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Q's on Vic brakes

W

Wounded XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Rimrock, AZ
Was working on this swap yesterday and have a few questions so I can finish.

With the Rubi plates on the axle along with the CV brackets the original bolts in the axle flange were not long enough to bolt it back together. I have read multiple threads and none of them say they used different bolts. Is there a problem somewhere or do I need to get some new grade 8 bolts?

To get it home last night we used some longer grade 5 bolts (Just to get it on the trailer) and when I tightened everything up the axle would not spin easily (no brakes on yet as we did not get past the brackets). How tight are the bolts supposed to be?

 
neither of my d44s have had that problem.... are you using the ones from the cv or the xj? weird, maybe they were replaced sometime in the d44's life.

one of mine didnt want to roll easily, but that was due to the cv caliper rubbing the inside of the oem backspaced wheel
 
They are the ones on the XJ (MJ 44 axle). Do you use the CV ones? Oh and just to add I have grinded the bracket down so everything is flush. The bolts sit flush with the bracket so there is not way to thread the nuts on. The bolts I used for the time being were 1/2" longer.
 
Here is a pic of the axle and the rubi spacer. The lip is in towards the axle like I did right?

100_0346.jpg

100_0345.jpg
 
was just one of the axle shafts binding when you were tightening the bolts??? if so, maybe you have the long shaft in the short side.
The bolts should be able to be done up tight. The retaining plate should be hard up against the axle housing flange.
 
not that we can see, but yes, the lip goes in towards the gears

you ground down the brake backing plate for flushness? i ground down the end of the axle housing ends, at the bop and bottom. it was easier to get the material off from there.

i used xj bolts.... the xj ones are ground down on one side, for clearance of the axle housing end.... BUT i swear i have some in the hardware bin from the CV, and theyre similar... just not ground down on one side of the head.... something doesnt seem right, wanna measure how long the bolts you have are?
 
went out to the garage to check, and it appears the cv bolts are like... 1/4 shorter then the xj ones... and UN-clearanced
are yours clearanced on one side?

btw, are those new perches welded on yet? or are you waiting to burn it at the proper pinion angle?
 
Last edited:
xcm said:
not that we can see, but yes, the lip goes in towards the gears

you ground down the brake backing plate for flushness? i ground down the end of the axle housing ends, at the bop and bottom. it was easier to get the material off from there.
Click to expand...

They have been and they sit flush.

xcm said:
i used xj bolts.... the xj ones are ground down on one side, for clearance of the axle housing end.... BUT i swear i have some in the hardware bin from the CV, and theyre similar... just not ground down on one side of the head.... something doesnt seem right, wanna measure how long the bolts you have are?
Click to expand...

I want to say the stock ones were 2" long and the new ones were 2 1/2" long. This 44 came out of a MJ, but I would not think anything on the brakes would be diffrent than an XJ.


xcm said:
went out to the garage to check, and it appears the cv bolts are like... 1/4 shorter then the xj ones... and UN-clearanced
are yours clearanced on one side?
Click to expand...

Yes

xcm said:
btw, are those new perches welded on yet? or are you waiting to burn it at the proper pinion angle?
Click to expand...

Yes they are, but they do not look like it in the pic.
 
mattyj said:
was just one of the axle shafts binding when you were tightening the bolts??? if so, maybe you have the long shaft in the short side.
The bolts should be able to be done up tight. The retaining plate should be hard up against the axle housing flange.
Click to expand...

Both of them. We thought the same thing when we were working on it.
 
In your photos you don't have the caliper bracket/backing plate installed. I know on my 44/Vic install the axle retaining bracket is on the OUTSIDE of the bracket. The space that you see there that you can't take up by tightening down the bolts is where the bracket goes. The stock drum backing plate works this way too. You need the Rubicon plate and longer bolts because the caliper bracket is thicker than the drum brake backing plate.
 
zith said:
In your photos you don't have the caliper bracket/backing plate installed. I know on my 44/Vic install the axle retaining bracket is on the OUTSIDE of the bracket. The space that you see there that you can't take up by tightening down the bolts is where the bracket goes. The stock drum backing plate works this way too. You need the Rubicon plate and longer bolts because the caliper bracket is thicker than the drum brake backing plate.
Click to expand...

The reason the brackets were not on was becuse I was working on this at another persons house and needed to get home as it was late. On my 1st attempt to bolt it together I did not grind the back of the brackets down. I thought that was the problem, but after some grinding and I put the axle in the bolts hardly went through the Rubi plate. I could not get the nuts on without getting longer bolts (the ones you see there). So you are confirming I need longer ones I take it?
 
I mentioned the missing brackets partly because some other people overlooked that, and partly because I don't want to assume anything.

To answer your question on the bolts, I definitely needed longer bolts to make sure there was enough thread engagement in the nuts. Unless your original studs were different than mine, you'd be better off with them too. I also did have to grind the bolt head so it cleared the tube.

As for your original question on resistance to turning the axle, did you have the brackets on when you tried? The axleshafts probably use a tapered bearing and race, and the tighter you push in on the bearing, the more preload (and therefore resistance to turning) there will be. If you cranked down the bolts too much, you could push in too tight on the bearing. When the caliper bracket is in there, there will be a limit on how much pressure can be exerted on the seal/bearing because the retainer plate will tighten down on the bracket.
Of course if you did have the bracket on, my thought goes out the window. I'm just throwing out ideas!
 
zith said:
I mentioned the missing brackets partly because some other people overlooked that, and partly because I don't want to assume anything.

To answer your question on the bolts, I definitely needed longer bolts to make sure there was enough thread engagement in the nuts. Unless your original studs were different than mine, you'd be better off with them too. I also did have to grind the bolt head so it cleared the tube.

As for your original question on resistance to turning the axle, did you have the brackets on when you tried? The axleshafts probably use a tapered bearing and race, and the tighter you push in on the bearing, the more preload (and therefore resistance to turning) there will be. If you cranked down the bolts too much, you could push in too tight on the bearing. When the caliper bracket is in there, there will be a limit on how much pressure can be exerted on the seal/bearing because the retainer plate will tighten down on the bracket.
Of course if you did have the bracket on, my thought goes out the window. I'm just throwing out ideas!
Click to expand...

Ok I will get some new grade 8's and grind them. Also I did not have the brackets on when we I tightened down because it all would not fit so you are probably right. We talked about that when we were getting it on the trailer, but it was late and we just wanted to get home. Thanks!!!
 
zith said:
I mentioned the missing brackets partly because some other people overlooked that, and partly because I don't want to assume anything.

!
Click to expand...

yeah, we OVERLOOKED the fact that his axle has no brakes.... yeah, OUR mistake....


no idiot. some of us read the thread, and found out what was going on, maybe you can do the same before you chime in next time
 
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