Pitted Spindles.......

Hunter44

Hunter44

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Location
Lexington
My Dana 70U out of a 1985 F350 SW truck has pitted spindles that won't keep a hub seal in tack. Should I try some JB Weld and sandpaper/Emory Cloth to fix it or forget fixing it and just buy a new axle?
 
I would try the Emory cloth first, if the pitting is not deep you may get lucky.

If it's bad you will need a speedi sleeve
 
I'm really looking for a decently priced CUCV Corporate 14 bolt with 4.56 and Detroit because my truck is over geared now that I lowered it. But I'll give the emory cloth a shot first and go from there. Thanks for the input sir!
 
I dunno if Carquest or NAPA are worth a shit anymore, but you used to be able to buy a hub seal with the sleeve in the same box for a few bucks more. In fact, I have a 14b sleeve somewhere that never got used.
 
I've used speedi sleeves in the past with ok results.

The last one I had trouble with was an axle shaft on my dads truck. It was pitted terribly. Cleaned it with wire wheel on grinder, cleaned and heated, brushed, clean, heat, grind.

Smeared JB weld over it, after it cured we sanded and polished it down with Emory cloth. Still doesn't leak.

The JB weld did a great job of filling it the pits.

Either can fix the problem.
 
I've also used a Speedi-sleeve before with good success.
 
I noticed that the newer AAM axles use a 2 piece hub seal to prevent such things from happening. They have a stationary inner sleeve that slide over the actual spindle and acts as the sealing surface. It seems that an automotive engineer may have finally had a good idea!
 
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