solid floating axle (1 Viewer)

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thorvald

.......
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whats the opinions on having one in the rear on a fj40?
man-a-fre has some, was curious about the advantages.
whats the swap involve?
 
Carries the weight on a spindle with two large wheel bearings like the front instead of one smaller bearing and the axleshaft. Haven't done the swap yet but they say its easy. I want to do one myself but am waiting to see the new kit from Front Range. It is coming out soon and you get disc conversion too. I think it will also have locking hubs but I'm not sure. Wouldn't that be nice for flat towing.
 
in australia full floaters are common. as well as not carrying vehicle weight on the axle itself is that if you bust a rear axle, the wheel don't fall off, as it would with a semi floater.

a really finnicky advantage of a full floater is that you can rest the center hole of the wheels on the hub when changing the tyres, easier to line up that way, without getting a hernia.
 
so the rear is a semi-float.
what about the front?
 
There are other advantages to the full floater. If you break an axle the wheel doesn't fall off. The broken axle is easily removed and you can continue on your way.
 
forgot that one hammerhead. also if you bugger your rear diff, you can pull the axles, remove the driveshaft and limp home in 4wd (just the front wheels driving)
 
Along with the benefits, there are the risks of shearing the studs at the hub. Unless you get custom axles, you won't be able to use free hubs on the rear.
 
[quote author=hammerhead link=board=1;threadid=5348;start=msg42011#msg42011 date=1063781934]
Carries the weight on a spindle with two large wheel bearings like the front instead of one smaller bearing and the axleshaft. Haven't done the swap yet but they say its easy. I want to do one myself but am waiting to see the new kit from Front Range. It is coming out soon and you get disc conversion too. I think it will also have locking hubs but I'm not sure. Wouldn't that be nice for flat towing.
[/quote]
I would be interested in this conversion as I flat tow my 40 frequently, and like the versatility of a FF. I heard something about Warn having a kit like this. Do you have any info about the Front Rage Kit? Oh yeah rear disks would be a major plus as well.
 
I put a Front Range full floater rear kit on my '84 toyota rear end. With that came disk brakes. I used instead of hubs in the back (never gonna flat tow it) I used a flange plate from a series 80 front end. 4140 chromeoly axle shafts. Bullet proof rear end. I have an HJ60 that I put a factory full floater rear end in too. 5.29 gears, ARB, vented four runner disks and four piston calipers. I wanted way strong running gear and I got it!



TB
 
One thing about running lockout hubs in the rear axle is that it leaves you vulnerable to pranks. Anything from harmless that leaves you revving your engine unable to move because all 4 hubs are unlocked to as nasty as having your parked cruiser roll down a hill because the parking brake and transmission get disconnected from your wheels. The former happened to me but fortunately not the latter.

Dave
 
One more thing. I'm only marginally familiar with FROR's design on their conversion kit, but like other individuals who have done the same thing, I relied on the lockout hub and the brass bushing in the spindle to keep the axle shaft centered. This was a bad idea. The axle shafts are heavy and the lockouts did not center the axle too well. As a result within a year the brass bushing wears out, though it was packed with grease, and the axle seals had leaked.

My solution was to replace the lockouts with drive plates like Tom did. These center the axle shafts much better.

Dave
 
Looks like I'll need to learn some more about Front Range conversion, if these strength issues are resolved, rear FF with lockouts + discs would suit my needs very well.
 
I have a Warn FF rear on my Willys CJ2A, with Warn external locking hubs. It is way strong, and allows me to spin out the hubs, hitch it to the back of my truck, and tow it like a wagon, with no axles turning.

I would like a stock FF RE for my FJ60, with TLC lockers. Sooooon.

Mike S
 
[quote author=beanz2 link=board=1;threadid=5348;start=msg42324#msg42324 date=1063848138]
One more thing. I'm only marginally familiar with FROR's design on their conversion kit, but like other individuals who have done the same thing, I relied on the lockout hub and the brass bushing in the spindle to keep the axle shaft centered. This was a bad idea. The axle shafts are heavy and the lockouts did not center the axle too well. As a result within a year the brass bushing wears out, though it was packed with grease, and the axle seals had leaked.

My solution was to replace the lockouts with drive plates like Tom did. These center the axle shafts much better.

Dave
[/quote]
I wonder if a needle roller bearing could be adapted in place of the bushing for improved durability.
 
Yes, I looked for roller bearings and didn't find one that would fit pefectly. There were 2 that came close, but one did not fit over the splines :( The other one the bearing dealer couldn't get as it was only OEM supply only.

Dave
 

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