4 Wheel & Off Road – November 2019

4WHEELOFFROAD.COM 4-WHEEL & OFF-ROADNOVEMBER 2019 55

SOURCES

AXLELINE

775.870.9585

YUKON GEAR & AXLE

888.905.5044

yukongear.com

N

ot all rear Sterling axles are the same, but the differential covers, axleshafts, and

carriers are all interchangeable. These are full-floating axles with 1^1 ⁄ 2 -inch, 35-spline

axleshafts that are very strong. They don’t benefit from the third pinion bearing that

makes the 14-bolt the king of rear axles though, and the axletubes can spin in the center-

section under hard use. Early 1985-1992 Sterling 10^1 ⁄ 4 axles used drum brakes, an 8-on-6^1 ⁄ 2

bolt pattern, and short pinion splines. The second generation (1993-1998) of Sterling axles

used longer pinion splines and a different yoke, but were otherwise the same. The introduc-

tion of the Super Duty in 1999 brought the introduction of the Sterling 10^1 ⁄ 2 -inch, which has

a different inner pinion bearing than the Sterling 10^1 ⁄ 4. The 10^1 ⁄ 2 al so uses disc brakes and an

8- on -170mm bolt pattern. In 2005 the brakes were upgraded to 13.4-inch brake rotor s, and

in 2013 they grew even larger to 14. 3 inches.

STERLING REARS THROUGH THE YEARS

11

We appreciated that we were able to run

the copper air line to the Yukon Zip Locker

in our Sterling axle without the need to notch the

bearing cap. This is necessary on some applica-

tions but it can be tricky to notch enough out of

the bearing for clearance and not take so much

off as to compromise the cap.

12

We appreciate that Yukon uses common,

easily sourced O-rings on the Zip Locker. It

isn’t uncommon to cut an O-ring during installation,

and these are the biggest culprit of leaks as well.

13

Rather than install the yoke and crush

washer during setup, Aaron Lechner uses

this spacer to set the pinion depth and preload.

He also reuses the old washer and pinion nut, sav-

ing the new components for final installation.

14

Backlash is the measurement of how close

the ring gear is to the pinion. It can be

altered by adding or removing shims under the

9

10

13

14

15

12 16

11

carrier bearings. Lechner noted that the Yukon

gears were easy to read a pattern on, making

setup easier and faster and resulting in a gear-

set that runs quiet and cool.

15

We used a^7 ⁄ 16 -inch bit to drill a hole in a flat

spot on the top of our Sterling housing. Then

the hole was tapped using a^1 ⁄ 4 -inch NPT tap to

thread the bulkhead fitting in for the Zip Locker.

16

The final step in the rear was to install the

bulkhead fitting and run the air line for

the Zip Locker. Yukon includes the solenoid and

switch necessary to actuate the locker. We also

mounted the company’s air compressor. The

compact compressor is quiet and small, making

it simple to mount.