My 80 has seen better days, I’m looking for front and rear axle assemblies. Preferably disc to disc. Rear shock perches are ready to break off rear axle due to rust, fronts aren’t far from the same demise. Interested in everyone’s opinions on the issue and task. Truck has 170k miles, runs great and has an 8/10 interior. The rest of the exterior isn’t great but certainly doesn’t reflect what’s going on underneath.
Wanted NY State, ISO fzj80 front and rear axle assembly
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txgringo
SILVER Star
How is your frame? If your axles are that shot your frame may not be far behind.
Swapping 2 axles for a non mechanic (not counting any issues you run into with rusty frame/fasteners/suspension parts) is probably about 10-12 hours. (I have done this once) There are parts of the job that you'll definitely want a helper for, and plan on replacing a lot of other things like brake lines (hard and soft) pretty much every fastener you touch during the job and all your suspension bushings since you'll have all those parts off. Having a safe way to move and lift the axles is huge. We did that part with 3 guys and a floor jack, but there are companies that make a jack attachment to make moving the axles MUCH safer and easier, like this one:
Your other option would be to buy a clean rolling chassis and swap your power train and body over to it. This also gives you an opportunity to do all kinds of maintenance like your main seals, rear heater lines, treating any rust on the underside of the body, etc. This is a huge rabbit hole, but will definitely extend the life of your cruiser in salt country. There are people that will say this can be done with a tractor or with several Jack's and a bunch of blocks and jack stands, but personally I wouldn't do it without a lift.
Swapping 2 axles for a non mechanic (not counting any issues you run into with rusty frame/fasteners/suspension parts) is probably about 10-12 hours. (I have done this once) There are parts of the job that you'll definitely want a helper for, and plan on replacing a lot of other things like brake lines (hard and soft) pretty much every fastener you touch during the job and all your suspension bushings since you'll have all those parts off. Having a safe way to move and lift the axles is huge. We did that part with 3 guys and a floor jack, but there are companies that make a jack attachment to make moving the axles MUCH safer and easier, like this one:
Your other option would be to buy a clean rolling chassis and swap your power train and body over to it. This also gives you an opportunity to do all kinds of maintenance like your main seals, rear heater lines, treating any rust on the underside of the body, etc. This is a huge rabbit hole, but will definitely extend the life of your cruiser in salt country. There are people that will say this can be done with a tractor or with several Jack's and a bunch of blocks and jack stands, but personally I wouldn't do it without a lift.
Last edited:
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Thanks for the response. The frame is rusty but not really rotten (body mounts on frame are a little suspect). I do understand the axle swap would be quite the undertaking and perhaps not worthwhile with my current platform. Just trying to keep another 80 out of the part out section here.
Swapping axles is easy. I did both myself in one day. Don't go crazy and replace brake lines if you don't need to.
Get yourself some tall jack stands like the 12 ton harbor freight ones, 2 smaller 3 tons, 4 of the wheel dollies or moving carts. You can roll the old one out and the new one in.
You don't need a special jack, just lift one side and either block it up or put on jackstand and the lift the other side.
Some things that help, plastic plugs to put on the metal brake line flair, electric impact, the suspension bolts are one time use and is a good idea to replace. Pay attention to what has the little nubs that dig in and turn the opposite.
Get yourself some tall jack stands like the 12 ton harbor freight ones, 2 smaller 3 tons, 4 of the wheel dollies or moving carts. You can roll the old one out and the new one in.
You don't need a special jack, just lift one side and either block it up or put on jackstand and the lift the other side.
Some things that help, plastic plugs to put on the metal brake line flair, electric impact, the suspension bolts are one time use and is a good idea to replace. Pay attention to what has the little nubs that dig in and turn the opposite.
