Off Roading Forums banner

Alternative to 1 piece axles??

677 views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  ryankopecki 
#1 ·
I remember a long time ago someone told me they had new keyways cut, for 1/4" square key stock, on their 2 piece axles. They claimed they never spun an axle again and saved a bunch of money.

I didn't care at the time as I already had Summers Bros. 1 piecers in my 77-CJ7. But now I'm in the process of building a ultra low cost trail Jeep from an 81-CJ7 rust bucket. It will end up looking like something half Jeep/half whatever my little mind can come up with since the body is gone from firewall back. It has the GM 2.5 w/4 speed manual & 3.73s (everything stock for now). The frame needs repair and is sitting upside down on stands as I speak. Im going to drop the spring mounts 3" to gain some height with stock springs. I plan on running 31x 15.50-15 Terras. If you would like to hear some more on my ideas and the build up let me know and I'll post them.

Ok back to subject. I was thinking since I wont have a lot of horsepower and not really tall tires that it could be a cheap alternative to 1 piece axles and I could put the money towards say something like Lockers! I havent had time to check around on doing this yet and thought maybe someone here might know if it can be done for sure. I was wondering if anyone else has ever heard of this or had it done?
 
#2 ·
The only trick i know to keep 2 piece axles together is to keep them torqued. Its been awhile now but i think we torqued mine to 300 ft/lbs. I never had a problem and that was with a V8. Dirtdog will say the same, he still runs 2piece axles and he torques his from time to time. The best thing to do is swap them out, but if you want to be cheap tighten them down.
 
#3 ·
the amc car guys were the first to do this I think, BUt unless you own or have free access to a bridgport mill, you probably arent going to save any money over a generic set of 1 pc axles ( $180)

religiously check the torque on them and hope for the best

 
G
#5 ·
I had the local 4x4 shop drill out the keyway and put in a 1/2" plug (1/4" in the shaft & 1/4" in the hub). I'll break the axle before I spin it. Cost me about $100 each side (with labor). Call Milt Thompson at Dixie 4 Wheel Drive (435) 673-2546 to get the details.
 
#6 ·
My friend spun his hub and his mechanic welded his back together, that didn't work so i wouldnt' sugest trying it. What i would do is get 1 piece shafts and then just weld your rear diff if it's a trail machine. Also i would just cut to fit the tires, if need be remove the fenders, they might come off with a hammer and would save you some weight. Sounds like a cool project, post some details and pics during the build up. I like ultra cheep beaters that get the job done.

BarrelRoll
 
#9 ·
I was thinking of retorqing the hubs and then weld the backside of the hub to the axle to help out that little key but with my luck it would break off on the trail.Has anyone tried this?

Take the fenders off with a hammer? Huh we had to rip part of the rear fenders off by hand just so they wouldnt blow off trailering it home. Then when I was stripping it down I removed the roll bar with a pry bar in about a minute.

The reason I'm droping the spring mounts is not so much for tire clerance but ground clearance. I remember riding with my buddy at the Club weekend at Dresser in a 75 CJ5 stock with 32s and we kept getting hung up on logs so I figured 3" will help that.

I'll admit I was planning on the Lincoln Locker in the rear but so I can turn I figured I better go with a Lockrite in the front.

I'm trying to keep the cost of this project as low as possable just to prove it can be done without spending $1000s and the goal is to have a trail jeep that is uniqe and may not look pretty but gets the job done and makes people think twice about trying to follow it.Plus I like making those big shiny rigs look bad


If you can't play with the big dogs stay on the porch!
 
#10 ·
I heard the same thing from a Javelin hound. He said it works ONLY on new hubs. The idea is that you get it hot, stuff the axle in it, cut the splines, and as it cools, it's tighter than a press fit. He said using a press will help get the axle in before the hub has cooled, as the 5000ft/lbs
needed to spin the nut is a PITA without 3/4"-1" impact tools.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top