I bought a new torque wrench and thought I set it to 65lbs which I remember reading some where. after the issue I realized it was at 75lbs.... and now finding more info it probably needs to be 45lbs

ANYWAY... one broke, one of the four that hold the bearing caps in.

What I am wondering is if I can drive it for a few weeks or at all.

It never would go into 4x4 and I could keep it under 50mph.

I do have a second XJ that I could use, it is my wheeling rig and can get my tools to work BUT it sucks gas.

Please don't Flame me, I know the answer is obvious I just want to debate over it a little.

Thanks!!

 

if were talking rear ujoint then i wouldnt drive it. if it lets loose alot of undercarrage dammage will occur. know this from a buddys rig. even put hole in fuel tank. not a cheap fix after that

 

Better fix it before driving it, especialy if you're talking about one of the carrier side bearing cap bolts. You'll end up spitting the ring gear right out of the diff cover if you don't fix it.

 

oopps! dont know why i thought ujoint? must be getting late. if bearing cap bolt, fix right away. sorry for misreading. time for some sleep!! lol!

 

Spitting it out the diff cover!!! WOW!!!

Yeah I'll get it fixed first...

Best suggestions on removing a broken bolt in a shredded hole???

 

No the ring gear will got spit out the diff cover, you'd have yo break both axle shafts for that to happen. And unless you're a bogger eating moron, chanse are that the gawd awful onise from the rear end would alert you to a problem pretty darn fast.

That being said...Park it till it's fixed properly.

 

??

The pinion gear is actually trying to push the ring gear away as it rotates, driving with one of the saddle bolts gone will over stress the remaining bolt and can break it and cause the carrier to be forced out toward the diff cover. True, the axle shafts will keep the carrier from puking completely out of the rear end housing, but things will get pretty F-ed up in the process. Why risk it?

Now you might be lucky and the broken part of the bolt just might spin out of there, but I can't be sure without seeing it.

 

Re-Read the last sentence.

 

BTW.. it is the front diff...

 

drill and tap it shouldnt be more than an hours work i would think then slap a new bolt in there and call it yankee doodle.

 

Well I got the broken bold out.

SUPER easy!! There was no resistance at all... I used a small standard screw driver to tap it around and it backed out with no resistance.