amc 20 axle question

[PaRenegade]

Not to be a downer but "pay me now or pay me later". You will eventually have this issue again, within the next several months. You can reuse the old by cleaning up the splines with a wire brush, a new key, and some high strength Loctite (like 272) applied liberally. Then crank that nut on as tight as you possibly can. I used to put a steel rod between the lug bolts (put the nut on against to protect the threads and keep it from slipping off) and the ground (cement). Then used a 24" pipe wrench with a 2' pc. of 2" galv. pipe slide over it's handle part way, and then all 190 lbs. of me (at the time ) would stand on the end.

This worked only for a while and wheelin' shortened that time frame. It WILL happen again, it's just a band-aid fix. One pc. axles are worth the investment as long as it's a quality axles such as Moser's and you use Timken bearings and National seals with it.

 

[rigrunner567]

think i will try pa renegades idea until i can afford the one peice axle kit. cant hurt to try i guess. where can i pick up a new key way? thanks

 

[PaRenegade]

The "keyway" is on the axle, you need a "key" to fit it. You can get them at any NAPA or similar "jobber" type auto stores. Take your old one or take the axle and hub if you don't.

 

[BusaDave9]

I say do not reuse the axle or the hub.
The axle shaft was spun in the hub. You can not clean the spines up. The splines are ground down. The woodruf key is mangled into fragments.
If you get the hub off the axle wait for parts. Don't put them back as is.

If you really want to find the cheapest way to get back on the road a better idea would be to weld the axle on the hub but then you would have a heck of a time getting it off.

Also after you spin the hub it's a bear to get off. It's hard enough in normal circumstances but after you spin the hub you have the extra metal of that woodruff key ground in there.

 

[rigrunner567]

ok if i was to weld the hub to the axle. can i remove the hub and axle together later to replace the old axles with new?

 

[PaRenegade]

I didn't mean to clean them up as in recutting new splines, I just meant to clear out the old assembly glue or whatever it is they put in there, dirt, grease, etc., to make room for the Loctite.

I don't recall it being a woodruff key but I could be mistaken. I'm thinking mine was a square parallel key. But whichever it was mine sheared off. I don't recall any damage from the keys failure. I replaced mine with Moser's back in the early to mid-90's and haven't looked back since.

Both times my hub spun on mine it was no problem to separate the hub from the shaft. When I broke a shaft, now that was hard to separate, or replacing the outer oil seal, same thing, but there was no slippage or failure involved.

But I'm curious about how you would weld them. Seems to me the heat would destroy the outer oil seal. Are you welding the nut to both the axle and hub? Or on the backside.

Edit: Ridgerunner - Yes you can still remove them. Really what holds your axle assembly onto the axle housing is the 4 bolts that go thru the oil seal retaining flange.

 

[rigrunner567]

ok thanks. i will get some lock tite first and hope it holds till i can get the new axles. maybe even weld the nut and washer to the hub and axle for good measure.

 

[Old Dog]

As many people that there is changing out there axles I would think you could find a used one here somewhere.

 

[tinman]

You can have mine that I just pulled, although the shipping from Idaho might not make it worth it. Everything was good at the time(couple of months ago), and has been kept inside.

 

[rigrunner567]

ive done alot of reading and i see lot of post saying if i weld the hub to the axle it will break off before its outta the shop. i run 31 10.50 tires and will only drive aprox 20 miles a day for work. will just tacking things together for a few weeks be that likely to break? and also can someone tell me roughly the weight of an axle shaft so i can get a shipping quote? thanks

 

[rigrunner567]

also ive found some good used shafts and they are liseted by short and long side axles. does anyone know off hand the length of the drivers side axle on a narrow track rear. sorry for all the questions and thanks again.

 

[Sasquach]

I will check later but make sure you include the hub, most will have them seperated from axle after removal to be able the keep the seal retainer.
I am glad to read your new direction because lock-tite'ing a spun hub would be a waste of time and the last time I bought lock-tite it was not cheap.
From the west coast I have everything you need in good used parts.
My guess is $35 or so in shipping.

 

[rigrunner567]

I will check later but make sure you include the hub, most will have them seperated from axle after removal to be able the keep the seal retainer.
I am glad to read your new direction because lock-tite'ing a spun hub would be a waste of time and the last time I bought lock-tite it was not cheap.
From the west coast I have everything you need in good used parts.
My guess is $35 or so in shipping.

is there a way i can message you. i would love to get a price quote on what shipping from your area would be. and i would gladly pay for the parts. the jeep is pretty much my daily driver right now and my other car is killing me on gas.

 

[mtnwhlr]

also ive found some good used shafts and they are liseted by short and long side axles. does anyone know off hand the length of the drivers side axle on a narrow track rear. sorry for all the questions and thanks again.

Both sides are the same lenght the short and long is if you have a narrow or wide trac so you would need the short one.

 

[rigrunner567]

sasquach pm sent

 

[BusaDave9]

ive done alot of reading and i see lot of post saying if i weld the hub to the axle it will break off before its outta the shop.

I would think a welded hub would last at least a couple of years.
If you try to reuse the hub or shaft that wouldn't last 2 blocks.
The biggest problem I see is a welded shaft is much harder to remove. The one piece axles have a hole that allows you to get access to the bolts that hold on the retainer plate. To remove the one piece axle you would have to either drill a hole or cut off the tip of the axle that has the weld.

 

[BusaDave9]

Both sides are the same lenght the short and long is if you have a narrow or wide trac so you would need the short one.

Actually the passenger side is always longer on the AMC20 axle. The drive shaft yoke is in the center but since the pinion is on the side of the ring gear you can see in this picture the drivers side axle is shorter because the differential is offset to keep the pinion (and drive shaft) in the center of the jeep.


Just make sure you get the correct length. You have to keep keep in mind narrow track vs. wide track and what side you need.

 

[rigrunner567]

thanks for all the pics and info. im definitly learning here. ive been into old vws for years and mopars heavily for the last couple years. im totally lost on the jeep lol always enjoy learning something new.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Actually the passenger side is always longer on the AMC20 axle. The drive shaft yoke is in the center but since the pinion is on the side of the ring gear you can see in this picture the drivers side axle gear is shorter because the differential is offset to keep the pinion (and drive shaft) in the center of the jeep.


Just make sure you get the correct length. You have to keep keep in mind narrow track vs. wide track and what side you need.

I stand corrected

 

[Sasquach]

Can anyone confirm the driver side NT 2 piece axle is 26-3/8" end to end?
I cut up one of mine and is gone but 99% sure the remaining axle is driver side and looks correct just eyeballing it under my model 20. Don't want to ship the wrong axle across the country just for sport.