Mile Marker Locker disassembly

[hoyle83]

Mornin,
So my first time tearin apart the front end of my 83 K10 4x4 (14 bolt axles) with intensions of replacing wheel bearings and making sure all seals and o-ring sealed units are in good shape. First things first I have the calipers off, as well as the cap screws that hold the manual locker covers (mile marker). I locked the hubs before removing this cap. I then proceeded to remove the first encountered snap ring (that retains the spring). After doing this i was expecting to see the first of two nuts to be removed and instead i have a small gear that is on the axles spline. I have added some photos to better describe my poor wording. Anyways, any help on how i can get these babies apart would be much appreciated. That gear is retained somehow and i'm not sure how, it looks like there may be a snap ring behind it but i cant see anywhere(any holes or break in the circumference) to split it/remove it. Thanks in advance guys for reading.

[Blazin]

Some times there is a snap ring around the end of the axle right in front of the drive gear. It doesn't look in the pics that there is in your case. Thread two of the bolts back into the holes, and give it a firm tug. As long as the outside ring is out they should come out. Looks like in the pic you have the outside ring out. Once you have the gear out, you will find the nuts, and nut retaining ring. Once that is off the rotor will slide off. the outer bearing is not retained so it will fall right out. be careful of that. The inner bearing will be retained by the lip seal. Slide the axle out inspect it, and the axle joint. Even if the joint seems good they aren't much money, and would be good insurance so as not to have to tear it apart again in the near future.
If you don't know much about the history of the truck an oil change in the axles wouldn't be a bad idea either.
There are no other seals or o rings. Pop that lip seal out, repack both bearings, install a new seal, and reassemble.

The front axle should only have 10 bolts, not 14. Being an 83 it should have a ten bolt corprate axle in the front. Also in the rear unless someone has swapped in a 14 bolt out of a K20, or K30.
If the cover on the front end is round its a 10 bolt coprate. If the sides of the cover are strait, top, and bottom are round its a Dana 44.

[hoyle83]

Wow, crazy fast and thorough response....Thank you...my mistake on the 14 bolt, i don't know why i said that but i took a look through my phone pics at the diff(trucks back home and im 4 hours away at work) definitely the corporate 10 bolts...As for the good tug on the aluminum housing using two of the cap screws, i did that this passed weekend as thats how i was told to remove them, and they definitely werent coming loose, wiggling, tugging...I will use a bit more force here this weekend when i tackle it again as well as look hard(clean up the grease) on the axle for another ring..otherwise that's all I can do would you say?
When tugging on two bolts threaded into the aluminum housing it seemed as though that gear was the reason for it not coming out... Thanks a ton Blazin, Much Appreciated!!
KCCO

[Blazin]

Doesn't alwasy happen that fast! 
I just happened to be dubbuin around on the computer this morning. Sometimes it takes a day or so.

[pholliday1]

Future tip when removing the locking housing use 2 of 6 the small screws that retain the cap and reinstall two of them 180 apart and use them to pull on to remove the hub and then to reinstall it. The screws act as little handles.

[bake74]

     I might have misunderstood you, did you say you locked the hubs before you started taking them apart?
     I do not remember ever locking/engaging the hubs before disassy.  If I am not mistaken this locks the ring you are trying to get out to the parts on the axle shafts.
     I could be wrong, would not be the first time.

[thirsty]

Usually there is a snap ring on the axle. Maybe you are missing it. Push what is left of the hub assembly in and there should be another snap ring or an empty groove on the axle where it should be.

[Blazin]

Doesn't matter if they are locked or unlocked when taking them apart.
The outer aluminum ring that the bolts thread into has an external snap ring as well. The one you have out holds the center slide gear in. Thought about this several times today. Check and see if that whats holding it.

[ehjorten]

I can see the retaining ring on the stub-shaft that you haven't removed yet!  It is a thin, flat ring that makes 2 complete wraps around the stub-saft if I remember correctly.  You need to get the end of it out of the groove and carefully walk it around and off of the shaft.

[Blazin]

I don't see any retaining ring on the stub shaft. It would be an external snap ring if there was one.

[hoyle83]

Never got on here yesterday lads, thanks for all the comments, when i get home from work next weekend i will be looking for an external ring on the aluminum housing because i brake washed and cleaned the axle up good because i was sure that inner gear was being retained by one on the shaft but i can assure with pushing back and trying to expose something, there was nothing. Thanks for all the reads and tips lads, i'll make sure and update when i get a look at it next.
Cheers

[Blazin]

You should also be able to use a pry bar, reach in behind by the axle joint and slide the axles outward as well.

[ehjorten]

I think I was looking in the wrong area...yeah...I don't see the retainer on the stub-shaft.  It isn't an external snap-ring however.  I have seen actual external snap-rings used.  It is a thin metal band that winds around a groove in the stub-shaft and the ends overlap about 1/4 of the diameter.  Looking again...I don't see it and my experience is with the D44 and D60 anyways...not the 10 bolt.  I see you removed the round wire external snap ring.  Must just be stove-up in there or something.

[Blazin]

GM used external snap rings like the ones in this picture.

[ehjorten]

I hear ya Blazin, but my '77 doesn't have an external snap-ring anything like what you show...it is as I described.  I've had it apart several times.