Not to bad, This is a good time to replace hub assemblies also, this job can be a lot easier (or harder) than this guy shows, depending on conditions and how you do it
after all the DW i’ve had, my original hub assemblies are still nice and tight
I have a lot going on these days with the new baby and work. So, I can’t make it on Sunday. Sorry. But, if you want to come by one night or Saturday afternoon by my house in Lincoln I can show you some stuff. Your going to need a 12 point 13mm socket. Most people don’t have one of those. Just an FYI. I can tear one of these things down and back together in pretty good time. The trick is having the right tools ready to go. Air tools are nice, but not a necessity.
Give me a call… 401-258-8two2seven
Only because I’ve broken pretty much everything on the JK and fixed it at least twice.
The trick to a successful job is to get most of the work done before we start drinking. I know, its difficult . . .
I was thinking the same thing, but not sure if they need replaced or not. I’ve checked around and no one has them in stock, so they’d have to be shipped in to a autozone/napa from a local warehouse if i needed them (and I’d have to do that early tomorrow). Should I bite the bullet and fork out $300+ for parts I may or may not need? Better question, if I don’t need them, can they be returned if I have them specially shipped to a local napa/autozone?
Even better question, anyone have a napa/autozone dealer discount (Gene, I know you mentioned this 
). I know they’re around $175 a piece local vs $100 online. If I do need them, love to pay less locally 
To whoever mentioned the Haynes manual. I downloaded a FSM ISO, and it seems to have all that info. But requires a computer to access and has no index or search. PITA, I might go get a Haynes manual too for quick reference!
Tex, Thanks for the info on the 13mm 12-point. To my surprise, I have a 3/8" and 1/2" 13mm 12-point in my kit, so I’ll be sure to bring it Sunday. I wouldn’t mind stopping by on Saturday to check out what you have and talk a bit. This might sound stupid, but when I call you, what is your name? And what’s a good time on Saturday?
Thanks again to everyone for the help and great advice.
Never been an issue with AZ for me. No one ever has CJ stuff in stock, so if I think I may need it, I get it and return it if its not needed. You could always keep them, as you will most likely need them down the line, especially with those 37’s 
you can try and call Crown automotive in Canton but i doubt you’ll need them.
Ok… I broke and wore out just about everything on my JK. I never needed Wheel bearings. I would say, save your money. However, if you get it apart and find you need one… come over here and get one. There should be one or two sets here. If I can’t find the loose one’s quick enough, you can take one off of one of the axle assemblies I have.
If you come by here on Saturday, I usually get out of work on Saturday about noon time. So, anytime after that is fine. While your here, we’ll jack up the truck and see exactly what you need. I’ll know right away if you need the hub bearings.
Also, since your taking apart everything on the front axle, I would highly recomend having some “black Synthetic brake grease” and some Antiseeze compound for when you put everything back together. The hub unit bearing is not going to want to come out. If you antiseeze it when putting it back together, field repairs will be soo much easier. The book says to put blue locking compound on the threads for the hub. I never did, I used antiseeze instead. You will want to check the bolts for tightness on a regular basis. I never had mine loosen up… but, it should be watched.
Someone mentioned 37’s. If you run anything 35" or larger on your Jeep, this would be a great time to put some Teraflex Sleves in the axle tubes and gussets for the C’s. The JK front axle is a time bomb if you don’t stop it from bending. Just an FYI… if you get the 35-45mph wheel shimmy, your front axle is bent. I have a few bent front JK axles here and one not-bent one. I’ve heard it said before: “I don’t wheel that hard, I don’t need to fix this”. If you drive your JK on the street with 35’s or larger, you will bend it. A friend of mine ran 37’s on his Jeep from here to the west coast and back. Never left the pavement and the axle tubes were bent on both sides.
BTW… my name is Steve. Many call me Tex… so either is fine.
Not sure if it matters but Mike’s rig is a Rubicon with the next gen D44’s. I have no idea if they use the same outers as the D30?
Mike, I will be bringing my trail tools including sockets for the unit bearing, Never-Seez, and so forth. I can’t imagine the whole job taking more than a couple hours. Especially if we knock out both sides at the same time.
The 44 is identicle to the 30 aside from the size of the gears and shafts. Same outters, same knuckles, same bearings, and everything else too. This is why the axle is weak. If it is a D-44 on a Rubi, I would get the sleeve kit as soon as possible or truss the axle before wheeling it. It’s $1500 for a new housing when it bends. The 44 in the rear of mine is holding up extremely well all things considered. If you truss that front axle and gusset the outters, the front axle should hold up fine. The 32 spline front shafts do shed u-joints under load, and are very very expensive to replace. If/when the front diff lets go, there is a 35 spline ARB available.
So says the guy who takes perverse pleasure in breaking things! 