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problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

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2.1K views 30 replies 12 participants last post by  Wyld_Bill  
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#1 ·
problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

OK about a year ago I welded up the diff. in my 1986 Samurai. It wasn't long after that I started hearing some strange "snap, ping" torquey noises coming from the rear end. So after a day of HARD wheeling I had one wheel drive so I thought "Oh that was it, I didn't weld up the diff. good enough & it has been trying to move." So I welded up a whole new diff. & put it in. SAME EXACT NOISES!!
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So after all this time I finally found out what is going on. The rear brake drums are tweaking clockwise & counter clockwise all the time (when turning tight on tar mostly). The four little nuts & lock washers are spent & have worn into the drums
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Now that I think about it I have re-tightened these nuts several times in the past year. So anyways my warning to you guys, if you run a welded or spooled rear end keep an eye on those nuts & studs. Oh, and BTW those little nuts are made out of butter or some other VERY soft material
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#4 ·
Re: problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

Ditto I just replaced those on my sister in laws samurai. One was actually worn pretty much all the threads off. Also I was swappping a transfer case into her rig and noticed I could turn the drive shaft 3/4 of the way around
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. So I pulled the 3 rd member and the whole thing was shot everything was rounded off.
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So I put in a spare 3rd member for her to, I gotta start charging for this stuff......................
 
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#5 ·
Re: problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

I can garuntee after you weld the rear on a stock sami axle its only a matter of time before you replace most of the stuff on it. Probably not bad if its a trail only rig but i drive mine all the time and its very hard and ruines the
wheel bearings
pinion bearing
axles "twisted"
and side gear teeth
If your welded both wheels should be turn at the exact same time when you turn one.. jack up the back of your sami and jog one wheel back and forth, i bet theres a bunch of play and the other wheel is bouncing against you. its becuase the side gears are wooped... i highly recommend using the spool cuz its cheap and you can just swap in new side gears.. Im welded "before the spool came along" and i just had to throw out the whole chunk sicne it cant be redone after welding
 
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#8 ·
Re: problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

The one wheel drive was because one side of my welded diff. broke free. Has nothing to do with the actually problem I am talking about. I was just stating how at first I thought that was the cause of all the noises I was hearing.

On another note. Is Camini's stronger axle shafts a one piece where the rim essentially bolts right to the axle flange? If so this would eliminate the problem that I speak of.
 
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#10 ·
Re: problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

I installed a spool in mine this past weekend and I am experiencing the same pinging/torqueing sounds that you are speaking of. I am going to replace the nuts that hold the drum to the axle and make sure that everything is tightened down securely. What did you do to overcome this problem?
 
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#11 ·
Re: problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

yep mine is doing the same thing i guess that explains that noise finally i was looking at it and it looks like it might be able to be converted over to use lug style nuts by cutting the apropriate chanfer into the brake drum that will make it center on the studs like a rim eliminating the clearance when tighted
 
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#12 ·
Re: problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

I just re-tightened the nuts for now but I'm almost ready to swap in my Toyota P/U axles so I'm not gonna even mess with it. On my wifes Zook I'm gonna leave the rear axle open or spend the big money on a air locker.
 
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#17 ·
Re: problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

that would be me i went welded since i had a spare carrier and wanted more traction did it the day before a 4wd run loved it off road on road it wasnt to bad then went to 31 in tires and a locker the locker had problems so i am waiting on the new one so the spool is back in but i realy want a arb guess it is time to build and sell some stuff
 
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#19 ·
Re: problems running a spool or welded rear!!!

I realize that people can not afford different things, I was extreemly lucky to have the one I just happened to fall into...
it came on a rig that I bought... so it went onto my daily driver....
but I just wanted to voice my opion, and give out options...

things can be great, but if only the venders talk about it, people think that it is just them trying to SELL product.
know what I mean...?

by the way did you find a LWB yet?
 
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#20 ·
Take a look at this brake drum!

I'd been hearing some noise from the right rear wheel, but thought perhaps it was just mud in there.
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Then I noticed this! I'm running a detroit EZ locker, so it isn't just you guys with welded dif's and spools. Needless to say, I'm upgrading the hardware. Thanks go out to SteveItalian for the spare brake drum.
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#21 ·
Re: Take a look at this brake drum!

****inA! That happened with just lockers? UGH!

Gotta start paying attention to this.

BIG QUESTION??? Are you guys sending the nuts home with an inpact air gun? Are you checking the torque when you reinstall them? I haven't had this happen to any of our rigs, but maybe it's a case of how tight the nuts are. Just a thought.
 
#22 ·
Re: Take a look at this brake drum!

Its not the locked rear end, I had the same thing happen to mine when it was bone stock. I would hear it clunk when going from forward to reverse and vice-versa. The studs were messed up pretty good too
 
#24 ·
Re: Take a look at this brake drum!

Wow! On an open rear no less? While I've never seen anything like it happen to trucks I've seen, I now know it happens. I'll keep an eye on the pumpkin.

As for my Sammy, I have the ST rear disc conversion and it uses grade 8 bolts. Maybe that helps, eh?
 
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