I got my 85 front axle off of a friend, he had all kinds of goodies with it including a set of 4330 chromoly birfields from Marlin. When I started to assemble my axle I was having all kinds of issues getting the passenger side together...It resulted in me breaking a hub (forgetting to take the snap ring off after becoming very frustrated and basically ripping what I thought was a stuck hub off) and spending countless hours scratching my head until I finally went a saw a friend who told me it had to be the birfield...sure enough soon as I put the stock one back on I was able to assemble the axle and no longer was it binding the axle when locking the hub or trying to steer the knuckle. Originally I thought I had bobby Longs but after digging through the box looking for the receipt I found the big marlin sticker but not receipt. I didnt try calling marlin because I am not the original owner and it has been longer then 2 years since he bought them. Plus I used to do warranty for a mountain bike company and there was nothing I hated more then when Joe schmoe called in asking for free stuff when his friend of friend bought the bike from a friend of friend who then sold it to him.

I really dont have the money for Bobby longs or the TG 30 spline ones and Marlin's site says they are out of stock so I am kinda SOL at the moment.

My question is, I noticed there was some 4330 birfield eliminator kits on ebay that use a regular style axle U joint and I can get a set of those for like 350$. Is that a better route? or is it better to stick with the upgrade birfs? I have heard that sticking with the birfields is getter because when push comes to shove they will give out rather then chunking a ring and pinion. If anyone has any experience in this area please post up.

My stepdad's friend was suppose to machine some material off of the on mine but it has been 3 months. I want to get it together ASAP so I can get it under the truck and save up some money for tires, rear gears/locker so I have the rig ready for next season. Its absolutely killing me that I have the front IFS eliminator kit and rear suspension kit from TG and its all just sitting in the garage I figure its kind of dumb to put it all together only to have to take it mostly back apart to put the Birfield in.

Appreciate any info, sorry if its a newb or redundant question.

-Mike

 

No. Run a stock birf and drive smart until you can afford longs.

 

X2 It'll surprise you how being a good driver will prolong stock parts like birfs and knuckle studs etc. And if you were going to invest the $350 you're already more than half way to some longs...

 

Trail gear does have a $70 better than stock birfield alternative:
http://trail-gear.com/birfield.html
I am running Dirty 30's, they have as good as rep at Longfields now...and I saved a few bucks

taking apart the front end is good practice...better to learn in the driveway or the garage than the side of the trail holding up a club run

BEF kits are not all they are cracked up to be, they break too--saved these from Pirate:


this guy did have to drive a ways to get to a good spot to stop which resulted in more damage..however if a birf goes it generally does not destroy the entire housing...thought I had some more pics of a BEF destroyed housing..

stock busted Birf:


save your $350, for down the road...

 

Appreciate the info, I don't plan on doing anything crazy with the truck as I am very new to wheeling and all it has is the factory roll bar. I just want the truck to be as bullet proof as possible. I am taking the "do it once, do it right" approach.


Dude you have no idea how many times I have taken the front end apart on the bench now...I had myself convinced it couldnt be the new birfields...I swapped hubs, spindles, etc. I was going nuts trying to figure out what the problem was...

Also when I got the axle, the knuckles were off and my friend lost the shims...ever have to re-shim the axle? NOT FUN and a pretty long process...I had to borrow the SST from my buddy at another dealership because ours was GONE and my SM basically laughed at me when I asked him about a new one...apparently its not cheap for something that gets used maybe twice every 20 years.

As for those BEF, never knew they could wreck the housing like that, I will steer clear from those.

I think I will pick up one of the cheaper ones from TG until I can afford 30 spline longs or if the TG ones are just as good I guess I could go with those then.



Appreciate all the feedback guys

-Mike

 

It's not that bad to set trunion bearing preload without the sst. Just don't bolt the seal/felts on and you can get a good feel by hand. The hard part is centering the knuckle on the housing. I just try to use the same size shims top and bottom. Seems to work. Gone through 1 trunion bearing in a year running 38's and 37's.

 

Interesting that you said you used the same size top and bottom. One of my shop OGs said regardless what I come up with using the SST that I should use the same size top and bottom. I used the tool and came up with 2 different sizes and that is what I shimmed it as...I guess we will see how it holds up once its under the truck.

 

The shims are usually two different sizes from the factory, so using the same size no matter what is not the proper way to do it.

Also, the Birfield Eliminator kits are trash IMHO. Much better off going with a cromoly replacement birf until you can afford the 30 spline shafts.

Just beware that it doesn't matter what shafts you run. If you break on the trail, you need to pull the shaft immediately. Even a broken birf can destroy a housing like pictured above. It can also bind up your steering and push you into on-coming traffic or off a cliff if not pulled. So, unlocking the hubs isn't the answer either. Rule of thumb is to pull the shaft and stuff a rag into the housing to keep the gear oil in the housing.

I sell the cromoly replacements for $65/ea
http://www.addictedoffroad.com/axles.html

 

Thanks for the info, I will take a look at your replacements now.

-Mike

 

as always Scotty you have great info..filed away for future reference