Cruiser Owner 5 Hours and Counting. HELP

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D

DJForrestA

Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Threads
27
Messages
158
Location
Twin Falls Idaho
Ok I bought a 1992 FJ 80 today. I'm stoked. I've read about the legendary smooth ride, durability and reliability and while I love my old Scout it will be great to take my wife and 4 boys with me all the places I love to go and I won't need kidney replacement when I'm done. Anyway I paid 2000 and the interior is nice and the exterior is ok. It is missing all the flares and has a couple of dents in the passenger doors. It has 155000 miles but runs very strong. The main issue is in High with the diff lock disengages it won't go. There is a strange grinding sound coming from the right front hub. If it was my scout I'd replace the drive flange on my Dana 60. I'm guessing this has drive flanges as well but i'm not sure. Do they fail on these? Also it has an axle seal leak on that same spot. The flange should be very easy to check do I just pop off the dust cap? Also what else should I watch for? I am hoping just the flange but is it more likely to be the birfield? If so best price for parts and should I replace the pair. Next big question. Are lockouts available? Thanks in advance. I'm excited to drive with the diff lock off and use this as my primary transportation.
Forrest
Oh here is my current favorite
 
Welcome! Glad to see you made it over ;)

Pop the dustcap off, and pull the drive-flange off. The splines may have been stripped. From what I understand it's not a very common problem, but it's not impossible. If you have trouble getting the cone washers out of the driveflange to get it off, tap the side of the flange w/ a big hammer and they will pop out(leave the nuts on, but loose so the cones don't shoot across the garage ;) ). If the flange isn't stripped I dunno what it could be, but that sounds like the most viable problem.

Ary
 
Arya Ebrahimi said:
BTW, are you sure it's a '92? The '92s didn't have the electronic lockers. That didn't become an option until '93.

Ary
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He is speaking of the electronic locking center diff, the 91-92 had a switch to engage it.
 
If it is a birfield is that super extensive to replace? I've seen a thousand pics at this point but no writeups on replacement. Also how hard are the flares to come by. Any aftermarket possibilities? Yes I was talking about he center diff.
 
Sounds like low miles for something like this to happen, but yeah it sounds like the drive plate/outer splines are stripped. Without even taking the wheel off, you can pop off the center cap, then remove the aforementioned nuts with cone washers in the drive plate. You'll need some plain snap ring pliers (just the type for essentially a split washer) to remove the plate, and don't over tighten these when you put them back on. Something like 20 INCH-lbs (someone will chime in) to tighten them back on.

Does the odometer work? Also, if you get lucky and the drive plate splines are stripped (vs axle splines), your leak indicates a front seal kit for both sides is in order. Would be a good idea so you know what's going on in there.

If you see no sign of stripped splines at the axle tip, it's a broken birf, which is again extremely unusual for such low miles. Repost when you get in there. Looking at the splines is literally those 6 bolts in 2 minutes, then banging with a hammer for 10 minutes and you can pull the drive plate if you have snap ring pliers on hand.

DougM
 
Thanks doug. I'm an Idaho boy as well. Twin Falls to be exact. Could I just pop the dust cap put it in gear and see if the shaft is turning inside the flange or is the axle not visible under the cap? The speedo does work. The guy I bought it from thought it was a blown tranny but I made it go with the diff lock on and then i left it in gear with it off and followed the noise and vibration. I explained the diff lock and how the power followed the path of least resistance but he said if I gave him 2000 I could have it. Probably not a screaming deal but not bad I think. Very clean inside. IT has a few dents and the clearcoat is failing but should make a great winter commuter for my wife as we are moving out in country a bit. I just with I could find the flares it looks pretty crappy without them.
 
DJForrestA said:
Thanks doug. I'm an Idaho boy as well. Twin Falls to be exact. Could I just pop the dust cap put it in gear and see if the shaft is turning inside the flange or is the axle not visible under the cap? The speedo does work. The guy I bought it from thought it was a blown tranny but I made it go with the diff lock on and then i left it in gear with it off and followed the noise and vibration. I explained the diff lock and how the power followed the path of least resistance but he said if I gave him 2000 I could have it. Probably not a screaming deal but not bad I think. Very clean inside. IT has a few dents and the clearcoat is failing but should make a great winter commuter for my wife as we are moving out in country a bit. I just with I could find the flares it looks pretty crappy without them.
Click to expand...
There are those who get rid of their flares to minimize trail damage, post in the wanted section of the forum, or just keep yours eyes open on the forum for someone who is removing theirs. I haven't heard of anyone putting aftermarket flares on, but that doesn't mean it is not possible ;)
 
I could watch it because with the center diff lock disengaged all the power goes down the path of least resitance. That is why with the diff lock disengaged the power goes out the broken hub because it turns easier than the tires. Thus start the truck, put it in gear and go watch the carnage unfold.
 
DJForrestA said:
I could watch it because with the center diff lock disengaged all the power goes down the path of least resitance. That is why with the diff lock disengaged the power goes out the broken hub because it turns easier than the tires. Thus start the truck, put it in gear and go watch the carnage unfold.
Click to expand...

Damn it, I swear I'm really not this dumb :censor:

Dunno what's wrong w/ me tonight :rolleyes:

Carry on.

Ary
 
Yeah, you could indeed do that if it's so bad it happens right away. Guess I envisioned it happening from time to time as you turned or something while driving. (wincing at how bad this sounds). Just have your wife put it in gear and hold it in place with the parking brake, or try to drive off gently while you're staring at the axle tip where it pierces the drive plate. To do this, all you need do is remove the dust cap and you're staring at the axle tip. Put a piece of tape across the axle tip, or use a marker or something so you can confirm instantly that it's moving within the drive plate. You may not be able to see the quick movements, so an advance scheme of drawing a line across both parts would be wise.

Yowza. Repost when you learn something, and I truly hope the drive plate splines gave out before the harder axle splines. Plate are cheaper than axles...

DougM
 
Thats what I'm hoping. Any lockouts available? I hope I pull the dust cap and see a spinning axle. I guess I have to tear it down anyway to replace the axle seals.
 
yea and with the diff lock disengaged it wont move an inch. Just spins on the broken splines. Might not be a bad idea to replace all the bearings as I'm sure there are plenty of metal shavings floating around in there. Good idea on the ebrake though. I'd hate to be investigating and have it drop into gear and squash me.
 
I mean hubs. Thought I may save some lifespan on this front diff if I could unlock it during the summer months and maybye save a bit on gas.
 
I have found it's much easier to smack the end of the studs on the hub with a hammer and brass drift to loosen the cone washers- imagine trying to drive the studs back into the hub. There is no possibility of damaging the hub and bearings this way, and it seems to be more reliable. Just my $.02.

-Spike
 
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