Loosen the front wheel lug nuts, raise the front of the vehicle, and support it securely on jackstands positioned under the frame rails before removing the front wheels. Unbolt the front brake calipers and hang them out of the way with pieces of wire, ensuring they do not hang by the brake hose. Remove the caliper brackets and brake discs, then detach the brake lines from the axle housing. If equipped, remove the wheel speed sensors from the front hubs. Disconnect the vacuum harness from the front axle shift motor on early models, and for models with Tru-Lok, disconnect the electrical connectors at the front axle. Mark the relationship of the front driveshaft to the front differential pinion shaft yoke, then disconnect the driveshaft from the yoke, discarding the U-joint straps on 1987 through 1995 models. Position a hydraulic jack under the differential, and if two jacks are available, place one under the right side axle tube to balance the assembly. Disconnect the drag link at the right side of the tie-rod, the steering damper, and the track bar; disconnect the shock absorbers; loosen the stabilizer bar links at the stabilizer bar and disconnect them from the axle. For leaf spring models, loosen the nuts and bolts that attach the spring rear eyes to the frame brackets and the front of the springs to the shackles. For coil spring models, unbolt the upper and lower suspension arms from the axle, then lower the differential enough to remove the springs. For leaf spring models, raise the jack high enough to relieve the axle weight from the springs, remove the spring shackle nuts and bolts, and lower the front of the springs to the floor. Finally, remove the axle with the floor jack, and for installation, reverse the removal procedure, ensuring to use new U-joint straps on 1987 through 1995 models and tighten the bolts to the specified torque values for the suspension fasteners.