Axles, new & old...
added 3/27/98
With the new tranny installed, and not masking other bad
noises, another test drive showed two other drivetrain items
needing attention: The rear axle was making a bad bearing
noise and the right front wheel bearings were loose and
noisy. At this point I was contemplating joining a cult
where you have no possessions to maintain, therefore your
life is bliss. Back to the wrecking yard for an axle. Back
to mail order for bearings, seals, lock washers, etc. Back to
Sears for a 50mm (!) socket to remove the front spindle nuts.
Back to mail order for the hub sealing gaskets that you
forgot. Back to Suzuki for the parking brake cable that is
not available mail order. And on and on...
My pipe dream (and budget) for turning the Samurai into a
trail vehicle with all the off-road goodies was loooong gone.
I was now fighting an uphill battle just to get the dang
bucket back to reliable, road-worthy condition. My wife was
beginning to refer to me as “That angry person who dwells in
the dark garage” when she spoke of me to my daughter. I
needed a drink.
What I got was my VISA bill. I needed yet another drink.
Oh yeah, the story. After dragging the axle home, I
discovered that the brake line setups are different in
pre-1988-1/2 versus post-1988-1/2. Some nifty fabricating
here and there, and I should be all set right? Wrong! In
attempting to take the brake line out of one of the (new)
used axle’s wheel cylinders, I managed to break the fitting
off. Okay, I really wanted to rebuild the rear brakes
anyway, right?
Ah, but how does one remove the brake drum from a Samurai’s
hub? Get out your trusty slide hammer, hook it up like so,
and... don’t have one, well, you’re out of luck. Due to the
design of the (heavy gauge) backing plate, you can’t get a
screwdriver between it and the drum to pry it off. I had to
file down two paint can openers just so, in order to get a
hold of the edge of the brake drum and have a prayer of
getting it off.
After completely rebuilding the rear brakes and fabricating
of brake line bracketry, I put the rear axle back on and
filled the diff with gear oil. Another test drive...ahhh,
the sounds of silence!
[Next Page] [Back One Page] [Contents]
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page