joe_padavano

I seem to keep finding new and creative problems. The car in question is the 84 Custom Cruiser. The axle is the 8.5" posi I was so happy about a few hours ago. As most know, these C-clip axles require the pinion shaft to be removed so the axle shafts can be pushed inboard to allow removal of the C-clips. This pinion shaft has a machined groove at one end and when it's in place, a 5/16" bolt threads into the carrier and the tip of this bolt fits into the groove in the pinion shaft to lock the shaft in place.

Now the problem. I need to replace the axle seals. I removed the cover. The very clean gear oil drained out. That was my first tipoff that something was amiss. I removed the 5/16" lock bolt. The bolt that came out of the carrier was only about 3/4" long. Second tipoff. The end of the bolt looked like it had fractured. Now I'm worried.

Yes, there's about 1/4" of the tip of the lock bolt still down inside the carrier and of course it's preventing the pinion shaft from coming out.
I suspect that the new-ish gear oil is the result of the previous owner trying to replace the axle seal also. After his mechanic found the broken screw (or somehow actually broke it) he just buttoned the axle back up.

No, there is no way to try and unscrew the remaining part of the bolt. The face is nearly smooth and it almost seems as if it has screwed out past the end of the threads in the carrier, so it's primarily in the groove in the lock pin. Drilling it is virtually impossible. The hole is small, and since the carrier is still installed in the housing (since I can't remove the C-clips to pull the axle shafts) I don't have a straight shot at the remains of the screw. So far I've succeeded only in bunging up the threads in the carrier.

At this point I'm considering three options. First, try to grind out the remains of the screw with a diamond tipped cutter in a Dremmel. Unfortunately, the depth of the hole and lack of access makes me doubt that I can even reach it. Second is to drill out the threads in the carrier that the lock bolt screws into. This should let me pull the remains of the screw out with a magnet, at which point I would need to retap the threads and go with a larger screw or helicoil. Finally, I could grind the end of the pinion shaft until I got down to the groove, then push the shaft out the other side of the carrier. I'd just need to get a new pinion shaft, which shouldn't be a big deal for an 8.5" axle. This seems like the easiest way to go since I have a clear shot at the end of the pinion shaft.

Any thoughts or other options would be appreciated (other than "I shoulda had a Type-O...")

J-(Chicago)

If there is any way possible to access it, I'd use a left handed drill.

Here's a little article for you.
http://www.madelectrical.com/worksho...en-bolts.shtml

joe_padavano

The first lesson learned is don't write a post when you're pi$$ed off and tired.

As I should know, the pinion shaft isn't grooved, it has a through hole. The lock bolt actually has a necked down section that fits into this hole. Upon closer inspection, it appears that the broken end still in the pinion shaft has enough of a thread on it that I can't simply pull it out with a small magnet. Drilling the end of the bolt is probably not going to happen due to access problems. I'm probably stuck with drilling into the end of the pinion shaft and replacing both the shaft and the bolt. Fortunately these are not expensive parts and are readily available for the 8.5" axle.

DennisG.

How bad did you mess up the threads ? I can tell you how I`ve seen it done several times. You have a 50/50 cahnce of coming out on top of it. Turn the carrior so you have a straight shot at driving the pin out. You will need something hard, a little smaller then the dia of the pin. And a large hammer. And you know what to do from here. The screw is soft and depending on how bad you already mucked up the threads, you may just get lucky.

joe_padavano

That's exactly the same tip the oldest guy at the dealer parts counter told me. To be honest, I'm nervous about messing up the posi unit. I have a new pinion shaft and lock bolt in hand, so I'm about to go out and try to drill into the end of the old pinion shaft to get down to the remains of the lock bolt.

joe_padavano

I successfully drilled into the end of the pinion shaft and halfway into the remains of the lock bolt. This allowed me to turn the lock bolt with a small screwdriver, backing it out. Problem solved.

For future reference, I also found out that there's a tool kit made especially for this problem:

http://www.etoolcart.com/index.asp?P...OD&ProdID=9442

You can bet I'll buy one to have around for the next time. Assuming I can remember where the tool kit is by then...

DennisG.

Cool. Glad to hear it all worked out. I`ve heard about the tool kit. I`ve also heard it is`nt worth the money. Dunno, never seen one myself. This should go into the tech section to be saved to help others in the future.