Snapped an axle

[xcyter]

Ok was driving heard a loud clunking, pulled over got towed home. Lifted car axle piece where it attaches to the back of the brake drum assembly is snapped in half? WTF anyone else have this problem??? '72 240Z L24

took the 4 bolts out of the axle shaft and where it meets the piece I broke,, put penetrating oil on it cause i cant get it apart.

is this a hard fix?

[Arne]

Your description doesn't make it clear to me which part is broke. Can you point it out on the attached picture? Which number?

[xcyter]

Your description doesn't make it clear to me which part is broke. Can you point it out on the attached picture? Which number?

#6 broke

and # 16 doesnt want to come off (brake drum)

[beandip]

What year Z is it? Is what you have in hand the companion flange with a portion of the stub Axel and nut attached? If this is the case you should be able to see some of the splined shaft sticking out of the Axel housing. right? If this is the case you are lucky you didn't loose the wheel. I am supposing that this is a early Z. Gary

[Arne]

Snapping a stub axle is not common at all, but not unheard of either. The part that's left is pressed into the wheel bearings. You'll need to get the drum off and use a slide hammer to remove it. The stub axle and both inner and out bearings will need to be replaced.

[beandip]

Brake drum. this can be a stubborn job in it's self. If you look at the brake drum there is a rubber plug in the face of it. Remove that plug. Can you revolve the brake drum, or is it tight and difficult to turn? If it is hard to turn likely the brake shoes are in contact with it and will need to be adjust away from it. This is what the little hole is for. The E-brake is attached to the adjuster that keeps the rear shoes adjusted. There is a lever that must be lifted off the adjustment wheel on the wheel cylinder. This is where you really need a manual so you can see how the lever is setting . This brake drum is sandwiched between the rim and the Axel flange. It is common that rust has formed between the drum and this flange causing them to become stuck together. If the drum can be rotated easily, then take a rubber mallet and strike the flat face of the drum at 12 o'clock then 6 o'clock , 9 then 3 . see if there is any movement , even slightly around the lug bolts and drum. What you are attempting to do is to dislodge the drum from the Axel flange. Repeat this mallet to drum trying to rock it loose. Do not use a hammer and do not hammer on the fins of the drum you will just brake them off. I use either P B Blaster or Kroil and spray it around the face of the Axel flange and lug bolts to help with the rust loosing. You can try and using a length of wood against the fins from the back side , I use a old hammer handle or like hard wood, and strike the wood with a hammer , again at the 12 ,6 , 9, 3 points. Take a deep breath and keep your frustrations at bay , because this can take time . Just keep repeating with the mallet and wood and hammer. The drum will come free . If the shoes are tight against the drum This MUST BE LOOSENED FIRST. Or the drum will not come off. In our case the Axel could come off with the drum. Hope this helps. Gary

[Mat M]

Last weekend I had an experience that may help.

I was removing components to a rear strut, with the ultimate goal of removing the rear bearings/axel for a member's 5 lug conversion. I noticed that the drum WOULD NOT BUDGE. After stripping my spindle pin puller (a story for a different thread, and a completely different problem), and about 1/2 can of PB Blaster, I realised that I didn't need to actually save these parts, the strut was the key. I ended up threading the locknut on the axle and using a 3 lb single jack to knock out the axle from the back side, pushing the frozen drum off the hub, axle and all. It took a bit of persuasion, but it worked for me.

It ended up the brake shoes were fused to the inner drum, I had to separate the brake lining from the shoes with a little force. I was able to remove the locknut without too much resistance, leading me to believe that I may be able to chase the threads and reload. Time will tell.

Moral of the story:

If you have fluid priorities, anything is possible.

To the OP, if you have a line on a "new" axle flange, as well as new brake parts, you may wish to try this.?.?

[xcyter]

i need a stub axle now. I realy dont want to go to the pik n pull and go through the headache of pulling one from a 280z and converting etc..

anyone have a stub axle for sale or know where i can get one for a 240Z??????

[EScanlon]

Tim;

It seems you did see the answer on the other duplicate thread you posted.

But, for future reference, since new posts appear on the front page as well as on the "Current" or "Latest", duplicate threads don't serve any purpose other than to split answers. There are times you would loose good responses due to duplicate threads.

FWIW

E

[xcyter]

Tim;

It seems you did see the answer on the other duplicate thread you posted.

But, for future reference, since new posts appear on the front page as well as on the "Current" or "Latest", duplicate threads don't serve any purpose other than to split answers. There are times you would loose good responses due to duplicate threads.

FWIW

E

it was an accident , my computer froze up and i didnt know if it had been posted, when i saw that it had i tried to delete it but could not.

[Ttiger]

I just found a stub axle at Ron Tonkin Nissan in Portland. From what they told me, there was one other one at a dealer in Virgina (any dealer can look up nation-wide inventory for you - Nissan part number is 38164-E4150. MSA also carries them.

I just had a similiar problem with my '71. My son was in a performance driving school and on the skidpan he snapped the axle right at the big nut. I pulled the axle shaft out and now need to get the inner bearing off so I can get it on the new shaft. I'm thinking about taking it to a shop to have it pressed off and on because I don't want to trash a $50 bearing!

Once I have have the bearings swapped (and a new seal in place) do I just "tap" the axle shaft back in? I used a slide hammer to get it out so how much force is needed to get it back in?

[John Coffey]

If you can find a new stub axle, buy it! They have been NLA from Nissan since the late 1990s. I was able to purchase the last two 280Z stub axles that Courtesy Nissan was able to find back in 1999.

If the stub axle breaks right under the stub axle retaining nut, the nut was most likely cross threaded when last installed. If a stub axle breaks at the base of the splines on the shaft, it was overloaded (drag strip type launches). If the wheel stud flange breaks off from the shaft then it failed from high cornering loads.