Axle rebuild and shock plates

[mrman5917]

Hello everyone, I'm back to ask a potentially stupid question.

I finally dropped the axels off of my frame, and I've removed the leaf spring packs. I noticed while I was working that the shock mount plates show a LOT of wear on them. So of course I go looking to see how much this little discovery will set me back, and I notice that buying the four plates from Walcks will set me back about $92 while the "same" 4 plates from Kaiser Willys are only $60.

Upon closer inspection it looks like all four plates from KW have threaded pins while it looks like the Walcks parts are not. While I would love to stay "true to the original" that extra money could easily go to other parts.

So, what way do I go? To thread or not to thread?

Along with that, I've decided to get my axles professionally rebuilt. With some of the wacky changes and "home maintenance" done on some of the various parts, I think there could be problems that I wouldn't know to look for. What should something like this cost? I've got a list of local places to call this week, but I don't want to get ripped off either. I've got a lot of local shops with a lot of old timers in them, but I haven't talked to anyone yet to know their comfort level with the old axles nor their prices for doing them. Anything I should know?

[F Bill]

What is actually worn on the shock plates? If it is just the shock mount nothing wrong with cutting off the old ones and welding on new ones you have fabricated yourself.

[mrman5917]

Yeah, it's just the pins/rods that come off of the plate that the shocks mount to. All four have wear groves that are pretty significant on at least two of them.

Fabricated new rods came to mind, but unfortunately my fabrication skills pretty much end with fabricating a larger credit card bill and waiting for the parts to arrive. Would replacing the rods be something simple for a metal worker/body shop to work up for me? My father in law is an old body work guy, but I'd need to know what I am asking for and what I should use for a new pin so I don't get the wrong thing.

I guess I should also ask this at this point, but I want to put a finish on my U-bolts. Just a strong paint, powder coat, POR15, bare metal?

[rocketeer]

Get somebody to braze them and then grind them to shape. You could even use JBWeld to build up the worn areas.

Larry

[mrman5917]

I like that idea. Would brazing the worn areas and grinding them to size provide enough strength, or will I need to do this every so often? I don't mind doing maintenance on this stuff, but knowing what I need to do and how often is important. My father in law is an old body shop guy that I might be able to bribe into helping with a six pack and a few hours during a weekend

[bretto]

I think you will find that most of that wear you are talking about is actually erosion from rust.  At least on my that is how it was.  I'd say that the rod lost an 1/8' all the way around.  If it was just wear, it would be mostly on the top side of the post.  I think that making some sort of form to hold jb weld to build it back up would work just fine as the post takes compression hits and its cushioned by the rubber bushing.  I just ground the welds off to seperate the rod and plate and welded on some long bolts of the same size after I cut the heads off.  Or you could just spend $15 each for new plate assemblies and bolt them on.

Speaking of rust erosion, any notice the frame metal in ther the axle bumpstops?  My frame is in excellent condition and no rust damage but under the bumpstops the metal was bowl shaped after the rust gunk was removed.  The thinnest part as no more than 1/16 thick.  I ended up filling it with weld and grinding back flat.  Take a look at yours.

[rocketeer]

I like that idea. Would brazing the worn areas and grinding them to size provide enough strength

Yes, no problem. It took 60 years for it to wear to the point it's at now. Brazing it will give you many, many years of extended life out of your existing plates.

Larry

[mrman5917]

I think brazing just won for the lower shock plates.

As for the U-bolts and similar hardware, any suggestions?

[rocketeer]

I think brazing just won for the lower shock plates.

As for the U-bolts and similar hardware, any suggestions?

Repro u-bolts are available, Walcks has them. There's a fellow over on the CJ2A forum that has/had a stash of NOS U-bolts. They are longer than you need but you can easily hacksaw some of the thread off, which is what I did. You could post a Want adv here and over there, he may still have some. By the way, fronts and rears can be different depending on what differentials are installed. Measure the holes in the plate, ctr to ctr, front to back. Here's a link to my differential project from a couple of years ago. Page through it and you will see what I'm talking about.

http://www.thecj2apage.com/forums/an-mb-rear-into-a-cj_topic13882.html

For others reading this thread, if you ever need to remove u-bolts, try to save them. Best way is to split the nuts, those are readily found and very inexpensive. After you split the nut and get it off you can run a thread chaser over the threads and they'll be good as new.



Larry

[mrman5917]

Thanks for the suggestions Larry. I had always been told to replace u-bolts any time they are removed, so I went that route and have already purchased new ones of the correct size.

I guess the better way to ask it would have been what do I do to the raw metal before installation, or is that the way they should go on? Should I rattle can some rustoleum on there, por15, powder coat, or

Oh, and just bought a pair of those but splitters after seeing your post. That would have been really useful during the tear down.

[macrisel]

I have had very good luck with using both powdercoat and POR 15 on small items.  On my u-bolts, I actually liked the bare steel look against my black leaf springs.  I put a clear coat on them and left them that way.  I'm not sure how well they will hold up over time though.

A word of caution about POR 15..........wear gloves and long sleeves.  When the label says it takes a week for the stuff to wear off of your skin, they mean it.  Also, use cheap brushes and throw them away when you are done as it is nearly impossible to clean them.  You can buy a box of 2" chip brushes (Item # 4182)  from Harbor Freight and they are great to use with POR 15 and other small paint projects.

[mrman5917]

Thanks for the heads up about POR15. I'll certainly keep that in mind if I decide to use it anywhere.

I had considered keeping the U-Bolts bare metal, but the larger one on the passenger side of the front axel came finished in some sort of black coating. I figured it would look better if I just finished all of them in black (including the one already finished) than if I tried to remove the coating on the one and hoping it would look ok. Then again, I'm probably the only one that will ever notice it either way