{"id":1428,"date":"2026-01-16T15:11:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T23:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nickpisca.com\/diesel\/?p=1428"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:11:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T23:11:51","slug":"dana-44-knuckle-rebuild-ball-joints-shield-repair-spindle-removal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nickpisca.com\/diesel\/suspension\/dana-44-knuckle-rebuild-ball-joints-shield-repair-spindle-removal\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana 44 Knuckle Rebuild (Ball Joints, Shield Repair, Spindle Removal)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holy cow.\u00a0 Well, the whole axle needs a lot of TLC, but it’s not impossible.<\/p>\n

As I wrote about in the Quadravan Tear Down article<\/a>, there was a major clean up.\u00a0 Let’s focus on one part:\u00a0 The Knuckle.<\/p>\n

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It’s hard to tell under all the rust, but there are separte parts to that knuckle assembly.<\/p>\n

The assembly consists of the axle, axle shaft, u-joint, connected to the knuckle by two upper and lower ball joints.\u00a0 The knuckle supports the spindle and brake caliper holder.\u00a0 There is also a rotor shield wedged in the setup.<\/p>\n

Check out the Tear Down Article<\/a> to see how we took the Warn Lockout hubs out, rotor, and brake calipers.\u00a0 It’s not that complicated, but it saves a bunch of steps if we assume we’re down to the spindle race.<\/p>\n

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The spindle race has to come out.\u00a0 If you take the nuts off, that doesn’t mean anything.\u00a0 The spindle is rusted into the knuckle like a mating wolf.\u00a0 The only way I figured out how to get that spindle off was by tapping it with a ground-off tip masonry chisel.\u00a0 Check out my video below:<\/p>\n