75 Series Rear Axle Rebuild (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 18, 2018
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Location
Beaver, PA
Back in September I did a little overlanding trip from TX to PA, driving up through the Appalachians and camping every night. Killer trip and the troopy performed beautifully. It's a '92 PZJ75.

Somewhere in Arkansas I had stopped off and noticed drips of oil on one of the rear wheels. It was pretty apparent that the flange where the axle mates up to the hub was leaking and at highway speeds, drops of oil were coming out radially. See photo below. I did a hillbilly repair by wrapping duct tape around the hub, which successfully stopped the leak, and got on my way. No issues since.

I left the truck in PA with a relative and will be driving it back to TX in January. I'll be in PA for the holidays and plan to address this before the big drive back south. My understanding is that this can be a symptom of wheel bearings needing to be changed, and I've never touched the rear axle or wheel bearings since I've owned the truck, so I'm sure it's well overdue. I figure it will be worthwhile to do a full rebuild with all new seals and wheel bearings while I'm in there.

I'm a novice mechanic and haven't attempted something like this before but I understand what needs to be done, and will have help from a family member who is a professional mechanic. I'll just be on a tight schedule to get this done while I'm up there before I need to drive back, so I'm trying to make sure I'll have everything I need and don't get stuck without a part and get delayed. This is where I'm looking for some advice.

For parts list, I'm planning on getting the rebuild kit from Cruiser Outfitters which should cover all seals and wheel bearings:

Additionally I'll obviously need diff oil and wheel bearing grease...

My questions are:
Am I missing any parts? Any other hardware that is worthwhile to replace while I'm in there?
The repair manual mentions several SSTs. Are there specific tools I'll definitely need, or is it possible to get by with standard tools?

Thanks in advance!


IMG_4288.jpg
 
You are about 3hrs from me. Welcome to come up here to wrench on it.

You're up in the Hudson valley area, eh? Love it up there. If things fall through for my cousin to help me out with the job, I might take you up on that; really appreciate that offer.
 
Should get new studs, acorns, nuts, washers for the axle to hub. Those usually get jacked up during disassembly if they've never been taken apart. Should also rebuild your brakes while you have it all apart.
 
You could pull the axle shafts without jacking up the truck or evan taking the tireoff. Once you remove the nuts/spring washers/cone washers, use two bolts via the two treaded holes on the flange to pull the axle. That’s the nice thing about the full floating rear axle. You can see the seal at the end of the axle housing in this photo. Also, notice the SST used to set the bearing pre-load:

63F8E903-D838-4B7C-ACA8-8CAEA0E3DBBB.jpeg
 
Take a medium sized flat head screwdriver with the head ground to a 30 degree point like a 30-60-90 degree right triangle. Smack it with a small hammer while the screwdriver’s in the seam of the cone washer. You’ll darn near remove all of them without damage.

Should get new studs, acorns, nuts, washers for the axle to hub. Those usually get jacked up during disassembly if they've never been taken apart. Should also rebuild your brakes while you have it all apart.
 
image.jpg

Sometimes the screws that hold the bearing preload get jacked so I usually like to replace them to ensure that the next time I do the repair, there’s less of a chance of dealing with a totally stripped screw. I’d double check your diff isn’t leaking just because it’s also a good time to repair, reseal diffs while axles are out.

+Have like 2 extra brass punches. Conewashers sometimes need a beating.

+1-2 extra wheel studs in case some are jacked up.

As a personal anecdote, I guess in ‘92 rear axle seals were modified slightly and I had to reorder a couple different seals later. I have a ‘94 that I did a rear axle rebuild on, and it had a pre-‘92 style axle. So just check when you take it apart that you have the same seals (particularly the rear seal on hub and the dust cover boot seal that’s shaped trapezoidal that had 4 bolt holes).
 
Cool, so I'm adding the following additional tools/parts to the list:

09509-25011 - SST for setting bearing pre-load
90116-08325 - Qty 12 - BOLT, STUD (FOR FRONT AXLE OUTER SHAFT FLANGE), RH/LH
42323-60010 - Qty 12 - WASHER, CONE (FOR REAR AXLE SHAFT), RH/LH
90201-08042 - Qty 12 - WASHER
90170-08204 - Qty 12 - NUT (FOR PROPELLER SHAFT)
42419-60011 - Qty 4 - SCREW, REAR AXLE BEARING LOCK NUT
90942-02052 - Qty 3 - BOLT, HUB (FOR REAR AXLE), RH/LH (I believe these are the wheel studs?) I'm not anticipating needing to replace all of these and I already have 3 in my spares stash.

How bout the spring tension gauge that it recommends to check the preload? Guessing this is also something I should get?

Anything else I'm missing?
 
How bout the spring tension gauge that it recommends to check the preload? Guessing this is also something I should get?


The hanging scales for weighing fish should do it.
 
Hello,

As mentioned above, have the bearings and seals replaced.

It is a good opportunity to change brake shoes and cylinders, as well as brake lines and the parking brake.

A look at the differential seals and components is a good idea.

Regarding parts, tools and SSTs are worth having. Get them.





Juan
 
Good point @mcmarshing, be careful taking those screws out, they can get stripped easily and then you'll have a major headache. I don't use a screw driver on those, I get a phillips bit on an end of a ratchet or something that you can apply a lot of pressure with and it comes out easy.
 
Thanks all for the tips, very helpful.

Regarding the SSTs, there are some mentioned in the service manual that don't appear to be readily available and/or are very expensive. Can I do without these or not?

09308-00010 Oil Seal Puller
09608-35014 TOOL SET

These are for removing and replacing the oil seal in the hub.
 

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