Willys CJ2A Dana 25 Front End Rebuild What "NOT" To Do

Another bad axle assembly. Today I get into the front end, a Dana 25 that came in with the model 41 from yesterday. More bad parts and poor work, make for a mess inside the case. Keep following along and eventually everything will get back together correctly.

[@sdxtech]

You mentioned the right way to install free wheel hubs. Do you have a video? I am also working on a Dana 25. Thanks for the videos

[@mikeashford9240]

Thank you I am working on my Willys 1946 JC 2A and you video is a lot of help ...

[@ruebencover5795]

The videos are very useful please keep them coming. Is it possible to make a video on how to rebuild leaf springs and in stall them properly. If you could that would great

[@markman2626]

Hi, I recently had my front Dana 25 axles and rear Dana 44 axles rebuilt at a local tranny shop. Not being used to working on closed knuckle front axles, they omitted to install the kingpin shims during reassembly thinking they needed to be installed when trying to correct camber during a future alignment, (I know, camber is preset at the factory). I see from my WIllys shop manual that the proper shim packs are determined by placing a spring scale on the eye of the steering hole and getting a reading of between 12 and 16 pounds. Is there a way to determine the approximate force required to move the front knuckle with the seals in and axle shaft connected? I have locking front hubs, so I can unlock the front axle if that makes a difference. I have a `54 CJ3B, is it safe to assume that the knuckle was changed by 1965 so that no shims are required under the lower king pin bearing cap?

[@georgetardif8905]

New Jeep CJ2A 1946 owner...I would like buy some of your lube for knuckle joints? and a does CJ2A have a flanged spindle joint bushing for the U-Joint?...shaft has threads on it but has about a half inch of play in and out

[@jimmymckay73]

love your videos but please get some better lighting it will make the camera so much happier.

[@robertmanzo5122]

Hi Brian, How do I go about getting some knuckle lube from you? I am in the process of rebuilding my Dana 25 and want to be able to have proper lube so I can hit the road as soon as possible. Thank you in advance.

[@metalshaperJeep]

contact me directly at [e-mail]

[@flight2k5]

What causes the slop? Is it bad ring and pinion or bearings?

[@tonyvelde2082]

I have a Dana closed knuckle. can you just pull the axle out.or do I have to go inside?it's a 44 closed knuckle never had one tore down.

[@metalshaperJeep]

it will pull out just like the one in the video. There isn't anything inside like a "C" clip.

[@tonyvelde2082]

Thank you for the information

[@ericmclane9776]

Whay type of oil do you recommend in the differentials?

[@metalshaperJeep]

I have the correct lube. contact me and I can send you a list. [e-mail]

[@michaelhead900]

Brian hope all is well in you neck of the woods. I ran into some rusted ring and pinion on my Dana 44 with 43-8 and i have another jeep for parts but it has different gear ratio. my front end is a Dana 25 with 43-8 my parts jeep has a 44 with 47-11 and a 27 with a 47-11. i like the looks of the earlier Cj5 front and rear ends. My question is can i use the 27 parts in the 25??

[@metalshaperJeep]

What are you going to run the 5.38 or 4.27 gears? The 27 stuff won't work in the 25 case so use the entire axle or find another 25.

[@michaelhead900]

Brian Thanks for the info. My choice is to put the 27 with 4.27 and the matching 44 if you had a choice which one of the fronts would you use? both need gone through but 44 5.38 would need new ring and pinion. The 25 seams to be a little heavier built.

[@randyhughes5160]

To rebuild my rear I figure about 800.00 and the water locked the bearings and turned the races what is a good way to check if that will torque correct

[@metalshaperJeep]

Pull everything apart, clean it good. Install new bearings properly and re set up your ring and pinion. Don't take any short cuts or you will run into trouble. Fix it right and fix it once!!

[@garywheeler2055]

How can you tell which ones are Dana 25.?

[@SuperExperiment626]

it is stamped 25 in the housing near the flanges. will have to look around the differential housing for metal stamped case

[@garywheeler2055]

@@SuperExperiment626 thank you. New to all this

[@jimhoran5445]

What would you recommend for paint on the axle?? Por 15?

[@metalshaperJeep]

I don't ever use POR 15, it is not a good product. Best way to paint the axles, frame, etc... is to clean to bare metal, sanding, sandblasting etc..... Then use a high quality epoxy primer. On top of that a couple coats of a urethane base black paint. That will give you professional looking parts that will last a long time.

[@jimhoran5445]

@@metalshaperJeep Thank you Sir!!

[@estpst]

what a mess

[@metalshaperJeep]

This front axle is junk. Just the housing is good, everything else headed for the scrap pile.

[@richardm.gramling1772]

This video got cut short, is there a prt 2?

[@metalshaperJeep]

Yes , part 2 is coming, maybe tomorrow I will get a bit more footage filmed. Hang in there, another axle will be here tomorrow and I will get into it and see what it looks like.

[@453421abcdefg12345]

Yet another one that Bubba worked his magic on ! Where are these people that cause such mayhem ? At one time in UK there were stacks of axles 6 ft high, as they broke up dead Jeeps they just piled them up to take up less space, no one thought they would be sought after one day, the same with split rim combat wheels, the worn tyre and wheel was just thrown in the land fill and a wheel with a good tyre fitted, I suppose this huge stock of parts encouraged people to treat the Jeep as a throw away vehicle, and we are now suffering the consequences.

[@metalshaperJeep]

This front axle was even worse than the rear. Amazing how people can damage things without even knowing. There used to be lots of parts here in the USA as well, but the government encouraged a huge scrap program a few years back and everybody came out and grabbed every old and new vehicle they could find and took them to the scrap yard. Nothing left for the next generation to work on or have for parts. The old vehicle hobby is getting weaker every year, and with electric cars coming on strong I can only imagine what is going to happen next.

[@453421abcdefg12345]

@@metalshaperJeep : I had not realised that you had the crackpot vehicle scrapping scheme over there, it is quite obvious to any thinking person that the main environmental damage is done when a vehicle is manufactured, the processing of metals, painting, and plastics creates huge amounts of environmental impact, the running of the vehicle over the 30 years of active use can do relatively little, and if we use a vehicle for only a few years, the impact of making a replacement cannot be written off over many miles of use, the mystery to me is that people think that an electric car is environmentally friendly ! Where do they think the electricity comes from? They obviously do not see that burning tons of oil, nuclear and other heat producing methods are harmful, most electric cars are only 50 mile things, so that restricts them to the school run ! Wind generators will never pay back the environmental damage they cause in manufacture.