1988 Eagle Wagon - Rear axle stripped

[AmericanMike]

The short story: I'm looking for parts suppliers for a driver side rear axle shaft for a 1988 Eagle Wagon Ltd.

The long story: About 10 years ago I bought the Eagle and drove it for a few months with no problem. One day, going up a hill the car stopped. The engine was running but no drive to the rear. I put it in 4WD and limped home (about 4 miles). The eagle has been garaged ever since and became a possible retirement project.
Now I'm retired so there's no excuse. At first blush I thought it was a transfer case problem so had it flat-bedded to a local transmission repair place. They tell me the driver-side rear axle is stripped, which makes sense as I could hear noise from there when getting it out of the garage. They don't know if anything else is damaged like the viscous coupler.

So first question - do any of these symptoms and the transmission shop diagnosis make sense? They have a good reputation and are enthusiastic about working on an Eagle. But then again, trust is earned.

The shop is having problems finding a replacement axle. I'm in Connecticut so not too many Eagles here.The first place they found wants $600 for a used one. Then they found a shop in Illinois that sells a new one for $1275. I'm not sure who is making them and will be asking tomorrow. Both prices seem very expensive to me. FYI I have limited auto repair experience.

So I'm looking for input on the diagnosis, on parts suppliers and costs. Thanks in advance for any insights.

[vangremlin]

I had to replace an axle shaft a few months back and was able to scavenge one from a junkyard.  I don't know of anybody that makes them new.  You can search on car-part.com, I just did a quick search there and there seems to be about 10 or so available.  Or you may try contacting some of the AMC specific vendors (Kennedy American, AMC Parts Depot, etc) and see if they have any suggestions.

Good luck!

[AmericanMike]

Thanks Vangremlin,
I may have found one and will know if it's compatible tomorrow. I'll be checking those other sights too.

[AMC of Houston]

And BTW; the stripped axle thing is a common Eagle issue (axle shears under the flange from over-torquing of the big nut at the factory).   Either side will work, so don't specify right or left; both sides are the same on the Eagle.  And watch out for folks quoting you CV axles from later Renault-based Eagles, as the interchange manuals have some bogus Eagle data.  Good luck with it.