Axle rot sway bar broke away!, (1 Viewer)

[Dan Skye]

Feeling very depressed
the shop I brought my 80 to just showed me my rear sway bar bracket ( driver side) rotted away and there’s nothing to reattach it to , frankly the whole rear axle looks like it’s about to turn dust please advise
thanks advance you guys on here are the best

 

[bigredmachine]

pics o fhow bad it is could be helpful, but if the hole axle housing is shot might be worth while trying to source a new one and swap it

 

[Dan Skye]

pics o fhow bad it is could be helpful, but if the hole axle housing is shot might be worth while trying to source a new one and swap it

Great idea I’ll get some pics up on here soon.
what do used ones go for on the market?
Is it better to replace the whole rear or just get a decent housing??

 

[bigredmachine]

what do used ones go for on the market?
Is it better to replace the whole rear or just get a decent housing??

depends on if the axle has lockers or not, anywhere from a few hundered to over 1200.

that's up to you, if your third and other axle components are good than you can swap if you get a bare housing or just swap a complete axle and keep the good stuff from the old one.

look in the parting out section of the classified section

 

[ajax1]

Bout 400 bucks here in Colorado for axle

 

[landtank]

time for as new housing at minimum.

 

[flintknapper]

Feeling very depressed
the shop I brought my 80 to just showed me my rear sway bar bracket ( driver side) rotted away and there’s nothing to reattach it to , frankly the whole rear axle looks like it’s about to turn dust please advise
thanks advance you guys on here are the best

^^^^ Move to a State where winter road conditions don't eat the vehicle right out from under you.

Feel sorry for you guys in the 'Rust Belt'. I've seen some mind boggling pictures of rust here on the forum.

It's a shame that a vehicle in the 'rust belt' States have a 'Life' based on how much road salt they are exposed to and not how many miles they are driven.

There would need to be 10-12 REALLY compelling reasons for me stay in an area like that.

 

[Golgo13]

Www.cruiseryard.com

 

[landtank]

There would need to be 10-12 REALLY compelling reasons for me stay in an area like that.

Not everyone has a single decisive reason of vehicle longevity when contemplating the most advantageous place to live.

 

[inkpot]

Just rip that rear sway bar off! Lots of rigs around here have broken/pulled it off. More articulation for wheeling. Not that bad on the street either.

 

[flintknapper]

Not everyone has a single decisive reason of vehicle longevity when contemplating the most advantageous place to live.

Yes, understood. Surely, you picked up on the 'sarcasm' purposely written into my reply?

 

[landtank]

Yes, understood. Surely, you picked up on the 'sarcasm' purposely written into my reply?

nope, missed that.

 

[flintknapper]

nope, missed that.

Noted

 

[Pipewhiner]

I'm in a simlar situation. If the sway bar went on the drivers side, then the panhard likely isn't far behind. Next thing you know, you'll be limping off Hells revenge with a couple ratchet straps holding your axle centered under your truck. If youre lucky enough to get a new bracket made, the stess will have weakened your upper control arm bracket on the pass side causing it to shear on top of the world. I have new housing that is immaculate off a california truck waiting to swap all my goodies into after Moab showed us just how much it despises NY road salt

 

[Dan Skye]

Man oh man that’s the intel I was hoping to get on here!
my shop is on me for a complete rear,do you think it should really them em more than a couple hrs to swap innards to new housings?
also is this beginning of the end with other rustopcalypse incidents not far behind or are the rears in these less robust to the ravages of time the the rest of the tank?
Cheers

 

[Pipewhiner]

Man oh man that’s the intel I was hoping to get on here!
my shop is on me for a complete rear,do you think it should really them em more than a couple hrs to swap innards to new housings?
also is this beginning of the end with other rustopcalypse incidents not far behind or are the rears in these less robust to the ravages of time the the rest of the tank?
Cheers

The northeast is unkind and the back half gets the brunt ot the abuse. It'll likely take more than a couple hours especially once you go replacing seals, repacking bearings etc. I'm about to tackle mine, so I'll let you know how long it takes.

 

[Dan Skye]

Hey good luck man and yeah it seems well worth just replacing the housing if it’s less to buy/ship and I not guessing as to how good the differential is.
Good luck with yours look forward to hearing how it works out.
One more thing do you see any place else on truck where it’s about to go because of rust( front wheel wells not withstanding)

 

[Pipewhiner]

My rig is in pretty good shape other than the rear diff. Once I get that swapped out, it should be good for another 20 years. On the front diff, a weak spot is where the front sway bar attaches to the differential. It's pretty thin metal and only held on bu a couple tack welds. When one let's go, it often takes out the hard metal brake line. Ask me how I know, lol