Spares question

[Romer]

Looking to get some spare parts. Thinking front axle and a birf. Have to have those to move.

Since the 80 is a full floater, can't I remove the rear axle and rear shaft if required and still drive. e.g., don't need those for spares.

 

[FirstToy]

theoretically, can't you pull the axle out of any corner and still drive? since it's full float on all corners?
This brings up a question I've been meaning to ask- I've seen cheap, new birfs on ebay, are they any good? Thinking of getting one as a trail spare.

 

[nakman]

Yes, you could pull an axle and still drive. That diff would have to be locked for the other side to get any power though. That could get you off the trail, then to get home you could pull that driveshaft and 2WD it. I've got an extra set of front axles Ken if you want some. hth...

 

[-Spike-]

I have spares, but I don't carry them. If I break something I'll just pull it and go on. Having the tools to do so is the important thing.

You do not have to have both or any birfs to move the truck- it's full-float too. You don't even have to pull the birfs to drive it, as Tools explained to me this weekend. Just pull the drive flanges and driveshaft. If you must have 3 wheel drive, you can pull one birf/axle assembly, lock the axle and run it to pavement.

-Spike

 

[Romer]

Guess why I was thinking about the front is that you could have a birf fail and you need to get it out. That would be very time consuming and while your doing it, it's not much more work to replace it when you seal it up.

Tim -thanks for the note on having some spare axles.

 

[kennyv0826]

theoretically, can't you pull the axle out of any corner and still drive? since it's full float on all corners?
This brings up a question I've been meaning to ask- I've seen cheap, new birfs on ebay, are they any good? Thinking of getting one as a trail spare.

DON'T, I repeat DON'T buy the EBay birfs. Way weaker than stock is all I can say about them. Pick up a spare at a junk yard and it will be better than a brand new EBay birf.

 

[kennyv0826]

Yes, you could pull an axle and still drive. That diff would have to be locked for the other side to get any power though. That could get you off the trail, then to get home you could pull that driveshaft and 2WD it..

I believe that is 100% correct but if I'm wrong don't quote me, quote Nakman cuz he said it first!

 

[clownmidget]

Ken, I'd look at carrying spares of items identified from the list as stranding them. I can think of a few like maybe a spare fuel pump, fuel pump relay, fuel pump voltage regulator. Maybe the obvious EFI fuses etc. Spare brake lines are tough to substitute if one blows. Having the brushes to rebuild the alternator and starter are nice too on longer trips. As mentioned above having the right tools (& a welder) can get you out of most pickles. My only real experience with being stranded was with a badly bent and split tie rod in southern Baja. A "short" 12-mile hike to town to purchase a pickle fork and pipe wrench, returned to the truck and pulled the broken rod, then back into town again to have the rod straightened and sleeved and welded with about a pound of wire, then back to the truck for the install.

 

[sleeoffroad]

I have spares, but I don't carry them. If I break something I'll just pull it and go on. Having the tools to do so is the important thing./QUOTE]

Did you ever try that? I can tell you from experience that a 3 wheel drive is 80 is pretty useless. Normally if you break a birfield, you are in a spot where 3 wheel drive is not going to get you out. If you are lucky you can winch out, then pull it. However thinking you can drive out in 3 wheel drive is not a good idea, if you are not carefull you will soon be 2 wheel drive.

I broke a rear axle in Las Cruses, no spare. I could hardly get off the trail. You are better to fix it on the spot and put spares in.

 

[sleeoffroad]

PS, here is what I had in the ShortBus before I went to full hydro steering.

2 x birfiields, both front axle shafts, both driveshafts, both rear shafts (custom Moser), couple extra drive flanges, spare front spindle, spare knuckle, power steering pump, spare drag link, tie rod, drag link, rod end set and all the bolts for a front and rear axle. Plus some other small stuff.

 

[-Spike-]

Nope, just an untested theory- looks good on paper! My saving grace is that I don't wheel hard alone. I would have to rely on someone to strap me over rough stuff. Been there, done that- in my Nissan. The 80 hasn't broken anything- yet.

I'm normally overprepared for most things, but when I start thinking of all the things that could go wrong with my truck on a trail, and all the things I 'should' carry, it's overwhelming. I don't wheel like you do, and I'm rarely further than 2 highway hours from home, so I concentrate on tools and rely on the good graces of my trailmates if I ever need a ride to town. My 'spares' are the other trucks in the group.

-Spike

 

[RavenTai]

Yes, you could pull an axle and still drive. That diff would have to be locked for the other side to get any power though. That could get you off the trail, then to get home you could pull that driveshaft and 2WD it. I've got an extra set of front axles Ken if you want some. hth...

if you have factory lockers and you have pulled the short side you can no longer lock that diff, therefor that diff can no longer drive, CDL must be locked and you are now 2wd


if the long side broke you can still lock it and get 3 wheel drive,


quiky birf yank is not bad, you do it quite diffrently from normal maintenance, you split the axle at the inboard face of the knuckle pulling the rest in one assembly,

 

[FirstToy]

when I start thinking of all the things that could go wrong with my truck on a trail, and all the things I 'should' carry, it's overwhelming.
-Spike

Thanks for saying that! That's how I feel too but, like you, I don't run hard stuff alone... but that's what I see as part of doing a hard trail- building up my wrenching skills so I can be self-supporting w/ help from others - instead of relying on others in case something goes wrong.

 

[-Spike-]

if you have factory lockers and you have pulled the short side you can no longer lock that diff...

I never thought of that, but it makes perfect sense. Hmm, another reason to run hubs? Save a lot of time- just pull the driveshaft and unlock the hubs, and you still have the option of pulling the long side- but after hearing Christo chime in, I'd be more likely to run 2wd if possible. I can't imagine hubs being as strong as the drive flanges though, and I've heard of people stripping those. Any real-world experience on hub durability vs. the rest of an 80 axle? I see 3 options-one, the hub isn't up to it, two, the hub acts as a fuse breaking in situations that would normally take out the birf, or three, the hub never breaks before something else. Option one would suck, two or three would be considered as ideal for different people.

-Spike

 

[clownmidget]

Spike, my experience - and the input from lots of others that called mine "classic" - was that the way the birfield fails at the cage then allows the stub end to move outward. If it's a hub, specifically the hub dial, the stub will chew up it's innards instantly as the metal of the hub dial is relatively soft compared to the axle stub. I don't know if it's enough to crack or destroy a drive flange or not. I guess you could do hubs and have a spare bag of bits for it like another dial, etc or even another whole hub ready to swap on. Or just carry the extra drive flanges.

I had the hubs on when my birfield exploded and it ate the hub so I've since rebuilt the hub and carry those with me and run the drive flanges. I also went with Longfields and chromoly inners but in the case that something in the front axle lets loose I figure I can swap in a hub or hubs and keep it moving. Of course by doing the Longfields and inners I have the stock ones as spares now too which I suppose is kind of another reason to justify them...

 

[-Spike-]

What brand hubs, and what was the cause of the birfield failure, i.e; was it well-maintained and low mileage, or possibly weakened by age/torture?

I was thinking that having the hubs as spares might be smart, swap 'em on if something breaks, then you're covered if either the birf or the flange breaks.

-Spike

 

[clownmidget]

Spike, here's the tale (https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=70018)

 

[sleeoffroad]

Any real-world experience on hub durability vs. the rest of an 80 axle?
-Spike

Used to run Aisin hubs all round on the 80. Broke 3 of them in Texas at Round-up. In all cases it stripped the splines on the axles/birfields and essentially leaving them unusable. This was with Newfields, Pig inners, Moser rears.

 

[-Spike-]

So, you stripped the splines on the axles/stubs- did you break the Aisins? Sorry if I'm being dense. As long as we're here, do the Aisin hubs engage the splines as far as the drive flanges do, and if not was that the cause of the stripped splines?

-Spike

 

[sleeoffroad]

Broke the hubs, which in turn trashed the splines.