Sanity Check, D44 Full Floater

I don't think my axle had an inner axle seal. My axle had PLENTY of oil at the spindle though.

The fee for turning the axles down to a 1.290" constant until the 1.220" dimension is $100.  They don't like to do it and charge appropriately.  They recommend a minimum of .025" of radial clearance between the axle shaft and the spindle.  Which shouldn't be a problem since the portion of the axle within the spindle would be 1.220".

On a side note, they also used to bore D44 spindles out to pass a 30-spline axle.  They don't anymore.  This seems to be a theme.  Vague about why they don't anymore.  You don't know what you don't know and what I don't know about why large bore D30/44 spindles are no longer on the market makes me uneasy.  Could be lack of demand.  That's cool.  Could also be they broke and represent a undue risk or liability.  That's uncool.  They put D44s in some pretty big vehicles compared to our puny Willys.  Metcalf's data set of 1 says they don't break and he wheels his rig way harder than I ever will mine.  I think it'd be fine.

The reason I didn't draw mine around the SET47 outer bearing is the same as Metcalf brought up.  I was concerned with bearing overhang between the 1.781 bearing surface and the 1.625x16 thread and packaging it all inside the D30 hub.   I had some mild concern that could also put a bending moment on the washer & nuts that maintains bearing preload and keep the hub in place in side load conditions.  But I had also noted that the Dana 35 spindle I referenced earlier uses that design element and they use the same spindle nut kit as the D30/44s so I got over it.  I think dual SET47s would be dandy and may address issues listed in the previous paragraph.

All that said, I'm going to set this aside until my new hubs come in.  There is no appreciable difference between the D44 hubs on my 1970 J4000 Gladiator (3/4-ton) truck and the Dana 30 hubs.  Same Crown part number too: S437

So the D44 on my CJ3A has axle seals just outboard of the differential carrier bearings.  They keep the gear oil in the pumpkin and out of the axle tubes.  The outer axle bearings are greased and have a zerk fitting just inside the flange.  The axle tubes are presumably supposed to be dry.  Mine was filled 70-years of sludge, mud, rust, and broken promises.

You know what?  I haven't either, not even on the one I have.  I went back down and looked at it and you're right.  I was thinking about the oil seal behind the outboard axle bearing.  Probably confused it in my pea brain because I knocked the short side out using an aluminum bar I inserted into the carrier housing.  Thanks for the catch.

Sketch of a substitute.  Run fast and easy on a lathe with live tooling.  Mill the ID profile otherwise.

No shame in that.  I can't speak for Jpet but I have done some of my best work on napkins.  Everybody these days are all about ProE and Solidworks and all that, and while I have those tools, if I don't have to go beyond pen & paper, I don't.  I use Solidworks for assemblies and Mastercam for more complex stuff I'm going to CNC, but for simple stuff, I'd just program it at the control or run it by hand.

My Dad was a machinist for over 50-years and as a kid if I couldn't make something from one of his sketches, he'd bat me upside the head and say something along the lines of, "Do you want to go to art school or be a machinist?  Go make parts!"  Usually followed by, "If I got to do it, what do I need you for?"

He's been dead a long time now and I still laugh about that stuff.  I keep his picture on his old toolbox by the lathe so he can look over my shoulder.  I hear him talking to me all the time.