eggdashure

Purchased a set of spiders on eBay for $20, in transit. Purchased an easy XJ 8.8 kit from Serious Off Road $180 and change (stupid CO and online tax). And purchased one of these:

for $80 at HF along with all the necessary safety equipment (helmet, apron, gloves).

Now I just need the weather to cooperate so I can get out there and start sanding and chopping!

eggdashure

So...yea...my happiness from discovering 4.10 gears went out the window today.

Let's start with the rear...bring forth the SURPRISES!

So, first order of business on the 8.8 was to remove the brakes. Rotors are all rusty but look machinable. Brake pads are starting to separate so need new pads...no shocker there. I was going to do it anyway so I wouldn't have to mess with it for a while.

Surprise #1: Ok, so just remove the center pin, push the axle shaft in...wait for the C-Clip to drop...wait for it...WTF? Here is what I find:





The C-Clips were pounded into place and scratched all to hell. Now, I can't back them out. Needle nose pliers do not provide enough surface area to get any grip. I tried another heavier duty set of pliers, but still nothing.

If you look closely at the 2nd pic, you can see that it's not possible to simply pull them out. It looks like the C-Clip was pounded in and bent slightly to get it in there.

Looking to my fellow Jeepers for ideas to get these clips out of there! Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated!



Frustrated with this discovery on the 8.8, I shifted my efforts to the D30. Surprise #2: Four different size of bolts on the calipers were my first tip something was not right on this axle. Oh well, plan to use the ones from my D30 anyways.

Surprise #3: The lugs holding the hub in place were not even screwed all the way in! And of course, the bolts were almost completely stripped. Thankfully I was able to back them out by hand. Surprise #4: After I finished the last bolt the hub fell out in two different pieces and the shaft popped out a bit too. Really?!

Surprise #5: So I moved to the diff, looks like the bolt holding the center pin might be sheered off. The whole diff was wobbling around, I was elated to find the bolts holding it in place were barely hand tightened! So I pulled all of them out too. I was so happy to find this:

Surprise #6:






You've got to be kidding me?! Am I that unlucky?

In some ways I'm glad this didn't go to a kid who would have had no clue about any of it! I'm trying to find a silver lining here guys!

At any rate, I'm trying to figure out my next steps. I will need a new bearing kit for sure. As with all Jeep projects, always turns into more than we bargain for.

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SeriousOffroad

pics aren't visible.

Bossokee

Make sure to preheat when using that welder, and crank it right up. Also I'd use .035 flux cored wire

SeriousOffroad

Can you fab a forked shaped piece of 1/4" steel to drive the c-clips off the axle?

SeriousOffroad

I think something is missing.....

eggdashure

I tried that...sort of. I tried using my tie rod separator, which lined up pretty good. But the C Clip was just impacting on the back side...

eggdashure

Yea, forget the name...Race something or other? I have to wonder if it was ever there...

SeriousOffroad

Yep, race is missing.

Any chance you can get your money back?

eggdashure

Doubtful, he won't text me back and Craigslist ad is gone.

Bossokee

Have you tried pulling on the c-clip while someone hits the axle shaft with a sledge?

danXJ

use your new welder and weld a scrap to the c clip, yank it out lol, maybe.... that's a bummer man

eggdashure

Hadn't thought of the sledge hammer. I was thinking about turning the axle on it's side and see if that gives me enough space. Though, its bumping up against the outside seal already so I'm not optimistic.

Bossokee

Whoever owned these axles previously was out of there right mind...

eggdashure

Got a text back from the guy I bought the axles from, he is not willing to help. So saying he is out of his right mind is an understatement!