is the problem....... ugh one side of the rockwell is sitting 3/4 up the drum in soft soil.

he said i can come by today and pull it apart and see if its good, its been sitting there for several years. one dust boot is intact (the one above grond) the other seems intact with a hole at the top... i stuck my finger in there to see what i could feel around and it was clean i stuck my finger into alot of grease... clean grease on top of it.

i know how to pull the hubs, but i dont know how to pull the spindles to get to the axle tube itself. i need to know if this thing has any water in it and if its gona be usable. if i pull the shafts i can yank the top loader off of it.

im also working with limited tools im about 300 miles from my tool box... does anyone know what tools exactly ill need and what size the spindle nut socket is? thanks guy i apretiate it.


DP

Hey, just take a hammer and chisel or an old flat head screw driver cause I doubt you are gunna have a socket that big to take those huge spindle nuts off. I just used a hammer and old flat head and they came off with some persuasion. Pretty simple set up, carry with you an assortment of standard sizes 1/2-1 inch sockets, 3/4 inch ratchet, breaker bar, hammer, flat head screw driver, maybe a pick, and you should be fine. Pull the plug on the bottom and see if there is any metal or water in the oil. The plug is magnetic so it should attract an metal that has cut loose.

Just take the thing home if part of it's toast you'll have spare parts anyway. :usa:

For $100 I would haul it home and check it out there. doen't look like you would have much to lose.

you need a 3" octagonal hub socket. they are available at any diesel parts store. i wouldn't mess with taking the hub a apart, though. Just pull the whole knuckle off. You will need to lift the axle up out of the ground to do this, though. I hope your friend has an engine hoist. To get the knuckle off, just remove the 4 9/16" bolts on top of the kingpin, then the 4 on the bottom. The knuckle will come off a lot easier than a 60, but with the spindle and hub/brakes it is VERY heavy, so get your friend to help.

Good Luck!

Well i got over there and pulled the axle apart. I was impressed for something sitting half underground for 9 years it was brand new inside. bearings had no wear on them and the grease was still packed in there tight and thick. the inside of the tubes were clean and the axle shafts were perdy. its not a ujoint syle but its still ok. i dont know what kind of tcase those things had i need to do some research but i bought it all. thanks for the help.