The "grease fitting" you have there is actually the place where the Vacuum line is attached if you had 4wd.

Some ball joints are sealed. I know that on mine they are not and they are filled from the bottom. I have a 4WD truck so there is a 90 degree grease fitting that is between the bottom of the ball joint and the axle.

If you don't have that fitting then I bet yours are non-greasable.

As far as your other question is concerned.. I don't know. I have a 4WD truck.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

The "grease fitting" you have there is actually the place where the Vacuum line is attached if you had 4wd.
Some ball joints are sealed. I know that on mine they are not and they are filled from the bottom. I have a 4WD truck so there is a 90 degree grease fitting that is between the bottom of the ball joint and the axle.
If you don't have that fitting then I bet yours are non-greasable.

Thanks on the fitting info - makes sense. All have an obvious fitting except that top one so I thought it was odd. I'll recheck but you're probably right and it's a sealed fitting

As far as your other question is concerned.. I don't know. I have a 4WD truck.

Mine's a 4WD

 

Yep. Though I think Ford uses the vacuum parts at the wheels just to keep it simple. I have no 4x4 dial or button inside. Just shift the diff and if the hubs aren't already locked, manually lock them.

 

The ball joint without the fitting is probably still the OE one. Why in gods name someone would change some of the joints is baffling. Although as I typed that, maybe their store only had another brand in stock for that position, so it was used.

It's been a long time since I had been into the front knuckles, but I believe it's not uncommon for those to blow apart on removal.

 

It would probably be best for me to first ID the axle but I'm unsure where to get the data to do that. Here's some hot pix of it:

Though only the passenger side hub was the issue, thought I'd look at the inside of the drivers side hub and lo and behold there's a rubber/plastic ring hanging loose there as well. (see quick video

).
And I'm not sure how that "front outer or inner or vacuum" seal comes off. If you look at this quick video

it seems it must come off at the wheel side since it can't get past the yoke of the u-joint. I'd rather get an idea of how it comes off before I start experimenting

it's not uncommon for those to blow apart on removal.

I definately won't be disassembling any more than I need to here so unless something goes very wrong, the knuckles are staying where they are. I just have to solve the mystery of the "seal"

 

dana 60 but you are at the cutoff
in 05 they changed some things when they went to coil called a Dana super 60 ( not to be confused with the widetrac )
so you have a dust seal on the axle shaft between the knuckle and axle C ( hula hoop seal , called this because it is always loose) and flipping around )the axle

and you have a unitized seal ( spins inside itself ) ( yours has seperated inside the knuckle on the hub side
you will need a driver to install that seal this is a vacuum seal but for you it will be just a dirt and water seal

this has more seals than your after but this is the type of kit u want

AXLE SEAL KIT - FITS FORD SUPERDUTY F250 F350 F450 F550 DANA 60 FRONT 99-04 | eBay

DANA/SPICER - AXLE SEAL KIT - COMPATIBLE WITH FORD SUPERDUTY F250 F350 DANA 50 60 FRONT 99-04 (& 05 EXCURSION) with LEAF SPRING FRONT SUSPENSION. KIT COMPONENTS MAY BE AUTOMATICALLY SUBSTITUTED. Video will open in a new window.

www.ebay.com

 

Reason 4389 to buy a 05 or newer if you want a 6.0 ....

@ZMANN thanks! yeah my "guess" was going to be the Dana 60. On the surface it appears so because of the year (2004), springs (leaf), and stub shaft splines (30 @ hub end) that it's likely to be a Dana 60. I'd love some way to be sure. Everything I've found is pretty non-official like this repost of some info someone found here:

Yes, 2004's changed mid year on a number of things (eg: my engine is an '03 and I have leaf springs). Not sure how to tell if it has "king pin style knuckles" or gear size (without pulling the cover).
Then again, I'm not 100% sure if "stub shaft splines" above refers to the end that goes to the tire or the end that sticks into the diff. Because the tire side is 30 (Dana 60) and the diff end is 35 (Dana Super 60). I found only one "good" image of an oem cover for these and it was for the super 60 and it looks exactly like my cover. Unable to find a cover pic for a plain Dana 60.

The kit you indicated looks like the deal but while I know where the large vacuum seal and the small o-ring go, I don't know where the two smaller seals go - is it possible mine have been missing? Images below.
And to pile on, upon pulling out the axle I find crap on it. I think it just picked up the crap from the (dirty) hole on it's way out - inside the axle hole you see tons of crap in there and drag-marks indicating the theory it was picked up on the way out. Does that need to be cleaned? And I'm not sure how I'll be able to re-insert it without taking some grit along for the ride - hard to be so steady as to hold it completely level for the whole trip.
Here's some pics of the dirty hole and the shaft...

I keep digging deeper and am answering none of my own questions along the way - only adding more unfortunately. I'm inclined to settle for "Dana 60" at this point because of your info, the spline count, year, and the leaf springs.

 

And if anyone has an exploded diagram of the axle end showing seal location, etc, that'd be damn skippy if you'd be willing to post it. Again - not in the dang service manual that I can find.

 

And I see reference to "reverse rotation high pinion front" and just "reverse rotation" - I have no idea what this means but some parts mention it, others don't.

 

@ZMANN thanks again. also.


I have reverse rotation:

Standard rotation is older (1977 and earlier)

 

you have a dana 60 no king pin
ford spec'ed ball joints instead

gear ratio is the same as your rear and should be tagged on one axle or the other

 

go to ford with your vin and order seals to take any guess work out of this

 

your knuckle seal part # is in your own image

 

This place is a good resource for parts and info.

- We Sell New And Used Axle Drive Train Parts

x Dana Spicer. Family-owned and oporated. We specialize in new and used axle and drivetrain parts.

venturestruckparts.com

Early Ford Bronco and Truck Restoration Parts - Jeff's Bronco Graveyard is another place for parts.

 

This place is a good resource for parts and info.

- We Sell New And Used Axle Drive Train Parts

x Dana Spicer. Family-owned and oporated. We specialize in new and used axle and drivetrain parts.

venturestruckparts.com

Early Ford Bronco and Truck Restoration Parts - Jeff's Bronco Graveyard is another place for parts.

I've used Jeff's long ago (had a '78 Bronco I should have never sold) and makes sense they'd be a good resource (plus they are not far from me). That Video by venturestruckparts was awesome. Thanks!

your knuckle seal part # is in your own image

So it is! I was able to look it up. I'm not used to the numbers on Ford parts actually being part numbers you can look up.

Also I took your advice and went to parts.ford - no info on the site so I called. Person gave me the wrong part (probably my fault for explaining it wrong). But I think I have enough info to go forward without them. WRT the dealership - they piss me off beyond belief whenever I go there so I avoid them like the plague. However, if I'm in the mood to be treated like a POS and pay 2x for the same part you can get from ford.parts, they are my go-to people. Even thinking about it is bringing up my blood pressure...

any suggestions for cleaning out that tube w/o opening the diff cover? Or should I not even bother and just be careful on reinstall of the axle?

 

FordPartsGiant.com is a better place to look up parts, although not a Ford dealer, so I often buy elsewhere if the warranty is a concern - or pricing.

Cleaning out the Ford Superduty front axle tubes - An endeavor for the free thinker. There have been so many ways of how people have done this. But, of course, when rinsing or wet cleaning, always have the axle drooped, so stuff flows downhill and out the tube, not into the pumpkin.

I don't think this fits.

 

Cleaning out the Ford Superduty front axle tubes - An endeavor for the free thinker.

LOL some interesting methods there. I'll probably go with something like that half-circle scraper - looks good enough. That and work hard to attempt @ZMANN 's suggestion to keep it steady. I might employ a younger person at that moment. Mine does not have the plastic fitting - that'd be nice.

Parts I ordered was a kit venturestruckparts made up of the 2 spicer seals (inner/dust seal and outer/vacuum seal).

Here are the ford part numbers for future readers:
Inner / dust seal >> F81Z1S175HCA
Outer / vacuum seal >> F81Z-3254-CB
O-Ring seal on hub >> f81z-4a322-aa (I did not need/order one of these, as I have one on my new hub)
One confusing thing about these parts is that in many places you'll see they are for the Dana 50 but I believe the reality is that the Dana 50 and Dana 60 use these same parts.

Fitting these seals on without buying the $50 tool will be my next hurdle. I may have to make a tool. Or if anyone has any tricks for that please advise.

Thanks,

 

the trick is to slide the axle into the tube without pushing the splines thru junk
some units have a plastic fitting inside the tube to facilitate that procedure

 

That would be my choice of tool, too.

In the day, when I did mine the tool could be fabbed from a pipe nipple and flange with some grinding. I'll see if I can find a reference.

 

Too long ago, don't know if it works on yours.

Ford Super Duty Knuckle Seal Tool - AKA OTC 6695 - Superdutypsd.com

Ford F250 Super Duty ball joint installation axle seal (knuckle seal)tool (OTC-6695). How to make a home made version of the tool required to install the knuckle seal.

www.superdutypsd.com

 

d50 and 60 share some parts but you have a d60

 

as far as the diy tool i have made them for both the 04 and 05 up
and they do not work as well as the proper tool I own the proper tools now that set the depth


the 04 seems to be an easier DIY tool with the 1 1/4 pipe

and with no vacuum leaks to be worried about you should be able to make the DIY version and be fine

 

Do you over think everything like this [emoji16]?
As you've figured out, you have a dana 60 axle with 35 spline shafts, the 30 spline is the hub spline count, not axle spline. The cover for the D60 is the same as the cover for the Super 60. If you ever need to replace the cover, use an 08 cover.
You have the seal kit. Jump on Amazon and order the proper tool for seating the outer seal, I think I paid $80 for my 06 seal driver, but yours will be a different model #, make sure you're buying the driver for an 03/04 axle. The big seal goes on the stub (wheel side) shaft. The little seal sits in the axle tube. It should be driven into (onto?) the axle housing before putting the axle in. It will help support the axle shaft as you slide it down the tube, but still try to keep the splines out of any goo in the tube.
I would recommend replacing the u-joints on the axles while it is out.

Sent from my Redmi Note 9 Pro using Tapatalk

 

Do you over think everything like this [emoji16]?

I've spent 20 minutes thinking on this question and while I could spend much more time on it and go into lots of detail, I've decided to just answer "yes"

You have the seal kit. Jump on Amazon and order the proper tool for seating the outer seal,

Yeah, I figured I'd have to wait on the part anyway and after an hour or two of thought decided to break down and purchase the tool. I think I got mine for $60 at amazon. I think I need to do an entire cabinet for "special" tools.

I would recommend replacing the u-joints on the axles while it is out.

That would be the smart thing to do, but for now I'm going to leave 'em. It's hard to know where to draw the line, but next time I go in there it's going to be a breeze. This job did not go at all like replacing a $35 hub on my old Buick LeSabre. I was pretty thrown off when I realized my Ford manual didn't show any info on this axle. Pretty t-o'd about the manual.

Hopefully my manic "process" that I repeatedly display in writing here on PowerStroke.org isn't going to get me thrown off the site I'm not sure what I'd do without all this help and info. Well - I guess I do - torch the truck and buy another '05 LeSabre while I think out my next steps.

 

don't think so
never heard of this if so