61 CJ5 Resto Restart Info

[test1328]

Thank you! I appreciate your help.

[gmwillys]

I'm a grease purge guy. The more grease zerks the better in my opinion. That's how I found out that the original rear axle pinion bearing was eat up on the Heep. I went to grease the rear U-joint with the wheels off the ground. Turned the shaft and the pinion clunked. The odd thing was that there was no vibration or noise when driving it around the ranch.

[bmorgil]

OK gm, your a process guy... what you are really saying is, an occasional maintenance inspection is very important!

[51 CJ3]

Regular inspections are important. I remember changing u-joints on everything I owned before about 2000. They all had grease points and got greased while I was changing oil. I didn’t put more than 60k miles on any of them. I don’t know that any of them had more that 120k total when I sold them. The newer vehicles I have owned have not needed any driveshaft maintenance at all. My 2008 F150 has 225K on it. The ‘69 Bronco dropped the rear drive shaft twice. Almost three times but I heard a “ping” in Tucson, AZ. Couldn’t find a loose end so I pressed on. It came apart in Kearney, NE but I got it stopped quick when I heard the rumble. Pulled the driveshaft and drove the last hour that day and the next 2 days looking for parts on the front driveshaft.

Off topic but the wife’s 2014 Explorer ate a rear axle bearing I couldn’t get the steel hub out of the aluminum knuckle so I ended changing both. It only had about 115K on it at the time.

[bmorgil]

Jeff, I hate to hear anyone having trouble. As you are eluding to however we have come a long way. I have had my "Old School Eye's" opened more than once by what our modern advancements in engineering and Machining have provided. When I started in the Automotive world, a vehicle that had 50,000 miles on it was getting up there in mileage. It was certainly time for a valve job. The rings would be beginning a rapid decline. The U-Joints would have already been replaced once. It would have needed a tune up at least twice by then. Now, I have seen perfect U-Joints come out of passenger cars with 250,000 miles on them. Sealed up tight, the original grease still in place. Engines that when torn down with over 100,000 miles on them, show no visible signs of cylinder wear. The difference in the seal technology and the surface finish modern machining provides, is unbelievable sometimes.

[test1328]

OK, I have a question regarding the u-joints on the axles. I was able to install the sealed Spicer 5-260X U-joint in one axle. Everything looks good and I installed the clips. However, the u-joint is still a bit tight,not really that loose and moving with little effort like I think it should. Is this normal? I tried wacking the side of the u-joint yoke housing with a hammer on all four sides and that didn't make any difference. It's still tight. Just to clarify, it does move but doesn't move very well under its own weight, it takes a bit of force to move each axle piece by hand. Any suggestions on how to proceed. I haven't done the other side yet. Any suggestions on how to properly put a u-joint in is also appreciated. I've been using a vice and sockets to push the caps in.

[bmorgil]

It sounds perfect, as long as it is smooth. If you are able to assemble it with no trouble, in particular getting the snap rings on, it should be fine. The joint should move smoothly and may or may not fall under its own weight. It should not take a lot of effort to flex the joint, but some stiffness is normal on new U-Joints.

Sometimes on disassembly and reassembly, if the yokes are not supported correctly you can "spring" the yoke ears. There will be no question something is bent as the snap rings will be very difficult to get in if at all. If there is a needle bearing out of place, you can crush them when pressing the joint together. If you manage to get the snap rings on with a "needle down", there will be no question as the flex will be rough and not smooth as it moves through the range.

[test1328]

Thanks! That is great to hear that you think all is fine. The joint does move smoothly, it just doesn't flop around like I thought it should. No issues getting the C-clips in at all. And, I was quite careful to make sure that all the needles stayed in place. I should be good to go, I think.

[test1328]

Slowly progressing on this project. I was able to get the u-joints replaced on both axles, all is good with them.

I've since disassembled the front differential. Everything looked good inside, but I wanted to replace the pinion seal since it was obviously leaking and I needed to replace the inner oil seals as well. Here a view of each one before I pulled them out.

IMG20230312143648.jpg
IMG20230312143659.jpg

I'm wondering if anyone has a trick on how to install the new inner seals since there is limited room inside the diff housing to wack them in with a hammer? The manual calls out a special tool, but I'd prefer not to buy something new if I don't have to.

All in all, the housing looks to be in good shape and cleaned up fairly well. The races and bearings all look to be in really good shape. Little to no wear on the ring and pinion. I did swab out the axle housings to get the accumulated oil/gunk out of them. Do you think it would be a good idea to run a clean, oiled rag down the axle tubes to provide an anti-rust coating to the inside of the axle tube? Likewise, I've been thinking of the axle shafts themselves and whether I should apply a light coat of grease or oil on them when I reinsert them into the axle tubes to prevent them from possibly rusting in the future. What do you think? There was a slight coating of surface rust on them when I pulled them out, I suspect from sitting for so long. Not a big deal and it cleaned off quite easily.

Thanks!

[bmorgil]

The "trick" is in the tool. I have made one in a pinch with two large sockets the diameter of the seals, and a piece of all thread, washers and nuts.

Axle Seal.JPG

https://willysjeepforum.kaiserwillys...ront-axle-cj3b

I don't see any problem if you want to "swab" the axle tubes and oil the axle shafts. It certainly wont hurt anything.