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AMC 20 Axle Identification Help Please...

AMC 20 Axle Identification Help Please...

Coach

Active Jeeper
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Location
Dallas, TX
Vehicle(s)
1986 CJ7 / 4.2 I-6 / Auto / Dana 30 / Dana 300 / AMC 20 / Hard Top
I have some Moser Axles I ordered to install in my AMC20 , I hadn't pulled them apart, but assumed it had the two piece axles. (I know what assume means and may have just proved it's meaning again.) I need to know if I already have 1 piece shafts and if so, what brand they might be.

Apologies, but I have tried everything to make the pictures show in the post. For the life of me, I can't make them work.

I hope someone will take the time to follow the links and help me identify what I'm looking at.

IMG_0347 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Then here it is not so tight:

IMG_0346 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Thanks,
Coach
 
I have some Moser Axles I ordered to install in my AMC20 , I hadn't pulled them apart, but assumed it had the two piece axles. (I know what assume means and may have just proved it's meaning again.) I need to know if I already have 1 piece shafts and if so, what brand they might be.

Apologies, but I have tried everything to make the pictures show in the post. For the life of me, I can't make them work.

I hope someone will take the time to follow the links and help me identify what I'm looking at.

IMG_0347 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Then here it is not so tight:

IMG_0346 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Thanks,
Coach

Yep. You have 1-piece axles already. They look like my Superiors without the center emblem. But that doesn't mean they aren't Moser...The MS could indicate that. Makes me want to pull the emblem on one of mine and take a look :D
 
Yep. You have 1-piece axles already. They look like my Superiors without the center emblem. But that doesn't mean they aren't Moser...The MS could indicate that. Makes me want to pull the emblem on one of mine and take a look :D

They don't match the new Mosers I have, the cutout in the center is strange. You can slip your finger through behind the drums.

I'm wondering if they are an old version of the solid axles that used shims, which I have only read about.
 
They don't match the new Mosers I have, the cutout in the center is strange. You can slip your finger through behind the drums.

I'm wondering if they are an old version of the solid axles that used shims, which I have only read about.

I did some research after I saw your thread and I cant find a very good image of the Moser axles that have a cut-out on the hub. Everything points to a Superior kit.

Your axles look just like my Superiors (to include the cut-outs). Mine didnt use shims.
 
So now I'm wondering what my sound is again. This whole process started with a strange sound coming from my left rear axle area. I thought it might be bearings, so I decided to swap to solid axles and do the bearings in one process. Now I guess I need to pull my brakes and look for problems, then start looking through the rear axle for anything that might be the source.
 
So now I'm wondering what my sound is again. This whole process started with a strange sound coming from my left rear axle area. I thought it might be bearings, so I decided to swap to solid axles and do the bearings in one process. Now I guess I need to pull my brakes and look for problems, then start looking through the rear axle for anything that might be the source.


Yea, just break it down, could be anything from the install to bearings going bad to the races. It's possible the PO didn't do it correctly and the bearing on the axle wasn't pressed down all the way. Or that the race is spinning in the housing. You might need to put a nick on the inner lip of the housing with a punch to keep the race in place. I also used the high temp silicon around it. Can't remember if it suggested or I just did, but seemed like a good idea:D.

I could not find anything on MS other than Material (quality) Standard. Not sure why they would stamp that on though.:)
 
Alright, this has been bothering me, I'm hoping this works.
 
Are you sure that's an AMC20 rear end? The Dana 44 is not as common but it would have come from the factory with one piece axles.



Here is an AMC20
d_model20.jpg






Here is a Dana 44
Dana44b.jpg
 
Yep. You have 1-piece axles already. They look like my Superiors without the center emblem. But that doesn't mean they aren't Moser...The MS could indicate that. Makes me want to pull the emblem on one of mine and take a look :D

I think they are G2's, looks just like them (without the sticker). I will pull them in a couple of weeks and see what we are dealing with.
 
Why do you need to know what brand your axles are?

Let me tell you a story.
The PO installed one piece axles in my AMC20 rear. I needed new wheel bearings and didn't know who made the axle shafts. I compiled a list of all the companies that made one piece axles for the AMC20 . It was quite a list and I noticed there were some companies that had the same address but different phone numbers. :confused: I realised they were actually the same company.

Then I started calling them all, one by one. I asked each company "How can I tell if you guys made my axle shafts?" No one had a good answer until I called up Moser Engineering. I learned alot from the Moser Technician. He told me there were only two companies that made the one piece AMC axle shafts: Moser and Superior and Superior marketed their axle shafts under multiple names.

Moser originally designed the one piece axles with roller bearings. Superior copied the design. Moser then decided tapered bearings would work better so they changed the design. Superior then followed suit and changed to tapered bearings.

I was told it didn't matter who made (or marketed) the axle shafts in my AMC20 . What mattered is if I had roller bearings (old style) or tapered bearings (new style). Problem was you can't tell untill it's all torn apart. The tech from Moser sent me both styles and let me return what I didn't need.

Now if anyone asks me what brand of one piece axles to buy I say Moser because of better customer service. They really know their stuff.
 
Why do you need to know what brand your axles are?

Let me tell you a story.
The PO installed one piece axles in my AMC20 rear. I needed new wheel bearings and didn't know who made the axle shafts. I compiled a list of all the companies that made one piece axles for the AMC20 . It was quite a list and I noticed there were some companies that had the same address but different phone numbers. :confused: I realised they were actually the same company.

Then I started calling them all, one by one. I asked each company "How can I tell if you guys made my axle shafts?" No one had a good answer until I called up Moser Engineering. I learned alot from the Moser Technician. He told me there were only two companies that made the one piece AMC axle shafts: Moser and Superior and Superior marketed their axle shafts under multiple names.

Moser originally designed the one piece axles with roller bearings. Superior copied the design. Moser then decided tapered bearings would work better so they changed the design. Superior then followed suit and changed to tapered bearings.

I was told it didn't matter who made (or marketed) the axle shafts in my AMC20 . What mattered is if I had roller bearings (old style) or tapered bearings (new style). Problem was you can't tell untill it's all torn apart. The tech from Moser sent me both styles and let me return what I didn't need.

Now if anyone asks me what brand of one piece axles to buy I say Moser because of better customer service. They really know their stuff.

The only reason I was hoping to know was if I decided to just replace the bearings and not swap in my new axles.

Good to know they are all basically the same. I may just put my new ones in, since I don't know how long the others have been in there. I will see what type of bearings they have in a couple of weeks when I pull the axle off.

The CJ is my daily driver until we get a new tire on our car and an inspection. So I can't start taking it apart until that gets done.

Thanks for the great info though, that is very helpful.

Coach
 
What Dave said^
They take the same bearing. :)
 

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