I'm going to be purchasing a 85 front axle this coming weekend... Just wanted to know what I should look out for as far as problems and how worn out it is

 

if its bent.

 

I guess that would be obvious just by looking at the housing right?
I'll be putting 5.29's in it so a good servicing will be in order with that...
Any other pointers?

 

On some you can tell right away its bent. I've got one sitting outside that we didn't know what bent till we tried taking out the long side axle shaft. Took 20 minutes to get it popped out and then we could tell it had a smile to it.

Bent is about the only thing you can really worry about. You could be weary of the ring and pinion but most plan to regear and that fixes that. Other than that, you'll be needing to rebuild it anyways so leaking seals don't matter much.

 

would locking in the hubs and turning things be a good idea then?

 

bump for the day crew