FRONT AXLE: DESCRIPTION

Front Axle
Description

6 8
5
7

4 3 1
2

203658

1. Front wheel hub 5. Reduction pinion

2. Frame support 6. Reduction gear
3. Axle shaft 7. Differential case
4. Axle housing 8. Differential carrier

General Information
The frame supports hold the front axle housing in
such a manner as to allow a limited amount of
rotary motion of the housing, the rotary sliding
surfaces being lubricated with grease.
The cushion tire is press-fitted to the outer ring of
the wheel hub.

2.1
FRONT AXLE: REMOVAL & INSTALLATION

Removal
Front Wheels Suggestions
1. Park the truck on level floor with the parking
! WARNING
brake applied, the direction lever in neutral,
the forks lowered, and the key switch off.
Be sure to use the same size and brand tire 2. Prepare tools, jacks, and wheel blocks.
for replacement.
3. Block the rear wheels.
4. Loosen the wheel nuts about two turns.

Removal Sequence
2
Wheel nut

1
205952 100902B

1. Wheel Nuts NOTE

2. Front Wheel
Loosen, but do not remove, the wheel nuts.

5. Raise the front end of the truck. Use one of

the methods shown.

! WARNING

To prevent possible injury, do not replace

the tire when the truck is loaded.
Dismount the truck before raising the front
tire.
To prevent possible personal injury, raise
the truck only until the tire just clears the
ground.
Do not put any portion of your body under
the truck. Securely support the truck on
blocks after raising it.

2.2
 FRONT AXLE: REMOVAL & INSTALLATION

Method 1 Method 3
Position the jack under the frame and raise the Fasten a hoist to the mast and lift the front end of
truck until the tire clears the floor. the truck as shown.

100828 202778A

Jack Capacities 6. Remove the wheel nuts (loosened in Step 4.)

2EC15/18 3000 kgf (6700 lbf)

2EC20/25/25E/30 5000 kgf (12,000 lbf) ! CAUTION
Be careful not to damage the bolt threads when
removing the wheel.
Method 2
Tilt the mast all the way back, place wood blocks
under the mast, and tilt the mast forward.
7. Remove the wheel.

! CAUTION
After raising the front end, securely support it
NOTE
by blocks. Service Limit For Cushion Tires
Replace the tire if the height of the solid rubber
portion is 25.4 mm (1 in. or less). For tire
replacement, consult your Lift Truck Dealer.

25.4 mm
200227 (1 inch)

100880

2.3
FRONT AXLE: REMOVAL & INSTALLATION

Installation
To install, reverse the removal sequence and do 2. Lower the truck until the tire touches the
the following steps. floor. Then tighten the wheel nuts in numbered
sequence shown below, in two or three steps,
to the specified torque.
! CAUTION
Use the same size and brand of tire. 1

Make sure the clamping surfaces of the wheel 6

nuts and counterbores in the rim are free of dirt. 3

4
1. Install the tire and tighten the wheel nuts.
Tighten each nut until its tapered portion is 5
in full-face contact with the counterbore in 2
the rim.
205953

Wheel Nut Tightening Torque For Wheel Nuts

2EC15/18 2EC20/25/25E/30
Counterbore
16 kgf•m 38.5 kgf•m
(116 lbf•ft) (278 lbf•ft)
[157 N•m] [378 N•m]

100835A

2.4
 FRONT AXLE: DISASSEMBLY

Disassembly
6 7

5 205954

Sequence
1. Axle shaft
2. Lock nut, lock washer, oil seal, and tapered
roller bearing (inner bearing)
3. Hub & drum assembly [Front wheel hub,
brake drum, wheel bolts, drum nuts, and
tapered roller bearing (outer bearing)]
4. Tapered roller bearing (outer bearing), oil
seal, and oil deflector
5. Tapered roller bearing (inner bearing), and
seal retainer
6. Brake assembly
7. Frame support and axle housing

Start By:
1. Remove the mast. (For replacement of the
front axle housing and disassembly of the dif-
ferential, refer to section, MAST AND FORKS.)
2. Jack up the truck.
3. Support the front end of the truck at both sides
with blocks or stands to keep the truck in a
horizontal position.
4. Remove the front wheels.

NOTE
It is not necessary to remove the axle housing
or drain the oil for removal of the shaft only.

2.5
FRONT AXLE: DISASSEMBLY

Suggestions
Removing the Lock Nut Removing Bearings
Use a lock nut wrench (Special Tool). The inner race of the tapered roller bearing re-
mains in the axle housing when the hub is drawn
2EC20/25 out. Remove this race together with the seal
Tool 2EC15/18
25E/30 retainer with a bearing puller.
Lock Nut Wrench 91268-00800 03703-59001

Special Tool

203651

200232

Removing Front Wheel Hub

Use a wheel hub puller (Special Tool).

2EC20/25/
Tool 2EC15/18
25E/30
Wheel Hub Puller 64309-40100 MH061017
(Puller seat) (64309-10601)

NOTE

It is not necessary to remove the oil seal from

the hub or to disassemble the oil deflector
unless the seal is defective.

Special Tool

200233

2.6
 FRONT AXLE: DISASSEMBLY

Inspection after Disassembly

Axle Shafts
Looseness of Mating Splines
Mount the differential bevel gear on the splined
end of the shaft and set a dial indicator as shown
below. Turn the bevel gear and read the indicator.
Runout
Set a dial indicator at the middle part of the axle
shaft. Turn the shaft and read the indicator to find
runout.

Runout of shaft

Face runout of flange

200235 200236

Free movement A 0.07 to 0.17 2EC15/18 2EC20/25/

(0.0028 to 0.0067) 25E/30
(looseness of
splines) B 0.5 (0.020) Runout of axle A 0.5 (0.020) 1.0 (0.039)
shaft (1/2 of dial maximum maximum
Unit: mm (in.) indicator reading B 1.0 (0.039) 2.0 (0.079)
A = Assembly Standard B = Repair or Service Limit
Unit: mm (in.)
Axle Housing A = Assembly Standard B = Repair or Service Limit
1. Check the surfaces of axle housing in contact
with the mast bearing for damage. Set a dial indicator against the flange of the axle
shaft as shown. Turn the shaft and read the indi-
2. Check the entire axle housing for distortion, cator to find face runout.
dents, and other defects, paying particular
attention to the welds to see if any weld is A 0.05 (0.0020)
Face runout of axle
cracked. shaft flange B 0.5 (0.020)
Oil Seals and Retainers Unit: mm (in.)
1. Check the outer surface of the oil seal retainer A = Assembly Standard B = Repair or Service Limit
for wear or damage.
2. Check the outer and inner oil seals for wear
and damage.

2.7
FRONT AXLE: REASSEMBLY

Reassembly
To reassemble, reverse the steps of the disas- 2. Install the inner race and oil seal retainer of
sembly sequence and do the following steps. the wheel hub bearing with an installer
(Special Tool).
Axle Housing
1. Install the O-ring in the outer groove (of the
two grooves in the bore of each frame sup-
port).
Special tool
2. Apply grease to the surfaces A of the support
and axle housing.

Frame support
O-ring A

203569

2EC20/25/
Tool 2EC15/18
25E/30

Installer 64309-12300 91468-00300

200237

3. Apply retaining compound to the flange sur-

Front Wheel Hub faces of the axle shafts.
1. Fill the front wheel hub, especially the roller
holder and oil seal lip groove, with grease.

NOTE
Be careful not to apply grease to the brake
drum.

200238

2.8
 FRONT AXLE: REASSEMBLY

Hub Bearing Preload Installation and Setting Preload

Tighten the inner nut to produce the required pre- 1. Fill the hub with the recommended grease as
load. Tighten the outer nut to the specified torque listed in the service manual.
and check the preload. Be sure that the preload 2. Pack the inner and outer bearing with the
noted after tightening the outer nut meets the recommended grease.
specification. This step is for new bearings. Where
the bearings removed in disassembly are reused, 3. Install the inner bearing to the back side of
try to produce the preload at the lower side of the the hub.
range. 4. Install the inner seal.
5. Clean the lining surface of the drum.
5 to 50 kgf•cm
Preload for hub bearing (0.4 to 3.6 lbf•ft) 6. Install the hub onto the axle.
[0.5 to 4.9 N•m] 7. Install the outer bearing, grease seal and pre-
Tightening torque 20 kgf•m load nut.
for (145 lbf•ft)
8. If the bearings are being reused, try to pro-
lock nuts [196 N•m]
duce the lower side of the applied force in
tangential direction.
9. For new bearings, tighten the preload nut to
14 kgf•m (101 lbf•ft) [137 N•m]. Slowly rotate
the hub slightly more than 3 turns, back the
nut off 80°, and set the applied force in tan-
gential direction.
10. For models with an outer lock nut, torque the
nut to 20 kgf•cm (145 lbf•ft) [196 N•m]. After
torquing the lock nut, check the force applied
in tangential direction again to insure the pre-
load did not change.
Inner nut Outer nut 200468

Bar

Spring
balancer

101653

2.9
REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: DESCRIPTION

Reduction Differential
Description
3

4 5 2 1
200240

Sequence
1. Lock plates 4. Reduction gear and differential gear assembly
(spring pins, pinion shafts, differential pinions,
2. Side bearing nuts
differential bevel gear, washers, and differen-
3. Differential carrier assembly (lock washers, tial case)
side bearing caps, and differential carrier)
5. Tapered roller bearings

Start By:
Remove the differential carrier from the transmis-
sion case.

2.10
 REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: DISASSEMBLY

Disassembly
Suggestions Removing Bearing Inner Races
1. Before removing the differential carrier from Use a bearing puller to remove the inner races
the transmission case, measure the gear from the differential case.
backlash to aid in obtaining correct backlash
at the time of reassembly.

Backlash between reduction gear 0.15 to 0.25

and pinion (0.0059 to 0.0098)

Unit: mm (in.)

200242

200247

2. Put a mark across the bearing cap, adjusting

screw and carrier on each side.
The caps are not interchangeable.

200241

2.11
REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: DISASSEMBLY
Inspection after Disassembly
Reduction Gear
Check the teeth for wear, pitting, flaking, or chip-
ping. Minor flaws on the tooth surface can be
repaired by grinding with an oil stone or a hand
grinder. Check the teeth for contact. If the gear is
badly damaged and requires replacement,
replace the pinion too. Reduction gear and pinion
are a matched set and must be changed at the
same time.
2.12
Differential
1. Check the differential cases for damage.
Check in particular the seat formed of each
case for carrying the side bearing inner race
to see whether the seat surface is galled or
not.
2. Check the sliding surfaces of the thrust wash-
ers and gears for wear or damage.
3. Check the teeth of the differential pinions and
bevel gears for wear, pitting, chipping, or
galling.
4. Check the fit of each pinion on the spider.
A 0.02 to 0.07
Fit of differential (0.0008 to 0.0028)
pinions on spider
B 0.35 (0.0138)
Unit: mm (in.)
A = Assembly Standard B = Repair or service limit
 REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: REASSEMBLY

Reassembly

4 1

3 2
200243

Sequence
1. Tapered roller bearings 3. Spring pin
2. Differential gear assembly [differential case, 4. Reduction gear
thrust washers, bevel gears, pinions, and pin-
5. Differential carrier assembly [carrier, side
ion shaft]
bearing caps, side bearing nuts, and lock
washers]

2.13
REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: REASSEMBLY

Suggestions
Reassembling Differential Pinions
The thrust washers of the differential gears are to
be used for adjusting the backlash between the
differential gears and pinions. Measure the back-
lash and, if it exceeds the limit, replace the thrust
washers.
Reassembling Differential Case
After putting the case assembly in place on the
carrier, install the bearing caps tentatively by
making the cap bolts snug tight. The caps are to
be secured tight after the bearing preload has
been adjusted.

Backlash between A 0.18 to 0.23 Installing Bearing Caps

differential gears (0.0071 to 0.0091)
Be sure to know which are the left and right caps
and pinions B 0.5 (0.020) and to put each cap in place correctly.
Unit: mm (in.)
12.8 kgf•m
A = Assembly Standard B = Repair or service limit Tightening torque for
(93 lbf•ft)
bearing cap bolts
[126 N•m]

200244
200241

Installing Reduction Gear

Apply LOCTITE No. 271 to the bolts for holding
the reduction gear to the case. Be sure to tighten
these bolts evenly so as not to strain the gear.

12.0 kgf•m
Tightening torque for
(87 lbf•ft)
reduction gear bolts
[118 N•m]

2.14
 REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: REASSEMBLY

Inspection and Adjustment

Side Bearing Preload Reduction Gear Backlash
Tie a wire on the reduction gear tooth and hook a Adjust the backlash between the reduction gear
spring scale to the wire. Tighten the side bearing and pinion after installing the differential carrier
nuts while reading the spring scale until the speci- assembly to the transmission case. To measure
fied preload is obtained. the backlash, set a dial indicator with its spindle
pointing squarely to the tooth face of the reduc-
tion gear. With the pinion held, move the gear
NOTE back and forth to read the indicator. Adjust the
Before measuring the preload, tap the back backlash using the left and right side bearing
of the reduction gear with a copper hammer nuts and pinion shims.
while rotating the gear to center between
bearing. 0.15 to 0.25
Backlash between
(0.0059 to
reduction gear and pinion
0.0098)
Unit: mm (in.)
15 to 30 kgf
Min. (1.1 to 2.2 lbf)
[1.5 to 2.9 N]

Preload for differential 1.32 to 2.5 kgf•cm

case side bearings Max. (2.9 to 5.5 lbf•ft)
[13 to 25 N•m]
As force applied to
reduction gear in
tangential direction.

200247

Backlash
Increase
Decrease

Decrease

Increase
200246 Increase

Backlash
Decrease
200248

2.15
REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: INSPECTION

Reduction Gear Face Runout Tooth Contact

Using a dial indicator, check the reduction gear
for face runout at the maximum radius position in
back of the gear. If the runout exceeds the limit,
check the reduction gear bolts for tightness;
retighten if necessary. Check the tapered roller
bearings for condition. Readjust or replace them
if necessary.
Check the gear reduction tooth contact. To check,
apply a thin coat of bluing to several gear teeth
on both drive and coast sides. Press forward on
the reduction pinion and rotate the reduction gear
back and forth until a contact pattern is noted on
both concave and convex faces of the gear teeth.
To adjust the tooth contact, refer to the chart.

Face runout of A 0.05 (0.0020) maximum

reduction gear B 0.05 (0.0020) maximum
Unit: mm (in.)
A = Assembly Standard B = Repair or Service Limit

200250

200249

2.16
 REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: INSPECTION

Tooth Contact Adjustment (2EC15/18)

Tooth Contact Adjustment

Extends from toe Correct tooth contact
to middle portion,
covering not less
1 than 50% of tooth
length.
203669-1

Short contact at 1. Move gear away from pinion.

toe of tooth. 2. Move pinion toward gear by increasing shim thick-
2 ness to secure correct backlash.

203669-2 203669-2A

Short contact at 1. Move gear toward pinion.

heel of tooth. 2. Move pinion away from gear by decreasing shim
3 thickness to secure correct backlash.

203669-3 203669-3A

Heavy contact 1. Move pinion toward gear by increasing shim thick-

on face or upper ness.
4 portion of tooth. 2. Move gear away from pinion to secure correct
backlash.

203669-4 203670-4A

Heavy contact on 1. Move pinion away from gear by decreasing shim

flank or lower thickness.
portion of tooth. 2. Move gear toward pinion to secure correct
5
backlash.

203669-5 203670-5A

Repeat the above adjustment until the correct tooth contact is obtained.

2.17
REDUCTION DIFFERENTIAL: INSPECTION

Tooth Contact Adjustment (2EC20/25/25E/30)

Tooth Contact Adjustment

Extends from toe Correct tooth contact
to middle portion,
covering not less
1 than 50% of tooth
length.
203670-1

Short contact at 1. Move pinion toward gear by increasing shim thick-

toe of tooth. ness.
2 2. Move gear away from pinion to secure correct
backlash.

203670-2 203670-2A

Short contact at 1. Move pinion away from gear by decreasing shim

heel of tooth. thickness.
3 2. Move gear toward pinion to secure correct
backlash.

203670-3 203670-3A

Heavy contact on 1. Move pinion toward gear by increasing shim

face or upper thickness.
portion of tooth. 2. Move gear away from pinion to secure correct
4
backlash.

203670-4 203670-4A

Heavy contact 1. Move pinion away from gear by decreasing shim

on flank or lower thickness.
5 portion of tooth. 2. Move gear toward pinion to secure correct
backlash.

203670-5 203670-5A

Repeat the above adjustment until the correct tooth contact is obtained.

2.18