CJ front axle repair, driveway in the snow.

[Jeremy]

I fixed the front axle of my 1982 CJ8 dana 30 front axle over the last three days or so.  This axle is mostly stock except for a trash lok limited slip and WARN internal locking hubs.  Here is the adventure of working on jeeps in the snow.   



First block the tires and jack up the jeep securing it on wheel stands,  this make take a couple tries as my floor jack does not reach anymore and I had to resort to a wobbly old Hi lift jack. 


looking at the picture above, and the list of tool below,  guess what was necessary to remove one locking lug nut after a favorite local mechanic LOST the @#^&$#^&^@(&()&*  Key socket two years ago. 

tool list includes: die grinder, 4" angle grinder, a cut off wheel, welder (that I have no clue how to use), a collection of incorrect sockets, socket wrench , breaker bar, impact gun, 5.lbs and ball peen hammers, chisel, air chisel, saw zall.   Bonus guess how many curse words were uttered in the course of a 5 hours  to remove one locking lug nut  (two down two to go)   answer: all of them,  invention of the devil, locking lug nuts are!



The wheel, is removed and the tire is placed under the jeep for a extra bit of safety.  Next remove the hub body cap by taking 6 set screws out, then the snap rings and wire ring are removed. Once that is done, thread two of the set scres back in to give you purchase to pull the inner hub body out and set it aside in a magnetic tin (just discovered those)


Using a axle nut socket, remove the axle nuts, washers and associated retaining parts along with the bearing, pay attention to how they came out






Pinch off the brake lines and remove from the calipers,  prevents lose of fluid and pissing off parents who work in the the environmental protection field.



After screwing around with a lug nut for 5 hours it is dark and cold, wrenches are freezing to the ground if not kept on the plywood that I put down to work off of,  I also spread a canvas painters drop cloth to make finding lost bits easier when working in the yard. Drive way.  Anyway, take these two nuts off and the caliper should slide off the brake rotor, tie it out of the way (to the frame rail) 

slide a trash bag over the whole works and rubber band it securely in place,  come back and work on this junk pile latter.

[Jeremy]

Here we go again:  Another day, this time with snow melt running through where you plan on sitting.


Take the brake rotor off and drop a greasy bearing out of it onto yet unstained by jeep pants, ruining them. ^*(&(&09

Set the rotor aside and cover it with a NEW canvas drop cloth or shop towel to keep it clean as possible.



Take these 6 miserable rusty nuts off, this alows you to remove the dust shield and gain access to the spindle.  Reset the circuit breaker because the fuse box does not get along with your air compressor. 






carefully beat the heck out of the spindle until it knows you mean business,  this contrary, rusted and seized,  watch for miss placed hammer blows hitting yourself or something expensive.  Once you get mis used prying tools behind it work the spinvle off the outer knuckle.

 

You should be greeted with this,  the outer axle shaft.  Set it aside for use as a conversation piece,  or modern art,  it is very broken.




Nothing is ever easy, the inner axle shaft "ears" are splayed out so far as they will not fit past the knuckle,  and I thought stupid locking lug nuts was the fun part.  Silly me.

Between the handy dandy saw zall and the worlds largest C Clamp and a big stinking hammer, bend, knock and cut the offending axle shaft apart until it comes out.





Once it is all out: the easy part,  put in your new replacement axle,  clean all surfaces, anti seize Everything and re torque the bolts to the proper setting,  repack you bearings and bleed your brakes while your at it, basically putting everything back in the reverse order from how it came apart,  this is why you take pictures while you take things apart.

Good job,  Now take the jeep off the jack stands with a hi lift jack and knock both of your hands with a hi lift jack handle bruising them as the jack pops down three notches suddenly.   Pick up your tools and broken parts and post a long phot report on what you did to your jeep today.

[(Tattoo) Jack]

  Another great write-up Jeremy! This just reinforces the reason why I keep a good relationship with a 4x4 Shop 

   Tattoo

[Death Wobble]

Dude, you should write articles for a magazine.  Seriously!  Both humorous and informative stuff, along with the humility to admit when you've screwed up and what you've learned from it. 

It got kinda scary near the end there when your Hi-Lift whacked your hands.  At least you had your head back and it didn't clock you on the jaw!