Opening and draining the differential gear lube is important. Before I took the cover off, I checked the fluid level. It was just below the fill hole, right where it should be. There are no apparent leaks at the cover, flange ends or pinion shaft. The gear lube showed no signs of contamination. A careful check of the ring and pinion gears showed no problems such as chipped teeth, unusual wear or cracked parts. (fig.4) The carrier bearings operated smoothly and had no play in them. Because the bearings and inner seals are in good condition all I will do to this axel is replace the outer seals, repack the wheel bearings and add the new larger brakes.

Figure Four

The front axel is a closed knuckle Spicer 25. It also has the original nine inch drum brakes that will be upgraded to disc brakes. For this swap I went to the salvage yard and got a complete axel from a CJ-7. This axel has the same 6 bolt pattern on the knuckle flange so the disc brake hardware is a bolt on. I will be using the original axel shaft, spindle and hub. The axle shafts here are a 10 spline Bendix design. These shafts were in good condition and work well in lower horsepower applications. Having a good supply of parts I opted to reuse the shafts. Figure Five Although the spindles from later jeeps will bolt up to these Spicer 25 knuckles, you must use the spindle that matches the axel. The spindle on this jeep uses a pressed in thrust bushing to allow the shaft to float slightly while the knuckle operates through its turning radius. Later spindles use a needle bearing of different diameter and will not work with these axles. One noticeable weakness on the Spicer 25 is the fact that the spindle bolts to the knuckle casting. Later jeep knuckles use pressed in studs to replace the bolts. I drilled out the threads on the knuckle and pressed in the stronger studs. The assembly was test fitted to make sure the stud heads did not interfere with the sweep of the knuckle. (fig.5)

Figure Six Figure Seven Figure Eight	All parts are cleaned for dirt, rust and old grease and are prepped for reassembly. The Bendix axel shaft, cleaned of all grease is placed in the axel tube for a photo op. (Fig.6) When the shaft is replaced it will be coated with grease to lubricate the inner seal, the joint packed in grease and the knuckle packed with grease. I will also replace the inner knuckle seal and wheel bearing seals. These wheel bearings are a high maintenance item. I plan to use this jeep off road and will inspect, clean and repack the wheel bearings a few times each season.
	Now that everything seems to fit I will begin final assembly. I greased the upper and lower knuckle bearings and replaced the bearing caps, shims and torque to spec using Loctite on the threads. I properly greased the Bendix shaft and using care not to damage the inner seal I set it in to the axel tube. I coated the spindle flange in black silicone and tapped in place. Next I placed the disc caliper mounting bracket on the spindle and with Loctite torque to spec. I also reused the wheel hub, replaced the lug nut studs and replaced the brake drum with a rotor. I did have to do some minor grinding to the inner knuckle seal flange so it would not interfere with the brake caliper. A new inner knuckle seal finishes the assembly. The finished product looks nice. (Fig. 7-8)

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