mauls

Bad news from the shop today, my passenger side rear axle is hosed, it was driven to long on a bad bearing.

Need a passenger side rear axle, the car is a 1965 Jetstar 88. I'm not sure what other axles would work for this, if any body knows please chime in.

Aron Nance

Maul: Had the same thing happen to our '68 convertible several years ago - O type, which are a bit harder to find. Ended up having the tech pull it, took it to a recommended shop that turned engine cranks/cams/etc. They welded up the worn part, and returned it, and worked great. He said as long as I wasn't racing every day - hard - it would hold up. Just a thought. It's still working, but don't ract it, at all, never have.

mauls

thanks for the reply aron. I haven't actually seen it with my own eyes yet, the shop just called and said it was in real bad shape, they could move it up and down a few inches. When i get time i'll get in there and get some pictures and email them to some local shops and see if they can fix it.

Hopefully I can find a used one on here.

joe_padavano

Moser will custom make axle shafts for any application. You just need to provide them with all the dimensions. Aron's weld and machine repair is also a viable option. Since the bearing inner race doesn't move relative to the axle shaft (well, at least it doesn't under NORMAL circumstances... ), this also works well.

mauls

Thanks Joe,

What dimensions would they need, just the diameter and length?

joe_padavano

A little more than that:

http://www.moserengineering.com/mose...nk-2.15.10.pdf

mauls

That's what I was looking for. Thanks.

Offer is still open if anybody has one laying around within the next few days, I'll post in here when i place an order with moser if i dont hear anything.

Run to Rund

GMPD book shows 65-6 J88 had its own part number, but left and right are the same. I wouldn't weld the shaft because it could crack next to the weld later, and if you lose a wheel, you could wreck the car or at least the quarter. The J88 had the 330 and lighter duty drivetrain than other B bodies. You could probably swap in another big car rear; don't know if the driveshaft length would change. If you don't find something easily, you may be best off with Mosers which are high quality.

monzaz

DID you pul lthe axle yet? Need the length from spline end to axle shaft wheel flange (drum machine surface of the axle shaft wheel flange)

I think the spline is 31...BUT that is another thing we will need. (spline count)

Moser will be a worse case scenario... Will see what we have first. Ok? Jim

330 659 7117

ROCKETMAN269V

From my interchange book:

393056 65 J88
66 330 eng.
RH & LH
28 spline
31 11/16" from BACKSIDE of flange to the end of the spline
Hope this helps.

507OLDS

I would not weld/turn the old axle.
I don't know what the dimensions are of your original axle,but I do have some axle shafts from a few 68/69 deltas,28-spline & 31-spline.The problem I found with one of these before,was the availability of the axle bearing.Some of these had some goofy ones that are very hard to get,or out of production.

mauls

Ok guys, I measured the axle, which was very hard to do with the curves in the way but I did my best.

If anybody knows any certain measurements, please chime in.



After doing the math, there is no way my measurement for B is correct, because B should be the difference of C and K

mauls

It looks like my measurement from the backside of the flange to the end of spline is wrong, I came up with 31 3/4, but I'd trust your book over my measurements.

mrolds88

Here's a little FYI for those that don't know the Jetstars. For most of the suspension and steering and such, they used Cutlass stuff. Brakes were Cutlass, Rear end guts were Cutlass, and so on. The problem with trying to use the other big car axle parts is, for no other reason, the Jetstars used a 4 3 /4 bolt pattern. Hope this helps. I didn't have any luck locating you an axle so maybe Moser may be the way to go.

Yellowstatue

Don't weld your axle...I broke a welded axle and bent the bottom of my quarter panel up to the trunk floor when the car rolled up onto the tire... 31 spline...

joe_padavano

That's overstating it a little. The suspension and steering parts on the J88 were the same as those on other B-body cars (it would be hard to use the front-steer Cutlass steering parts on the rear-steer B-body). The suspension arms, ball joints, shocks, steering linkage, etc were the same as on other B-body cars. The spindles were unique to the J88 and were B-body spindles designed to mount the 9.5" A-body brakes instead of the 11" B-body brakes. The hubs, wheel bearings, and brake drums were essentially A-body parts. The rear axle housing was unique to the J88 also since is was the 8.2" A-body axle but wider and with the B-body suspension mounting points. As noted, axle shafts are unique to the J88.

As for welding the axle, let's all keep in mind that we're not talking about welding a broken axle. We're talking about rebuilding a worn bearing mounting surface with weld metal (more likely, flame-sprayed powdered metal). This is a VERY COMMON process in trucks and heavy duty machinery. Yes, you need to find a vendor that specializes in this process, but I find it hard to believe that this will lead to a broken axle.

507OLDS

I inquired about this a long time ago,when I had an original 31-spline O-axle shaft with a worn bearing surface.There are places here that could weld,machine,and even hard-chrome the surface if needed,but each one,once they knew what it was for,did not suggest it either.

Run to Rund

If the wear isn't deep, you could have a shop turn down the bearing surface and sleeve it. Most Mosers are around $300 or so a pair and body work on a bent quarter would cost more than that. Big truck axles are free floating, so if one breaks near the weld, so what. I didn't know any big trucks put bearings on the axles; they are on hollow spindles, aren't they? Car axles are "live" and you will know if it breaks because your wheel and tire will go places you don't want them, followed by the car doing bad things too. Heck, it's only your life you are talking about; how much could you save fixing a bad axle compred to buying a Moser?

As Joe P. noted, the J88 axles will be unique because they are for the 8.2 but longer to fit a B body.

mauls

I think I'm going the moser route. The wear on this axle is pretty bad, I'll snap a photo of it tonight.

Moser was asking if it was a 9" axle, I told them I wasn't sure yet, so I need to tell them it's a 8.2" axle right?

jhoppeolds

I've got a complete '65 Jetstar 88 3.23 open rear end. I'd sell an axle out of it for $50 plus the shipping. Problem is, it's an hour and a half away from me in a storage unit I rent, and it's unlikely I can extract an axle from it any earlier than the middle of next week. Came from a parts car that did run (I drove it up and down the driveway and that was it) but don't know the actual condition of it until I pull it apart.

Bill Piper

Hello, I realise your post was nearly 2 years ago, but I'm desperate for a 1965 Jetstar 88 axle shaft. Any chance you still have 1 or 2 available.

Many thanks, Bill.

PS. I live in France but I'm used to US/French shipping costs!!

jhoppeolds

PM sent.

Bill Piper

Sorry, don't understand "PM sent"

Any chance you can help with the shafts.

Many thanks, Bill.

willys33

Bill, PM sent means he sent you a personal message on this board. Go back to the top of the page and on the right side it says "welcome (with your name). Right below that it says Private messages. Click that and you can retrieve your message. Hope that helps. Mike

Bill Piper

Hello Mike, yeap many thanks. I did eventually work it out. My excuse is it was early when I first read it!!

Kind regards, Bill.