AUTOMOTIVE AXLE REPAIR

I have done this, but to much larger and more expensive axle housings, but it's been some thirty years ago. That $500.00 just might turn out to be a bargain, but anyway, stainless is not required, nor is heat treatment. I do think you're going to have to turn it down more than .060, as this will leave only .030 on a side, which is quite thin.

Now, I'm speaking of the axle housing, not the axle itself. If this isn't what you are contemplating, you can pretty much ignore the whole post. Anyhow, if you are setting the housing (including differential housing) up in a lathe, it's important that you don't center the off end in the chuck. You'll need to offset it so you don't lose the camber in the damaged end. Just a tip in installing the sleeve, if you go ahead with the project, we used to wrap a piece of steel banding strap around the sleeve, and hold the ends with a pair of vise grips so we could heat it for a good shrink fit.

You can forget a whole lot in three decades, so I hope I haven't forgotten anything vital. By the way, most of the axle housings I reworked came in with the end completely broken off. If you've just got a groove, that should take much less time. Again, $500.oo doesn't sound all that bad.

XW I was a 1984 Blazer owner recently gifted to our excellent housekeeper but I wonder how long you expect to own it and whether it might be perfectly safe to do nothing

well, i intend to keep this for at least 4 or 5 more years. i typically keep a vehicle until it has breathed its last breath so to speak. this is not something i can ignore, as the bits of axle, floating through the fluid has destroyed all the bearings in the rear axle. so i am replacing all of them at present. i either have to replace the axles, or find a way to repair them. and at the price of these rare axles, repairing is something i really have to try hard to do. i have already been 2 weeks without using this vehicle. so time is getting short. i need it for hunting, which is only 2 weeks away. there is nothing wrong with the housing, just the axles. and really, what it is, is a case of lousy engineering. even a friend who is an engineer, says this (using the axle shaft as a bearing race) was a very poor idea. if GM had used a hardened sleeve on the axle, or even had it hard chromed, they might have worked fine. but any person with any mechanical knowledge would know that running a hardened bearing, on a soft shaft, would end up badly. but i am sure they could care less, because almost all of them made it out of the warranty period. i would love to have 5 minutes in a locked room with the idiot that decided this was the way to go!

not to inject common sense into the issue, but why not replace it with a decent used rear end?

one not driven into the dirt already...

basically, from what i have gathered off the internet, most of these with more than 75,000 miles already have damaged axle shafts. try finding a 13 year old axle assembly with 20-30,000 miles on it. it is next to impossible. and i am not about to go through changing rear axle styles. that is way to much work for this crusty, rusty old mechanic. i used to do that kind of thing back in my hot rod days. so i know all that is involved. if i was going to be using this for serious off road climbing and digging, it would be a reasonable and proper thing to do. but it is a daily driver, that sees some light off road duty around hunting seasons. i have an absolutely wrecked lower spine, so i do not even go anything resembling fast anymore. i just need a cheap way (because of a small fixed income) to get it rolling again.

Maybe you know someone who can build it up with something like a tig welder. Shouldn't be a big deal to machine down a weld.

i have inquired at several weld shops, and an engineer. everyone says NEVER, EVER weld an axle that will operate at speed. when everyone agrees, and they are professionals, i have to believe them. i did find a place that will make custom axles at a reasonable price. $260.00 for 2 brand new custom axles, delivered. that while not cheap, is within my means. and i will not have to worry about an axle breaking at 70 mph, towing a trailer with my kids in the truck.

Thanks to all you knowledgeable fellas. I'll immediately fwd this thread to our splendid housekeeper (and most profound life's philosopher), the proud owner of a not-quite-new Blazer

well, i have ordered a pair of custom made high performance axles from Dutchman performance out in Idaho. $340.00 for the pair. which by GM standards is cheap, but it is still a lot of money,to spend because of pi$$ poor engineering, or pi$$ poor quality control. my personal belief is a combination of the two. I would love to give the engineer who thought that running very hard bearings directly on a SOFT axle shaft a few intelligent words.

My No. 1 Son agrees most wholeheartedly with your assessment of '80's GM. I shall fwd this thread, see if any reaction forthcoming