I recently broke the right front birfield in my 85 Pickup. After getting the broken one out, I noticed that they were 30 spline upgrades. Unfortunately the previous owner said he didn't install them so I have no idea what brand they are. I want to replace it with the same brand so I don't have to replace both sides. The only writing I can see is "BIRFIELD - NTN" and it has 016 stamped on the end of the spline. Any ideas of where else to look or any seasoned vets know by looking at them?

 

Looks like a stock birf to me as the axle necks down where it goes into the birf, it is 27 spline there but 30 at the diff and 30 at the hub.

Upgrade both sides to 30 splines at the birf and forgetaboutit.

 

Ah hah, what trickery. Those were the only splines I didn't count and they are stock. Looks like I will be dropping some bucks on some new axles. Thanks wabbit!

 

Think of me when you spend your $$$.

 

I am in need of a knuckle service kit and bearings. Does the combined kit do both wheels?

 

they normaly do but you can ask when you order to make sure

 

Yes.

 

I will start off by saying that the search function is a life saver. I have found more than enough information on how to replace my broken birfield as well as servicing the knuckles. I have everything down to the bare bones and, thanks to Wabbit, I have all the parts I need. Due to $$ I decided to go with a stock replacement birfield. I know I will pay for it down the road, but I am hoping I will have the cash then. So I am ready for assembly...

First, the Chilton's manual I bought is so vague I might as well not have it, again I found better information right here.
Second, this is my first truck and I am aprehensive about installing everything correctly. I have never repacked bearings or installed new ones and I am nervous about installing the hub nuts. I have everything separated left and right, nuts and bolts are in bags labeled, parts are clean and painted, but I don't want to screw this up only to break something pulling out of the driveway. Should I go buy a FSM or break down and hire a mechanic?

On a side note, I know you can't see to well but it has two shocks. Before I replace the shocks are there any advantages of two over one? If not I should replace them with single ones, right?

 

Depends, if it actually has shocks valved for the 2 shock setup, it's good. Unfortunately, that seems to be rare, and they are probably single-application valving and therefore WAAAY to stiff when using 2.

Unless you do a lot of highspeed desert stuff, one is fine, and if you do, a bypass or reservoir setup makes more sense than a multiple shock setup.

 

I am pretty sure they are singles, and looking at the weld job they went on with, it definately doesn't look like it was done by a pro.

 

Here is a link to a fsm http://ncttora.com/fsm/index.html
I would reassemble the axle your self. Just make sure you have a torque wrench and tighten all the bolts to spec. It is pretty straight forward about the only trick is when you reinstall the axle shafts have someone slowly turn the differential, and make sure you put on a new snap ring if you disassemble the birfield which I assume you will be doing because you broke one. If you have any questions along the way feel free to post it up.

Hope this helps

 

That link is awesome! Thank you. I didn't rebuild the birfield because it was cheaper to buy a used one. I picked one up from the junkyard, it was both pieces and it has some rust. You just got me to thinking though, do I need to take that one apart to get rid of the rust and replace the bearings?

 

FSM is a good write up to follow for the whole thing. Easy to do if you can read and follow instructions. Torque wrench is necessary.

 

I would clean it up and repack it with grease, I would reuse the balls. This is also a good time to replace the oil seals if they did not come in your kit. It is also a good idea to have a spare birfield and snap ring in case you break a birfield on the trail and need the traction to get home. It would suck to change on the trail but it is a lot better than walking.
If you have money you could run http://www.longfieldsuperaxles.com/ then you can break your differential instead of your birfield when you are beating on it.

 

So I got a good start on getting everything put back together and I was trying to find the torque specs for the bolts on the back of the knuckle and I couldn't find it in the FSM. I did a search here and found it was 11 pounds. Wabbit you found this for someone and I was just curious where? I'm sure its in the FSM and I just didn't look hard enough.
So since I couldn't find this I thought 30 lbs would be good and snapped a bolt in the knuckle. Idiot. I took it back apart and will have to go get the bolt machined out tomorrow. Does anyone know where to find these specific replacement bolts, as well as hub bolts and hub cone washers other than the dealer? I went to Napa and they didn't have the exact match for the rock ring bolts.

 

Here you go http://marlincrawler.com/axle/front-axle-parts

 

Success! I finally got everything put back together over the weekend and was able to take my toy out for a spin. I just want to thank everyone who helped me through this. It was much easier than I made it out to be. Hope to see you all out on the trail.