OK Well I finally had success tonight, found the "sweet spot" on the outer joint and with a few good whacks the outer joint came off. Cleaned up all old grease and disassembled, got new grease in there and with some fiddling with the "c" clip I got the outer joint back on the axle.


Now the bad news, using a makeshift "axle puller" made from a ground down axle nut welded on a spark plug socket, I got the axle pulled about halfway into the hub by threading it on the axle stub and ratcheting, expecting it to pull more inwards as the nut gets threaded on there more. The nut broke at the weld and obviously the nut is flush with the hub basically, so I cannot get vice grips on there to turn it and I'm seriously looking fucked as far as finishing this job goes.

Is it bad to hammer on the hub with a block of wood in between it? I did that for a couple minutes hoping to pop the axle inward the rest of the way so I can get vice grips on and remove the broken axle nut, now I feel like the hub is "loose", is it because of the play in the axle that is in the hub or should I have no play in the hub whatsoever and now expect to replace another wheel bearing?

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2018 Ram 2500 6.7L Cummins 68RFE
19k miles -Bright White/Black - Big Horn Sport - Crew Cab Short Bed
2013 X5 35D (CEO's) - Born on 5/17/2013 -
82k miles - Alpine White/Cinnamon Brown/Premium Pkg, Sport Activity/Premium Pkg and Sound/20" Style 214/Running Boards