AMC Eagle Den Forum
The Shop => Axle / Differential => Topic started by: MIPS on January 27, 2021, 03:25:31 PM
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It took almost 40 years but my shaft finally snpped up and inside the hub. Thankfully I was able to pull over without the wheel flying off.
Apparently this is a known problem. Several years had an overtorqued nut on the passenger side but I cannot find the bulletin for it. Does anyone have a copy I can read?
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I don't think there ever was an official bulletin; probably because the issue didn't pop up until after AMC went under. I have a complete set of bulletins (I think!); and I see nothing there. For Eagles, the left and right axles interchange (they are identical), so try to find a left one if possible!
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I still have access to a parts '87 with a full axle. It's buried under a foot and a half of snow right now but I can probably dig it out and get the axle dropped tomorrow.
Are you sure about being interchangeable? I could of sworn one shaft was longer than the other.
Oh yeah, how do the shafts come out? I can see in the TSM they are splined with no c-clips. Do you just remove the bearing caps and pull?
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All other AMC pass cars are different length axles left to right. Not the Eagles tho - both L & R axles even carry the same part number. Of course you'll have to pull the hub on the left side axle to swap the backing plates. Yep; just remove the 4 nuts/bolts from the bearing retainers, and yank. Also be sure to set the axle end play per the TSM when you slap it back together.
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Alright. The shafts have been swapped and I'm on the road again.
I'm still amazed it broke like that...
https://imgur.com/aCTcTeo
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Alright. The shafts have been swapped and I'm on the road again.
I'm still amazed it broke like that...
https://imgur.com/aCTcTeo
I must admit I gasped when I saw how easily that hub pulled off! Amazing you didn't lose your wheel. Not sure what I was expecting out of a broken axle shaft, but not that!
David
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:o
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That is amazing it still was on the car.
Where did you find the new axle and do you have a part number? I can’t seem to find it and what I found doesn’t seem to be correct.
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holy snot. I heard of this but never new how it broke.
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Afraid there's no such thing as a new axle to be had. Only choice is used.
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hi, that exact thing happened to me in my 82 Sedan about 5 years ago. In my case the wheel fell off. lucky I was going very slow at the time. Good luck, gz
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It was weird. For a few days before I had been hearing what sounded like the drum wasn't adjusted and it was rubbing at low speeds and the car felt.....sluggish. I was guzzling gas more than usual.
Then last week I was driving home going 50km/h when there was a "pop" and the wheel started dragging. Shifting between gears it would just grind away and move nowhere I thought I had somehow blown the transmission/transfer case up.
Nah, the axle snapped and that was the shaft clearing out what remained of the hub splines. The wheel spun off the shaft and fell onto the brakes. If it had happened a few minutes earlier it would of happened while I was going down the highway so you look at it and it seemed fine until you realized it had a camber to it. :o
I've been pulling parts off an '87 Eagle about an hour south of me. I was able to drop its axle a day later and that's what I was able to replace my shaft using. As others have noticed there are no aftermarket shafts available for the AMC 35. Either you have to find a used one or you're swapping axles entirely.
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Afraid there's no such thing as a new axle to be had. Only choice is used.
There are new ones listed on eBay from time to time. Here is a current listing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CV-Axle-Shaft-Front-Left-Right-SurTrack-AM-8001-fits-80-88-American-Motors-Eagle/164683030334?fits=Model%3AEagle%7CMake%3AAMC&epid=75153458&hash=item2657df9f3e:g:wJQAAOSwA75eTZln
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'Cept that's for the front........... :)
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'Cept that's for the front........... :)
Doh!!! I'll just sheepishly slink away now and self suspend my posting privileges for the next two weeks :banghead:
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'Cept that's for the front........... :)
Doh!!! I'll just sheepishly slink away now and self suspend my posting privileges for the next two weeks :banghead:
:rotfl:I had the replacement axle (the original one sheared the cotter pin and the nut came loose and destroyed the grooves for the hub and shaft) in my 80 wagon snap off on me while I was going around the corner thankfully it was at about 5 miles an hour but the wheel almost completely came off unfortunately for me I couldn't find a another axle shaft and had to swap in a Dana 35 from an XJ. I do still have the axle shaft that didn't snap.