Ford 3000 rear axle

[dzus]

I am wanting to put a rear axle seal in a 3000 that has the axle bearings retained by the big self locking nut. My I-T manual says Nuday made a tool to remove and replace this nut. Does anybody still make a tool to do this? Chance of finding a used one? Homemade options? Book says retorque to 250 lbs. I won't be able to do that with a channel lock pliers.
 

[RodinNS]

Go to a truck parts store and get a formed steel axle nut socket of the appropriate size... take it home and cut the 3/4" drive bar out of the end of the socket. Then weld the end of the socket into a piece of plate with a full diameter pass through in the socket. You can also weld an old socket of an appropriate drive size for your torque wrench onto whatever you use for a lever on the socket... and figure out the distances for the appropriate torque setting. Then you have the tool you need.
Once you remove the nut you'll need a press to force the shaft out of the hub. You'll probably need to drive a couple of wheel studs out to facilitate setting this up in a press... and it's going to take 15-20 ton push to move it. Be carefull to support it correctly as you don't want to break the hub... Then reassemble in reverse. Probably warm the bearings so they'll drop in place.

Rod
 

[Jetbird]

Hi, I did this job on my '68 3400 last summer. I was able to remove the nut by hitting it with a hammer and cold chisel to turn it. It cut into the nut a little, but not too bad. Once I had the nut off, I took it to a shop and the guy pressed the axles out for me. He didn't have to remove any studs, just blocked it up with some steel scraps to get it in position. On assembly, I used an automotive wheel bearing socket that I bought from amazon . com for about 10 bucks. I cut the back out of the socket, and also had to cut some slits in the sides since the socket was made for a hex nut with more rounded corners. I slipped the bearing onto the axle enough to get the nut started, then used the nut to drive the bearing home. I turned the nut using a big pipe wrench on the socket, and a prybar wedged between two lug bolts on the hub. I cranked it down as hard as I could. No torque wrench, but I tried to tighten it further with my hammer and chisel method and it didn't budge so it was at least as tight as it was before I started. No problems with it so far. You can find the socket I used on amazon under "Powerbuilt 647068 2-3/4-Inch 6-Point Rounded Hex Wheel Bearing Locknut Socket". Worked for me. Best of luck!