# Ford 5610 FWD front axle repair



## Meadowlarkfarm (Nov 24, 2019)

I have been working on replacing the hub seals on both hubs of my new-to-me Ford 5610 II FWD. I have been learning from You-Tube and figuring things out but perhaps I could do better... The front left hub seal was canted/cocked a little bit when I installed it and I had some doubts about it but it went on the spindle, everything seated firmly and assembled properly. I filled the hubs with gear oil to the correct level, let them sit for a couple of days to see if they would leak. No leaks either side. 
So then took the tractor out to drive around a bit to see if the seals would leak then. I drove it back and forth, engaged FWD, took some turns, etc, then heard/felt a little thump in the front left wheel, checked it immediately and gear oil was starting to leak out. So I got it back into the shop and jacked it up immediately, removed the wheel and the planetary cover. Two concerns emerged:

1. The front left knuckle was hot to the touch.

2. The 'sun' gear shaft would not shift in/out to allow the snap ring to be exposed for removal of the hub/bearing/seal assembly. It was not hot, and the entire hub would turn. Nothing locked up. No scary noises; all turns smoothly

But i did notice quite a bit of play in the knuckle (which had heated up during the test drive) . I will try to attach a video.

What would cause that 'sun' gear to jam into its in-board position? How to free it up?

But to get at the oil seal and those tapered bearings I need to remove the hub/bearing/seal assembly.

But since its all jacked up and apart, then it looks like I should replace the u-joints as well. Will that process expose the rear end of that 'sun' gear anyway, so I should just move on to that task and let the hub problem follow in the inspection process? Or do I need to remove the hub before I can get to the knuckle? 
[Reply] [


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

https://partstore.agriculture.newho...mentNL/parts-search.html#epc::mr68412ar259666

https://partstore.agriculture.newho...mentNL/parts-search.html#epc::mr68412ar259785

Does one of these diagrams resemble what you're working on?


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## Meadowlarkfarm (Nov 24, 2019)

Fedup said:


> https://partstore.agriculture.newho...mentNL/parts-search.html#epc::mr68412ar259666
> 
> https://partstore.agriculture.newho...mentNL/parts-search.html#epc::mr68412ar259785
> 
> Does one of these diagrams resemble what you're working on?


Thanks for yor response! Yes it is part 43, the shaft. It is the sun gear that drives the 3 planetary gears inside the hub cover. It should be able to slide out enough to allow the snap ring to be expanded and removed from its groove. But it actually seems legitimately locked in and not broken and stuck.

I wonder if I should be reaching into that notch where you can just see the shim that lies behind the snap ring and retainer ring.?


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

Shaft #43 should not simply slide out at this point. It's held in place by a snap ring (#9) from the back side. The spindle (#15) would need to removed in order to access that. At this point the U joint assembly would be easily removed for inspection. 

I'm still not clear on what "knuckle" you stated was hot to the touch. The U joint assembly? 

How far down was any of this disassembled for the work you've done? As far as what's pictured or more than that?


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## Meadowlarkfarm (Nov 24, 2019)

Fedup said:


> Shaft #43 should not simply slide out at this point. It's held in place by a snap ring (#9) from the back side. The spindle (#15) would need to removed in order to access that. At this point the U joint assembly would be easily removed for inspection.
> 
> I'm still not clear on what "knuckle" you stated was hot to the touch. The U joint assembly?
> 
> How far down was any of this disassembled for the work you've done? As far as what's pictured or more than that?


 On both hubs when I was originally replacing the oil seals, the shaft #43 slid out just a tiny bit to allow the snap ring to be expanded by the snap ring pliers. Now it will not do that even in its current state of disassembly. ( see photos ) So I went around to the back of the assembly to the "knuckle "or u joint, and found another slightly different snap ring on the shaft that drives that u joint. I failed to get that snap ring off, but it doesn't look like there's anything wrong except operator error. Looks like I just need some wider Jaws on my snap ring pliers. But it does have that challenging looking notch configuration, so there might be more to its removal than just opening the ring wide enough.

Will the removal of that snap ring, which you can see in the image of the u joint with shaft, allow everything to come apart and I could pull the U joint out ?


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

If the shaft in question no longer slides in or out, I would suspect something has changed in the relationship between the shaft, the bushing it rides in, and the inner bore of the spindle. Maybe that's where the heat came from? Have you tried giving the opposite end of the axle a few well placed smacks to see if the shaft can be moved far enough to expose the snap ring?


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## Meadowlarkfarm (Nov 24, 2019)

I was kind of chicken to do that but something like that needs to be done. Your theory makes sense. I will line it all up on the bench as the impact needs to travel through the U joint to the shaft.


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