DPDISXR4Ti Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Yes, I'm converting the rear-end assembly from a '85 Brat into a utility trailer. The torsion bar spring setup makes this a very viable project, I think. I got the whole thing dropped out of the "parter" yesterday with little fanfare. Obviously I won't have a need for the differential or half-shafts for this project, but I'm trying to determine now if the half-shafts play a significant role in the fastening of the hub to the control arm. It appears that they may, in which case, I'd probably need to remove them and cut them down to a stub, if only to serve in a fastening role. Originally, I was figuring to just remove the half-shafts and fabricate some plates to cover the voids, but I'm not sure now if that might be a viable approach. Can someone who knows these rear axles give me a quick lesson on their removal? That might help me to figure out what's going on with this setup. I searched, but most of the R&R lessons seem to be focused on the fronts. Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archemitis Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 pull em out. the part that sticks through the drum stays there, and holds it all together. should be very easy, as people pull them on the trail, without removing any other part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPDISXR4Ti Posted September 20, 2004 Author Share Posted September 20, 2004 pull em out. the part that sticks through the drum stays there, and holds it all together. should be very easy, as people pull them on the trail, without removing any other part. Thanks for telling me what I wanted to hear! So do I just remove the 5 bolts on the diff side and the shaft come out? Do I need to drive that pin out near the back side of the hub? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 i thought the outer cup on axles wouldn't disassemble? is that fronts only?another option would be to swap 2WD control arms onto there. then you could lose the differential as well and save a little weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 on the back end, the stub going through the hub is a seperate piece from the halfshaft (unlike the front end). You just have to knock out a roll pin going through the back of the outer cv to pull it off of the hub and trailing arm. Same deal with pulling the axle off of the differential stubs. Use a 3/16 punch and a hammer, and knock the pins out. Then the axles will slide off of the splines at each end. Well unless they are rusted together. There is no need to undo any bolts to remove the axles. Then unbolt the diff from the subframe, and you've got free wheeling hubs and no heavy diff, a perfect setup for a trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 yeah, i guess the diff can come out either way. I've never had an outer rear boot blow. all others so far though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPDISXR4Ti Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 on the back end, the stub going through the hub is a seperate piece from the halfshaft (unlike the front end). You just have to knock out a roll pin going through the back of the outer cv to pull it off of the hub and trailing arm. Same deal with pulling the axle off of the differential stubs. Use a 3/16 punch and a hammer, and knock the pins out. Then the axles will slide off of the splines at each end. Well unless they are rusted together. There is no need to undo any bolts to remove the axles. Then unbolt the diff from the subframe, and you've got free wheeling hubs and no heavy diff, a perfect setup for a trailer.Thanks very much for the detailed info - perfect! I'm trying to decide if I should bother moving the wheels out about an inch so that the width of the trailer would be exactly 48" rather than the ~46" that it would be if I left them as-is. I suspect that I don't want to mess with the hub to spring lever arm interface area, so wheel spacers and longer studs would be the likely route I'd go. People do the oddest things with these cars, don't ya think??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPDISXR4Ti Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 Wow, that was easy! Just completed the task in less than 45 minutes. One of the axles was a bit frozen in place but with my friend Mr. Crow-bar and Mr. BFH, I had it out pretty quick. Without the drivetrain, I'm gonna guess this thing weighs less than 150 lbs. I think I'll forget about the idea of making the width of the trailer an even 48" width and just mount the side-rails directly to the original body mount locations. This will give me somewhere around 42" width, which is still wide enough to fit my ATV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 you may want to crank the torsion bar up all the way, or adjust it up a notch. will let it carry a better load...... I'm thinking with an ATV up there, it would sag pretty good.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPDISXR4Ti Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 you may want to crank the torsion bar up all the way, or adjust it up a notch. will let it carry a better load...... I'm thinking with an ATV up there, it would sag pretty good.... I had actually completely forgotten about the adjustment feature! That's done via that bolt in the center, right? Threaded all the way down is the stiffest setting, pushing the height up, right? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Pop the pins out of the outer joint, and then unbolt the diff and let it drop. It should take the CV's with it. You dont need to worry about running with no CV's cause the rear end has axle shafts that run through the bearing, and attach to the hub. The CV just attatches to the shaft. As soon as you get the 1st one out, you'll understand how easy it is. I would also recommend removing the torsion bar and bump it up another notch. -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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