Up until now I have been carrying a spare front axle on my solo trips but lately I've been thinking about ditching it. The extra weight it adds and the room it takes up just has me thinking I'm going overboard with my "be prepared for anything" practice.
A little info:
I have already replaced both front driveshafts (and drive flanges) with new Toyota units and installed the German smooth edge screw type hose clamps on all boots. Both axles have less then 30K miles on them.
I carry spare hose clamps for the boots, spare diff. seals for left and right sides of the diff, and all the tools and pullers needed to replace an axle in the field (although I would NOT want to ever have to do that).
The main reason I have been carrying the spare axle was in the rare case I tore up a boot some where out in the boonies and the axle eventually crapped out. I wouldn't expect a good axle to just self destruct without some advance warning so most of my concern has been some type of boot failure.
My latest thoughts are this:
Even if a front axle, CV or splines, blew in the field it could be removed, dissembled, and the inner cup reinserted to plug the hole in the diff. The rest of the axle could be discarded. To seal the hub, a round piece of metal or plastic could be cut from something on hand, an aluminum can for example, and RTV'd in place on the inside of the knuckle to completely seal the hub. Just as removing the drive drive flanges in a blown diff recovery, the truck would still be able to be effectively driven in rear wheel drive only indefinitely, even through water crossings without fear of contamination of wheel bearings or diff fluid.
Also, as far as destroying a CV joint goes, with all the front diff failures on 100 series it seems that the diff would most likely go before a drive shaft when being driven hard or accidentally abused.
So here is my big question:
Do you carry an extra front axle, and more importantly, HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO USE IT?
Thoughts?
Thanks!
A little info:
I have already replaced both front driveshafts (and drive flanges) with new Toyota units and installed the German smooth edge screw type hose clamps on all boots. Both axles have less then 30K miles on them.
I carry spare hose clamps for the boots, spare diff. seals for left and right sides of the diff, and all the tools and pullers needed to replace an axle in the field (although I would NOT want to ever have to do that).
The main reason I have been carrying the spare axle was in the rare case I tore up a boot some where out in the boonies and the axle eventually crapped out. I wouldn't expect a good axle to just self destruct without some advance warning so most of my concern has been some type of boot failure.
My latest thoughts are this:
Even if a front axle, CV or splines, blew in the field it could be removed, dissembled, and the inner cup reinserted to plug the hole in the diff. The rest of the axle could be discarded. To seal the hub, a round piece of metal or plastic could be cut from something on hand, an aluminum can for example, and RTV'd in place on the inside of the knuckle to completely seal the hub. Just as removing the drive drive flanges in a blown diff recovery, the truck would still be able to be effectively driven in rear wheel drive only indefinitely, even through water crossings without fear of contamination of wheel bearings or diff fluid.
Also, as far as destroying a CV joint goes, with all the front diff failures on 100 series it seems that the diff would most likely go before a drive shaft when being driven hard or accidentally abused.
So here is my big question:
Do you carry an extra front axle, and more importantly, HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO USE IT?
Thoughts?
Thanks!
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