I recently purchased a 75 BJ40. It is early 75 with the drum brakes and coarse 6 spline hubs. The previous owner removed the front carrier and inner axles and I am working to get them replaced. The consensus seems to be to swap all of the parts so that you get the disc brakes and the fine spline hubs. Unfortunately, I'm having a difficult time finding all of the parts to do the conversion here in the Philippines and shipping them from overseas is tough (you need a special permit to import used auto parts). I have found a 3rd and inner and outer axles, but the Birfields are the fine spline. Finding fine spline locking hubs is also no problem. I've found one post that seems to indicate that this swap is not a problem (retaining the spindles and drum brakes), but some others indicated that there may be some issues. I'm hoping that someone could help me sort it out so that I don't end up with the front axle torn apart and without the parts to finish it. The questions I have are:
Thanks in advance. I tried reading all of the FAQ's, but I just couldn't get to 100% certainty from the info there, although I certainly might have missed something.
- Will the later fine spline axles / Birfields fit in the housing of an early 75 without issues?
- Aside from the hubs, is there anything else I need to swap for it to work?
- If this isn't possible, and my coarse spline Birfields check out ok, can I use the inner axles and 3rd that is available here with the coarse spline outer axles?
Thanks in advance. I tried reading all of the FAQ's, but I just couldn't get to 100% certainty from the info there, although I certainly might have missed something.