3-4mm bend in F & R axle housing - should it be straightened? (1 Viewer)

[dirt]

Greetings from Oz!

Does anyone know what's an accepatble bend in an axle housing? My FJ40 is currently having F & R ARB Lockers put in. On Friday I got a call from a diff center (apparently ARB sub contract the fitting of their lockers, not something they tell you when you book it in) anyhow they're saying I need to spend an extra AUS$2200

becuase the diffs need reburbishing and the axle housings are slightly bent (3mm one side 4mm the other - both front and rear

). AUS$2200 is a lot of cash considering it drives great, no noise from the diffs, no oil leaking or any other symtoms so I'm wondering what's an accpetable tolderance for a 25 year old 40?? The guy said it's up to me whether I have them straigtened and that 3-4mm was the limit of what's acceptable. I've budgeted AUS$3500 for the lockers which included replacing the carrier bearings and I can't really afford to spend an extra AUS$2200 on this extra work. My car is now in bits at the diff center and I have to make a decision on Tuesday. I can either just replace carrier bearings (AUS$200), refurbish the diffs, bearings, seals etc (AUS$1300) or I can go the whole 9 yards and spend AUS$2200 getting the housings straigtened as well. I can't really negotiate or get a competitive price as ARB has sent my truck there and they've ripped out the diffs and are waiting to put the lockers in. I asked the guy whether this was common and he said it happened all the time - again not something ARB warns you about. What does everyone think? Should I just replace the carrier bearings, refurbish the diffs as well, or should I pay to have the axle housings straignted as well, is 3-4mm enough bend to cause problems? I've been driving around with no problems up to now but I suspect it may also void the warranty on the lockers?

Has anyone had the same problem with bent axles when fitting ARB lockers? Any advice from someone who knows about diffs would be very greatfully received. If I do fork out the cash to get them straigtened are they likely to stay that way or will they have been weakend by the bending and be more likely to bend back?

I've also read that the ARB diff is more of a precision tool than the standard diff and has less of a tolerance for axle housing bends.

Thanks in advance, I know very little about diffs and so I have no idea whether 3-4mm is a enough to worry about. Apparently it has weeped diff oil into the CV on one side? The truck is just a toy so it only drives about 3000 miles a year.

Thanks, Phil

 

[projektdotnet]

Have them finish dropping those ARB lockers in then just buy a new set of housings and drop all your nice ARB parts into the unbent housings if 3-4mm is that bad.

As for fluid in the "CV" aka Birfield just replace the inner axle seals and wiper seals for now and trace the issue later, trust me.
Personally I would bet it would be a lot cheaper to find a good used housing than it would be to have yours straightened if it is going to be that much of a problem.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

BOTH axles housings are bent by about the same amount?

I can see one axle housing being bent that much, but both? And by nearly the same amount? Makes me suspect they introduced an error when measiring.

Before I did anything, I'd get a second opinion from another, reputable, shop.

 

[dirt]

It is a little strange to be the the same amont of bend F & R. There's a lot of sand dunes where I live so most 40's have seen a little air at some time or other but I'd have thought it would be harder to bend the rear. I've also heard carrying load over time can make em move a little. In Oz I can buy another 40 for AUS$1000 as they're a very common vehicle over here. If I buy another truck how difficult is it to swop the axle housings? As most 40's would have seen as much action as mine how do I make sure the spare rig I buy has straight housings? My 40 is an 84 LX with discs/power steer, etc. In Oz all 40s had fully floating F & R since 74, does anyone know if I can use the housing of an earlier truck? You can pick up a mid 70s truck for AUS$500-AUS$1000 but the later ones are quite expensive. Thanks for the advice so far Cheers, Phil

 

[andrewfarmer]

Main difference is the rear - early had an 8 bolt pattern for brake abacking plate - late have 4. Get the 4 bolt and anything should work...

Front housings are pretty much all the same - drum brake versions may need a bit of clearance oin the socket to get the birfs in.

 

[tucker74]

Have them finish dropping those ARB lockers in then just buy a new set of housings and drop all your nice ARB parts into the unbent housings if 3-4mm is that bad.

X2 - strange that I've never heard of anyone having this problem before other than a wreck bending the front axle. At least this way you can just swap the chunks in your garage if it really needs it ...

Tucker

 

[grant5127]

Bent housings are not that uncommon at all.... I replaced a front just last week...-1.9*camber.... the cause in this case is the owner is into DITCH-JUMPING.... air born style

 

[grant5127]

The bend starts at the u-bolt position next to the perch outward.... even more noticeable when it was on the cruiser with weight on it... the damn thing seemed to flex under a load... .. before the last scrap metal round-up I had 2 other fronts and 1 rear....... abuse takes its toll.......