Today I took my truck out to the desert. I decided to call the guy who bought the Jeep from me to see if he wanted to come. He has zero experience off roading but he was eager to learn. So we went on a few very easy trails as he got the hang of driving the Jeep off pavement.



Then we came to some rough stuff. I gave him the option to take the bypass but he opted to go through. I took the Rover through first so he could see what to do. I got out and was going to spot him and guide...when he decided to just floor it...then the evening got interesting.

Since the Jeep has a rear locker, it was a recipe for carnage. He wound up ripping the axle free from its pressed on bearing. ..and out came the shaft.






Realizing a field repair was not an option I opted to jack it up and slide the shaft back in. Tow time.





Knowing we couldn't go back the way we just came, we pressed on foward. I have to say I was so impressed with the Rover. I pulled him through some terrain that it's tough to get myself through. We went really slow and had to stop every so often to re jack it back up and slide the shaft back in. This took hours at a snails pace. Darkness fell and we dragged on. Negotiating ruts and hill climbs. Rocks and trenches. It was really slow going.




The Rover never faulted. I kept checking temps and it never went above 180. I couldn't believe how well it did.

Hours later we arrived at the edge of the desert where a tow truck could drive up to meet us. All in all we had a fun night. I'm gonna teach him how to do some rear brakes and bearings and get his truck back in the dirt.

 

Nicely done

 

the axle didn't break? it just... fell out? what rear end?

 

Amc 20

The outer wheel bearing is pressed on the shaft. It holds the the axle in via a backing plate. All of it pressed together then bolted to the tube. Not my first choice of design. In this case the shaft spun the bearing and tore it apart. With no pressed on bearing to hold it back the shaft slid right out.

 

well, thats how pretty much every semi-float rear axle works. did someone do the one-piece axle shaft conversion? i do remember seeing this happen to an AMC20 when the person doing the install didn't follow the instructions.

 

It still had the two piece. With the locker it has....I'm trying to get him to upgrade to the one piece.

Out of curiosity how would one do it wrong? Bearings only go one way right? I ask because I'm the one fixing this so if there is a way I can screw it up I wanna know about it. Haha

I did some work on a BOP rear awhile ago. I remember using shims on the outer plates. Ford 9 inch is the same way if I remember correctly. Hoping to do this once and forget about.

 

I don't remember the details, but I remember seeing the whole separated at the wheel bearing issue that is here. It was on one of the jeep forums. I've never personally torn down an AMC20 so I'm really no help.

 

That's a nice looking Classic. Makes me really wish I had one.

 

I know where there is a hunter edition local...

 

Thanks man! It's not as good as it looks. Definitely some trail rash. I'm getting suspension back together little by little so it should be out in the desert more. Seriously considering buying a Disco for parts. I still have the 10 spline up front. I want the 230 as well. Plus I'd like to rebuild an engine just to have it.