Rear Axle Shaft Removal ... Extra Part :|

Ohh kaa, changing left rear axle bearings and seals due to it leaking like a seive.
Got everything out, apart, cleaned, painted ... decided to take a gander into the axle tube ... found half of the thrust block, that the pinion shaft goes thru, half way down the tube. Umm, is this kinda common?
Unless persuaded otherwise, I'm going to contact cement it onto the end of the axle and stick it back in aligned per the break pattern and call it good.
Comments would be appreciated

 

do you have a powerlock in the rear ?
the buttons fall out rather easily when pulling the shafts
I use a long wooden dowel with a finish nail in the end with a thick blob of wheel bearing grease on the button to hold it to the cross shaft when you reinsert into the crosshaft.
might take one or two trys to get it to stay in place, but it can be done

 

some more reading here for other possibilities

http://earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5007&highlight=powerlock+buttons

 

Oh, garsh no, nothing as simple as that
The attatched pic is mighty close to half of an axle shaft thrust block (per mil manual, diagram item #Y7).
I think I know how it happened ... just guessing, some monkey along the line changed the bearings, seals and paid no mind to the shims, just put 'em all back on ... there was NO endplay in the shaft ... probably PREloaded by a respectable amount
Thanks once again for your help.

PS, I gave the inner leather seal a bit of light oil to "wake it up", is there any dressing I might apply to the outer felt seal?

 

ouch
pull the carrier and replace the thrust block
oil on leather is good IMO

 

Is that like a real no-brainer operation? ... easy to find the part, just pull the carrier out, stick in the thrust block ... maybe 1.5 hours / good to go?

 

{pushing big, red button}
That Was Easy !
removal and dissasembly of the carrier
removal of the pin/spiders to install the thrust block
if you have the mechanical knowledge, 1.5 hours is doable
depending on what the rest of the spider gears look like..
maybe you'll need the whole spider kit ?
but the thrust block must be purchased seperately to the best of my knowledge.
R-P
Walcks
Border Parts
etc
should all have the thrust block

 

Yep, well, I read a bit about a guy that said you could change a D18 intermediate shaft on the trail in an afternoon (w/o a T case brake), if you knew what you were doing. It took me 18 hours w/ a brake and 4 hours was cleaning caked grease, etc. It's intimate experience that counts, not just mech knowledge ... black magic helps too.
My plan is as I described before ... it worked fine broke before. *IF* I can get the piece back in correctly AND shim it without it coming back out, it *should* work just fine as it has for some years (ASSumed).
Without doubt, your advice is correct, and I thank you for it.
It's crowding 10pm, must be time for dinner, Cheers!

 

Another job well done! Nice to have Willy roaming these hills once again. As with most endevours, many things learned from this operation