While replacing brake and fuel lines, I noticed that my diff bushings are on
the verge of disintegration. So I dropped the diff (yeah the front
passenger side mount is beginning to crack) and decided to replace all of
the u-joints since once you are in this far, you want to do what needs to be
done so you don't have to revist this for a while.
So I pulled the hubs and axles. It was hard to believe what I saw. The hub
pre-load nuts and wing clips were in pretty poor condition. The term "tool
marks" does not even begin to describe the gouges, hammer marks and vise
bites.
My next clue was when we decided to pull the hubs apart to get a look. The
nut on the stub axel just wood not come off. Finally using an impact wrench
set to 280 ft*lbs of torque would the nut finally budge. We got to 15 tons
on the press , then BANG! - the hub separated. Heat marks on the stub axel
shaft make it pretty clear that these "geniuses" screwed up the bearing
preload and spun the races on the stub axel. It seems clear that these
previous mechanics decided that since they did not have a press, they would
use a "golden hammer" to separate the hubs. When I was 4, the hammer was
pretty much the only tool in my box and it fit all applications. By the
time I reached 14, I was fairly well versed in hand tools and the guiding
principle "The right tool for the right job." It seems incomprehensible to
me that these pinheads masquerading as mechanics would use a hammer to beat
on the end of the stub axels with a hammer to separate the hubs. You
guessed it. They bent and mushroomed the threaded portion if the stub axel.
This explains the difficulty of getting the nut off. Can you imagine the
size of the breaker bar that they used to installe the nut.
I have never in my life seen such mechanical butchery. Rant Mode off.
Sulking,
John Cyg.
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