Rusted bolt on axle...need opinion

Hey y'all...this is the hub assembly from a D30 off an '86 XJ. I bought it for the factory 4.10 gears.

See the photo, then some questions below:




The hub nut is rusted on and I can't break it loose. The axle is on sawhorses, and I can't get leverage on the bolt, because the axle raises off the other saw horse.

So, here is what I am thinking. Cut the bolts at the yellow lines and pull the whole assembly out shaft and all. Then tap out what is left (green arrows). I tried to disassemble further, but the 4 bolts that are blotted out in red have been stripped and I can't get anything to grab them. I was advised that I can use the whole hub assembly from my 2001 when I do the swap so I don't see the harm...

So, is this a good plan of attack? My concern...only because I haven't done axles before, if I pull the shaft now, will it cause anything in the differential to fall out/shift while I move it around preparing for install?

Thanks

Take a BFH and smack real hard just above the yellow lines, might take a few hits, but it will seperate.

I thought about that, but with the shafts and U-joints still in place and in tact, even if I break that bushing loose, I won't be able to pull it out. There isn't enough space.

And the bottom one is under the u-joint, so I can't even get a hammer swing onto that one.

Don't know about the knuckle compatibility with your 2001.

Considering that 1) you can't get the axle end nut off, and 2, the 4 hub bolts are rounded over, that knuckle is pretty well worthless as it is. Cut it off the balljoints and pitch the entire assembly. You could probably use a reciprocating saw through the grease seal, or just use a gas axe.

You might be able to hammer out the balljoint stubs afterwards. I'd use a balljoint press myself, and after putting compression on it, use a light sledge at 90 degrees on the cast iron lightly to break the taper join.

Oh, and you don't need to worry about anything in the differential moving while you're doing this.

Have you tried a longer breaker bar and a BFH for that axle nut?

Cottontail said:

Hey y'all...this is the hub assembly from a D30 off an '86 XJ. I bought it for the factory 4.10 gears.

See the photo, then some questions below:

The hub nut is rusted on and I can't break it loose. The axle is on sawhorses, and I can't get leverage on the bolt, because the axle raises off the other saw horse.

So, here is what I am thinking. Cut the bolts at the yellow lines and pull the whole assembly out shaft and all. Then tap out what is left (green arrows). I tried to disassemble further, but the 4 bolts that are blotted out in red have been stripped and I can't get anything to grab them. I was advised that I can use the whole hub assembly from my 2001 when I do the swap so I don't see the harm...

So, is this a good plan of attack? My concern...only because I haven't done axles before, if I pull the shaft now, will it cause anything in the differential to fall out/shift while I move it around preparing for install?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Buy a bunch of 5/8 hex nuts (or 3/4, maybe, the head I welded one to was chewed down a lot because I tried bolt extractors.) Use a dremel to clean up what's left of the heads, jam the nuts on em, and weld them down. Carefully throw a couple welds from the flange to the edge of the nut (don't want to weld the flange to the knuckle as well!) and fill the center of the nut with weld and they should pop right out.

ChiXJeff said:

Don't know about the knuckle compatibility with your 2001.

Considering that 1) you can't get the axle end nut off, and 2, the 4 hub bolts are rounded over, that knuckle is pretty well worthless as it is. Cut it off the balljoints and pitch the entire assembly. You could probably use a reciprocating saw through the grease seal, or just use a gas axe.

You might be able to hammer out the balljoint stubs afterwards. I'd use a balljoint press myself, and after putting compression on it, use a light sledge at 90 degrees on the cast iron lightly to break the taper join.

Oh, and you don't need to worry about anything in the differential moving while you're doing this.

Click to expand...

X2, though a recip saw is going to take bloody forever going through balljoint studs. I'd use an angle grinder through the knuckle itself and then BFH my way to victory.

X2 on welding a new nut on the red-dot bolts? Although an '86 might be pretty tough to pop out the axle shafts with the hubs. Good luck.

I must be dense. Why would it be any more difficult on an 86 model D30 to pull the axle shaft while it's still in the hub? It's a straight pull, through the knuckle, and nothing has it pinned to the differential that I'm aware of.

Thanks for all the responses...

Big Alpha---a bigger breaker bar won't do any good. I put leverage on it and the other side of the axle raises off the workspace. I can't tie it down to keep the opposite side from moving upward when I exert downward force.

Kastein---I planned to use an angle grinder from the get go. The sawzall would be a bad idea. I've never used one of them sucessfully on a car repair! Regarding the knuckle compatability, some of the guys in the SEC have done this swap (including bypassing the vacuum actuator) and it works.

Kastein and XJ-CJ8---welding is a great idea...except I don't have a welder! There goes that one!

ChiXJeff---yep, when I cut though the balljoint studs it is a straight pull with nothing to hang the shafts on. That is why I thought cutting might be the best option. Especailly since I don't plan to reuse anything except the axle housing.

I'm going to work on it tonight and will update y'all on my progress.

Gotcha - does your Jeep not fit in the garage? You could strap the other end to the jeep.

I generally put the axle on the floor and stand on it while cranking bolts out, putting your foot on the caliper bracket may help. If it doesn't, try loosely attaching a stock tie rod to the steering knuckle again, swing it out straight in front of the axle, and stand on it. Probably bad for the TREs but it'll give you a bit of leverage.

As for the lack of a welder... that sucks... get one ASAP!

bigalpha said:

Gotcha - does your Jeep not fit in the garage? You could strap the other end to the jeep.

Click to expand...

Tried that already. Strapped it to a D-ring on the bumper and still couldn't get it.

I have the angle grinder and discs ready to go tonight!

Oh, and if I have my MTs and the spare on the roof....no it won't fit into the garage!

ChiXJeff said:

I must be dense. Why would it be any more difficult on an 86 model D30 to pull the axle shaft while it's still in the hub? It's a straight pull, through the knuckle, and nothing has it pinned to the differential that I'm aware of.

Click to expand...

I guess I didn't mean it'd be more difficult because of the design. I was thinking more due to the age. 24 years of rust and corrosion might make it a bit more sticky. I've had trouble getting a rotor off the hub before with just 7-8 years of rust.

Sorry to cause confusion. Hope the project is going well.

Okay, that I can see...... and even using the power steering trick, that hub is probably corroded in place pretty well. I wouldn't expect any problems with the splines into the differential, though.

Cottontail said:

Hey y'all...this is the hub assembly from a D30 off an '86 XJ. I bought it for the factory 4.10 gears.

See the photo, then some questions below:

The hub nut is rusted on and I can't break it loose. The axle is on sawhorses, and I can't get leverage on the bolt, because the axle raises off the other saw horse.

So, here is what I am thinking. Cut the bolts at the yellow lines and pull the whole assembly out shaft and all. Then tap out what is left (green arrows). I tried to disassemble further, but the 4 bolts that are blotted out in red have been stripped and I can't get anything to grab them. I was advised that I can use the whole hub assembly from my 2001 when I do the swap so I don't see the harm...

So, is this a good plan of attack? My concern...only because I haven't done axles before, if I pull the shaft now, will it cause anything in the differential to fall out/shift while I move it around preparing for install?

Thanks

Click to expand...

The bolts that hold the hub bearing on(the 2 inner red dots) you are using a 12pt socket correct. If you can still tap a socket on there(can't tell as the red dots are covering them to much to see) put a ratchet or breaker bar on there and hitit in the right direction with a hammer. If you are using air tools(I am assuming here as I see the compressor in the pic) your air ratchet/gun may not be shocking it enough to break it loose. Same goes for the axle nut on the end. It is a 36mm and some impact guns just do not have the oomph to break it loose.

once the hub and axle are out...

Breaking the spindle loose.
1. flip the axle over so it is sitting the way it would in the jeep. It will not work the way you have it in the picture now.
2. as stated use a bfh (big fn hammer) and hit the part of the spinle where the ball joint goes through. Give each one a few good wacks. It will usually fall right off.
that method has always worked for me.

Once off no there is nothing that will fall out of the axle that I can recall that would hurt it by doing so.

Progress report.

I cut the ball joint studs last night and everything pulled straight out. No issues with the axle shafts catching in the tubes.

Now, I am at the point where I need to press the remainder of the ball joints out. Also, the passenger side was a disconnect axles and the inner shaft is still in the axle tube. Need to figure out how to get that removed.

This weekend a buddy is bringing me a gasket and seal set to cover the vacuum disconnect hole so I can by-pass that option.

Then, just clean, paint, and install.

Magnet on the end of a stick should be able to retrieve that axle stub. Might want to pop the shift fork & collar out to make it a little easier.