In the event of a front axle failure to where the stub shaft cannot be used to limp off the trail, what size bolt, nut & washers (if needed) can be used to hold the unit bearing together?
Stub shaft bolt for trail limp
- Thread starter sierradmax
- Start date
The stub shaft is required. When those break us usually the ears that hold the u joint in not the shaft itself.
Stub isn't required at all. We bolt the unit bearing together with a 1" bolt about 4" long when we send a rig out for re-gear with an empty front housing. Alternately, one could acquire the mini stubs from a 2 wheel drive Cherokee since they use the same unit bearing and have a beam axle up front.
Thanks. Just want to have something in the trail bag in the event the stub shaft is not usable.
It is almost as easy and cheaper to grab a stock stub shaft and cut the ears off leaving a flat flange. That would give you a stock washer, retainer, and nut for a stub shaft.
Please help me understand this better. Looking at a unit bearing, the outer bearing case (lack of a better word) would be secure to the knuckle. However, it still looks like the stub shaft would be required to hold the actual bearing together. What am I missing?
The stub shaft is little more than a big bolt that does hold the unit bearing together. That is why the Cherokee 2 wd uses a dummy shaft to do that job. As long as the bolt gets both halves, it will hold it together just fine, we have done it several times. I'm not saying you don't have to bolt it together, I'm saying it can and has been done with a bolt. My gear setter did look at us a bit funny when he saw it but it works just fine.
As long as the washer under the head of the bolt gets out past that split and over to about the red line, the bearing halves won't separate.
jesseshoots
TJ Enthusiast
It sounds like using a bolt or cut off stub shaft would be way easier than pressing out a u-joint on the trail assuming a main shaft failed.
Darkwing327
TJ Enthusiast
My question on this is somewhat different in case of a breakdown and you used a bolt or stub shaft, what do you do with the inner? Can't remove it as all the oil would exit, correct? Can't leave it flopping around inside the tube, as that would cause damage to many things, wouldn't it?
So outside of having a spare set of assemblies for the front, I'm also trying to figure out what 'could' get you out.
So outside of having a spare set of assemblies for the front, I'm also trying to figure out what 'could' get you out.
Pulling the axle and stuffing something in the axle tube is standard practice.
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