1984 SL Restoration

[spankrjs]

Win some, lose some. Was just going to change the brakes, spiraled out of control, went down hill fast.

One side brake parts off, need to clean reuse some of this stuff:



After backing plates are removed, the axle shaft/bearing/inner seal can be pulled:



Random interesting pictures. Some serious damage INSIDE the differential cover, maybe side gear tooth shrapnel damage:





Only one super thin shim on the driver side axle housing end, and it is ate up from rust:



In progress shot, cleaned/drying brake parts/backing plates, segregated to their corresponding side:



Used the damaged wheel hub as a slide hammer to free up/remove the axle shafts. Used the slide hammer to remove the inner axle seals.



I removed the old axle bearings with a punch/hammer.

I broke the four differential carrier bolts free, got the journals off, the differential carrier will NOT pry out the axle housing. Have never had this problem. Will rig up a piece of steel/2 jaw puller and pull it out tomorrow.

The plan:

1.) Replace the existing damaged differential gears with a good, used complete set from my spares stash.

2.) Reinstall the differential carrier and inner axle seals.

3.) Press the new bearings on the OEM axles.

4.) Reinstall both rear axles, set the bearing end play.

5.) Hopefully, by then, the replacement hub will arrive so I can complete all this unplanned rear differential/axle work.

The ring and pinion look/feel fine. All the bearings feels/sound/spin perfectly smooth, so this is as deep as I am going.

Simple brake parts swap out my butt!!!!!!

That's it for now!!!

 

[mhinchliffe]

Put a Full Float in that thing!

 

[Belizeit]

That's a growing project !

 

[spankrjs]

Put a Full Float in that thing!

If it was mine I would

 

[spankrjs]

That's a growing project !

Yep, went sideways fast

 

[Jeep Addict]

If it was mine I would

I know you have extras

 

[Belizeit]

The old " What's yours is mine, and mine is mine " ?

 

[spankrjs]

Got back to work on this one today. Used some wood blocks, steel wrench handle, big two jaw gear puller, some "RedneckRay Magic", rear differential carrier came out easy:



After fighting with pry bars yesterday, this was much easier, glad to see it on the ground. Make sure you keep the shims/bearing cup and caps on the correct side:



Had to go to Harbor Freight to buy a long punch, all of mine were too bent up to use.

To swap out the differential gears in an open carrier, fairly easy. Use a long puch, drive out the roll pin that holds the cross shaft in place:



On this 3.31 ratio, no need to remove the ring gear from the carrier, the cross shaft will clear the face of the ring gear. I used a brass drift, cross shaft slid right out.



You can roll the gears around, they will fall out when the smaller pinion gears roll around to the big openings in thr case. Keep the washers with their corresponding gears.



Reassembly is pretty easy. Put the larger side gears in place, thrust block inside the side gears, cross shaft in the bore with the hole in the right end:



Place the two pinion gears in position like so, exactly across from each other:



Roll the differential gears around until the pinion gears are in the correct spot, tap the cross shaft into position, install roll pin, finished.



I bought these long punches fron Harbor Freight for less then $10. You need a long punch for the roll pin.



So, everything just lovely.

Nope.

Cleaning the differential for pre-installation inspection, found this:



Ring gear side carrier bearing race is fubar.

 

[spankrjs]

Ring gear side carrier bearing fubar:





The other carrier bearing and race was fine. BUT, I was worried about this when I found the broken tooth in the differential. I was scared the shrapnel could have damaged the bearings. There was also a layer of sludge in the bottom of the axle.

No way to inspect the pinion bearings/races without removing the pinion. In for an ounce, in for a pound.

Using a two jaw puller to remove pinion yoke, note blue RTV, someone has been in here before.



Of course, the pinion would not come out of the housing with "light taps with a sand filled hammer". It would not drive out beating on it with a steel punch and a 2 pound maul.

So, heated the outer pinion bearing with the torch, then it came out. Note the pinion nut on pinion threads to protect them from the hammer/punch.



If you think gear oil stinks, wait until you start burning it with a torch!!!!

Pinion bearings and races are fine.







Races look good:



Look close, what is that between the two pinion bearings?



The missing tooth!!!!!

 

[spankrjs]

Pulling the pinion was a PIA, but necessary for inspection. And, I got the tooth out, which could have caused more damage.

Now, I'm going to hold up. This 3.31 ring and pinion is good, differential is good. I have new bearings and seals for the axle shafts, and one NOS wheel hub on the way. I still need to buy a set up kit for the rear, since I am going to change all four bearings and the pinion seal.

BUT, before I do any more work, or spend any more money on the rear axle, I need to pull the cover off the front differential.

IF the front end has matching 3.31 gears AND spins free with no visible damage, easy decision. I will buy the new bearings for the rear axle and keep on trucking.

IF the front end has damage OR mismatched ring and pinion, Tommy decision time. Ring and Pinion ratio swaps, and differential upgrades are a much more costly/personal decision.

The 3.31 gears are OK for this Jeep, which will probably be a mall crawler, at best. That is why I am sticking with the two piece axles.

If I knew it was going to be wheeled like my red Scrambler, I would have pulled both housings out from under the Scrambler and took them to the local ring and pinion guy for new ratios and lockers.


Since it is Tommy's, it can stay stock. Hell, Tommy might pull the lift off and put it back closer to stock height.

I have already strayed way past where I anticipated on this "just put it back together project". Hopefully the front end is good and has a matching ratio so I can keep on trucking.

That's it for now

 

[mhinchliffe]

Moving on down there. Always great to see your progress.........Bob Ross you are. (100% complimentary of course)

 

[jammer1]

Never pulled a differential, how did the broken tooth get past the inter pinion bearing? Glad you found it.

 

[spankrjs]

Never pulled a differential, how did the broken tooth get past the inter pinion bearing? Glad you found it.

The housing has a large hole above the pinion to allow oil up to the pinion bearings. I assume it bounced off the pinion/housing and ended up between the two pinion bearing races down in the oil pond area.

I will look tomorrow and take a picture/investigate some more.

EDIT - here you go, look at this picture. Above the pinion gear you can see the large opening in the housing to allow oil up to the pinion bearings. The ring gear paddle wheels the oil up and backwards toward this opening to oil the pinion bearings. There is a small hole behind the outer pinion bearing to allow oil to drain back down. You can see end of this return channel below the pinion gear.

 

[jammer1]

Thanks, I figured they had a opening toward the top that the oil would be directed to, to get oil to the outer bearing. Didn't expect it to be large enough for the tooth to fit in. Maybe someone upstairs is looking out for the jeep. Where it was sitting it's less likely to do damage than hanging around the gears. Thanks for the info.

 

[spankrjs]

Sometimes, you just "gots to know".

Pulled the front diff cover, thankfully the ring and pinion, all the differential gears, look/feel great:



And the ratio matches the rear, hand counted both to verify, 43 teeth on the ring, 13 on the pinion, both axles have 3.31 ratios, so good to go there, too:



No water/rust/mud contamination found in either axle. I think because this thing has sat so long, and probably had cheap gear oil in it, the oil kind of separated, because both differentials had a layer of black/sooty/sludge on the bottom of the housings, about 1/8" thick.

Cleaned it all out, all the parts are nice and shiny, good to go.

Still have a bunch of minor chores to do before reinstalling the rear differential/axle shafts, but will start plugging away at it.

I did "gamble" today, ran up to the drive line shop and picked up the bearings, seal, new pinion nut, and pinion crush sleeve for the rear axle. Gamble paid off, the front differential is good to go, so now I need to get on it.

That's it for now.

 

[spankrjs]

No progress, but the NOS AMC 20 hub came in:



Thought the 1997 date was interesting, I would not have guessed these parts were still being made or in distribution at the dealerships this late?



Casting number:



Smooth bore, never installed, just some packing grease/grime in there:



Anyway, just thought it was kind of neat, NOS Made in Canada Mopar parts box AMC 20 wheel hub !!!

 

[spankrjs]

Way too busy with work/medical crap lately, but made some progress on this one today.

Bought this a few weeks ago, put it together today. Have not tried it out yet. It is a little short.







I did use this, kind of meh, need a bigger/stronger version.



Not going to totally discount it. The outer pinion bearing was a bitch getting the pinion out of a few weeks ago. This inner pinion bearing was brutal. I almost wonder if this rear end was ran low on oil.

I cut the bearing cage off, pulled on the top of the bearing first to get some space under the inner race. I could have drilled/cut/chiseled the inner race off, BUT I wanted to keep the inner race as a press tool.



Yeah.



I ended up using some long Grade 8 bolts instead of the China steel. And a torch to warm the inner race. And a BFH. And finally, the impact.



China Steel!!!



No damage to USA pinion!!!



After that fiasco, it was nice to use my almost 30 year old Made In USA Caftsman 2 jaw puller to pop off the carrier bearings. No fuss, no muss, it just works.



Anyway, I now have all the old pressed off bearings removed. I need to make/find some press tools to install the new bearings, and get this show back on the road.

That's it for now!!

 

[Belizeit]

To bad I didn't know you needed that stuff. Got it all to do T176 and D300. Just collecting dust right now

 

[ag4ever]

Be careful with the cast plates on the press. Lots of reports of them shattering under pressure and sending shards flying.

I have the same press, and it works just fine for what it is. Make some tasks simple that would be near impossible without it.

 

[Belizeit]

Mine is probably more than 30 years old, and made in the good China = Taiwan Pretty amazed the jack is still working this long