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rear wheel drive Brat


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I have a Brat with both cv joint going out. It isn't worth fixing especially since in the past 3 yr. I have used 4wd only once and then to see if it worked.

I remember reading here about removing front axles, putting it in 4wd and go on using the rear wheels. I did a search and come up empty.

Anyone know details on this? BTW it an automatic.

L.D.

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Sure - you could do that, but since you would have to remove the axle to take the outer CV houseing off of it (not easy to get apart, since they aren't technically serviceable), and then put that back in, it would be just as easy to replace the axle, and still have everything correct. Also - the stub axles will be exposed, and might get rusty, so you should cover them up.

 

In short - it would be more work than just replacing the axle's, so wouldn't you rather have 4WD since it's less work? Just go to the JY and get some axles there. I usually get em for like $10 - $15 each at the JY.

 

GD

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Just drive it with bad axles. I've been doing it for a while now. No harm. Handles a little differently and probably more drag (seems that way) but no harm done. This is only if you don't want to spend any money. If you are willing to spend 25 bucks and an hour and a half tops then replace the axles with ones from the junkyard.

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Axles will eventually snap, and having that thing break at freeway speed would be bad - would probably bend up a lot of suspension parts in the process. You can drive on them for a while - but they aren't technically "bad" till one breaks in half - till then they are "annoying" and "making funny nioses" but still doing their job just fine - transfering power to the ground. I say replace them before they really do go "bad" and take some other stuff with them.

 

GD

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I would like to take this moment to point somthing out.

The outer CV's on our front axles ARE servicable, they just have a snap ring retaner inside the splines that has to be over come in orde to service them, not to hard. A simple tool to make for them is to take a 2x4 and bore a hole in it just big enough to fit around the axle shaft. Now cut it in half, put the 2 halves together over the axle shaft and screw them together. Clamp that into a vice and (in a slide hamer fashon) pop off the outer CV.

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Not wanting to get into a shouting match here, but...

Yea, you can take them apart that way. How do you get them back together? The trunion, (inner cage) has to go on the shaft first, then the snap-ring. What about the outer housing? The little steel ball-bearings, that go in there also?

I've re-built a few CV-joints on various makes and models of cars. They aren't for the, "I'm in a hurry " crowd. Takes alot of patience to do one. You can, if you get things lined up right, remove the ball-bearings in there. Then you can remove the outer housing from the shaft. Once that is accomplished, you can then removed the snap-ring and remove the inner cage from the axle.

There are only a few manufacturers of CV joints. You have your different wheel and trans ends, but the workings of the joint are done by only a few manufacturers/designers.

Just like our beloved Subaru's use a roll pin on the inner joint, others use a cir-clip to do the same. Still others have a bolt-on flange at the tranny.

Yes, they are serviceable. But not for the faint of heart. That's one reason they say that they are not serviceable.

It's not a job I would want for a 9-5, 5 days a week.

 

Sorry if I stept on any toes here.........................

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Didn't mention the fact that you would have atleast twice the cost of a new one wrapped up in re-building your old one. Just call your local parts store and check on the cost of new innner and outers, plus boots, and that nasty yuck called lube for them....

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Oh yes, no 2 ways about it. It's eazyer to buy new ones, and cheeper. I just didn't know if U all knew how to get them apart or not:rolleyes: And U can put them back together, the "snap ring" I speak of is the spring type(no ears with holes) so all U have to do is put it back on the axle and then drive the axle back into the trunion.

10 years ago I was re-building CV's @ a shop, but back then the parts to do it wer cheeper than geting a new joint. And I sure as H3#L don't want to go back to doing that agen, VERY messy:-\

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if a front axle lets go, just put it in 4wd and keep going to get home. 4wd wont bind if an axle is broken.

 

the axle will stay in the doj, ait wont flop around like a dead fish...it will break at the bearings rather than the middle of the shaft.

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