Axle replacement: how difficult? and what axles can I use?

[FlaBoy]

Hey guys,

To make a long story short, I curbed my car pretty bad recently while trying to avoid hitting a moron on a bike who rode right out in front of me. At first I thought I had just damaged the rim, but on the drive to get the tire mounted on the new rim, my friend driving behind me noticed my tire on the side of the damage (pass. side) was wobbling pretty bad. After getting the new wheel/tire mounted, the wobble was still there. On inspection, I found my pass. side axle was bent when the bottom of the rim slammed into the curb. So far as I can tell, the differential itself isnt damaged (no noise, or vibration, or exsessive side-play on either axle), though this weekend I am going to pull the cover to visually inspect and make sure it didnt get too banged up. so far it looks like it's just the one axle that got bent, or maybe even just the axle flange got bent. Either way, the axle needs replacing.

Assuming the differential is fine and all i need to do is replace the pass. side axle, how do I do this? I am very machanically able, have worked on a lot of car before, and have a well equipped garage to work in, I have just never replaced an axle before. Is it particularly tricky on our cars? Also, does anyone know what a good source for an axle would be? I don't have tons of cash for this, so if this is something I can likely find in a junkyard, that would be great, but what years/models of cars should I look for? Essentially I'm looking for any help or info on replacing an axle on my GN, and any suggestions or help would be VERY appreciated. This is my daily driver, so the sooner I get this car back on the road, the better; bumming rides and public transportation doesnt work so well when you work the night shift thanks in advance for the help!!

 

[TurboTnZ06]

Search on this. It's a piece of cake. Pull the wheel. Remove the diff cover. pull 8mm (or is it 6mm I forget?) pin bolt in the posi. Now rotate the diff so you can pull out the inner pin. Genlty tap on it if it doesn't slide out. Now you can push in on an axle from the flange where it mounts the wheel. I use a magnetic antennae thinky from an autoparts store to reach in and pull out the c clip. Now you can slide out the axel. Be easy on the bearings as you slide it out too- I try to lift up on it as best I can so it doesn't touch them with the toothed side of the axel. Should take an hour or so your first time. The third time it should be doable in about 10 minutes or less to get it apart. The worst part is putting the new gasket on and refilling the pumpkin.

Although, in your case the bearings and axel housing might be effed up too.

 

[Otto J]

if you race the car order a set of moser c-clip replacemant axles,there under 300 for a pair and good peice of mind.

 

[Mad_Trbo]

I agree it will be a pretty easy if you are mechanically inclined. I did an Eaton Posi Swap on my car in about 4.5 hours and the axle will take a fraction of that.

Klhammet - what is the advantage to those moser c-clip axles. higher tensile strength?

 

[Otto J]

For the most part,But they are way less breakable also

 

[FlaBoy]

Thanks for all the help so far... I was hoping/expecting it wouldn't be too tricky. My main question now is what a good source for stock-replacement axles would be? My car is definitely not raced (daily driver) and isn;t making anywhere near the power where I'd need a stronger axle (it's a pretty much stock hot-air). As I mentioned above, if compatible axles can be found in a junkyard, that'd be ideal, as money is tight for me, but I don;t know what years/models to look for... if our axles are rather specific, and unlikely to be found in a junkyard, anyone have any ideas on the cheapest/easiest source for an axle? Thanks again, it's great to have a resource like this for all my GN info needs !!

 

[Ormand]

The axles, I think, are very unusual. The only "G" bodies to use the 8-1/2" ten bolt rear are the turbo Buicks, and the Olds 442/Hearst Olds. Not many of either. There were similar axles in other cars, but I don't think the length is the same- maybe, though, so it's worth checking. Should be available from GM, or from a lot of aftermarket suppliers. Local junk yard can look in their catalogs and see for sure if there are others that will work.

 

[Pronto]

Make sure you have the space to pull the axle out of the differential before you start your work. That could be a bummer.

 

[ttypewe4jim]

Make sure you have the space to pull the axle out of the differential before you start your work. That could be a bummer.

been there before lets just say I wasent in a good mood the reast of the day because of that lol :biggrin:

 

[John Wilde]

This is a pretty easy job.
Just make sure you get the correct bolt spacing on the wheel studs.
You don't want to know why I say that!