Showed up at my favorite Treasure Yard today.
Grabbed a 1991 9.5" semi-float rear axle with the 11.x" JB6 rear drum brakes and six-lug axle shafts. Actually saved what appear to be rear shocks in good condition (still have gas pressure, anyway) and one emergency brake cable that isn't seized. Retained all the axle-mounting hardware except the U-bolts which got blown-out with Mister Torch. God bless Oxy-Acetylene. Even saved the vent and vent hose, and the stock rubber brake hose. Haven't pulled the wheels off yet; I don't know about brake drums/shoes; axle seals, or what the internal differential parts look like...yet. This axle is a GT4/3.73 without G80 (darn) according to the glovebox decal. The gears aren't right for my truck (3.42) unless I also swap the front diff; and I have no plans to do that.
The big deal here is that I just figured out that I have one axle shaft (left side) under my '88 K1500 that has some minor etching/pitting right at the seal area--and I just can't stop it from seeping. I gotta clean the grease or replace the shoes every few years, and that's getting old. I expect that at least one of the axle shafts in this axle (they're the same L--R) will be usable as-is, so I can swap the "good" axle shaft with the etched/pitted axle shaft under my truck.
As a bonus--and I'm not certain it fits, but I'll compare to what I have now--this Diesel truck had a ginormous, composite driveshaft. My '88 thin, steel driveshaft is original to the 8.5" axle, it's really about an inch too long but "fits"; it just slides almost all the way into the transfer case output. I'm thinking this composite shaft will be the correct length, lighter, stronger. Does an extended-cab/short box truck have the same wheelbase (and therefore take the same driveshaft length) as a standard-cab, long box? I think they do. If so, I'll pop a new rear U-joint into the composite shaft before installation.
Took a Kelsey-Hayes EBC310 ABS unit off the truck next to the one I got the axle from. I don't know if it works, but I'm told there's no aftermarket support--no rebuilts, no "new" replacements for the '310. Worse case is that I have one to pull apart and play with. The ABS on my '97 K2500 hasn't worked in the nearly 3 years I've had the truck--but I know the LF wheel sensor is dead. I just haven't gotten around to beating the hub, and then the lug studs out so I can remove the rotor to access the sensor. If replacing the sensor doesn't fix the ABS, I can try this controller.
Grabbed the RF caliper, hose, and caliper bracket from a Trailblazer. Would have grabbed the rotor, but it was sunk into the dirt too far. I got the LF caliper the last time I was at this Yard; I used it for "practice" before I rebuilt the existing calipers on SWMBO's '03 Trailblazer. I figure I might as well rebuild this one, too, and then seal it up and put it on the shelf with the other one "for later".
In the process of all this, I lost my 1/4" combo wrench, and needed to borrow a 10" 3/8 drive extension for my ratchet. The guy gave me both tools from his "stash", AND took me to lunch at the cafe in the town near his place, AND I burned his Oxy-Acetylene to pop the U-bolts on the axle.
I tried to give him $350, but he wouldn't take it. I paid $320 instead. Had a dang good day today. Record heat (~80F) for this time of year, no ticks, no mosquitoes. Today was (according to the National Weather Guessing Service) the last "beautiful" day of this summer season. Temps drop ~20 degrees starting tomorrow, and unlikely to recover. Snow for Halloween is not uncommon--used to be about one year in three or four, with at least overnight frost just about guaranteed. God bless Global Warming.
Going back for a pair of rear bumpers--the ones on his scrapped trucks are better than the ones on my drivers.
Just had to gloat a little...forgive me. Updates later, when I get the axle shafts and maybe the driveshaft swapped.
Grabbed a 1991 9.5" semi-float rear axle with the 11.x" JB6 rear drum brakes and six-lug axle shafts. Actually saved what appear to be rear shocks in good condition (still have gas pressure, anyway) and one emergency brake cable that isn't seized. Retained all the axle-mounting hardware except the U-bolts which got blown-out with Mister Torch. God bless Oxy-Acetylene. Even saved the vent and vent hose, and the stock rubber brake hose. Haven't pulled the wheels off yet; I don't know about brake drums/shoes; axle seals, or what the internal differential parts look like...yet. This axle is a GT4/3.73 without G80 (darn) according to the glovebox decal. The gears aren't right for my truck (3.42) unless I also swap the front diff; and I have no plans to do that.
The big deal here is that I just figured out that I have one axle shaft (left side) under my '88 K1500 that has some minor etching/pitting right at the seal area--and I just can't stop it from seeping. I gotta clean the grease or replace the shoes every few years, and that's getting old. I expect that at least one of the axle shafts in this axle (they're the same L--R) will be usable as-is, so I can swap the "good" axle shaft with the etched/pitted axle shaft under my truck.
As a bonus--and I'm not certain it fits, but I'll compare to what I have now--this Diesel truck had a ginormous, composite driveshaft. My '88 thin, steel driveshaft is original to the 8.5" axle, it's really about an inch too long but "fits"; it just slides almost all the way into the transfer case output. I'm thinking this composite shaft will be the correct length, lighter, stronger. Does an extended-cab/short box truck have the same wheelbase (and therefore take the same driveshaft length) as a standard-cab, long box? I think they do. If so, I'll pop a new rear U-joint into the composite shaft before installation.
Took a Kelsey-Hayes EBC310 ABS unit off the truck next to the one I got the axle from. I don't know if it works, but I'm told there's no aftermarket support--no rebuilts, no "new" replacements for the '310. Worse case is that I have one to pull apart and play with. The ABS on my '97 K2500 hasn't worked in the nearly 3 years I've had the truck--but I know the LF wheel sensor is dead. I just haven't gotten around to beating the hub, and then the lug studs out so I can remove the rotor to access the sensor. If replacing the sensor doesn't fix the ABS, I can try this controller.
Grabbed the RF caliper, hose, and caliper bracket from a Trailblazer. Would have grabbed the rotor, but it was sunk into the dirt too far. I got the LF caliper the last time I was at this Yard; I used it for "practice" before I rebuilt the existing calipers on SWMBO's '03 Trailblazer. I figure I might as well rebuild this one, too, and then seal it up and put it on the shelf with the other one "for later".
In the process of all this, I lost my 1/4" combo wrench, and needed to borrow a 10" 3/8 drive extension for my ratchet. The guy gave me both tools from his "stash", AND took me to lunch at the cafe in the town near his place, AND I burned his Oxy-Acetylene to pop the U-bolts on the axle.
I tried to give him $350, but he wouldn't take it. I paid $320 instead. Had a dang good day today. Record heat (~80F) for this time of year, no ticks, no mosquitoes. Today was (according to the National Weather Guessing Service) the last "beautiful" day of this summer season. Temps drop ~20 degrees starting tomorrow, and unlikely to recover. Snow for Halloween is not uncommon--used to be about one year in three or four, with at least overnight frost just about guaranteed. God bless Global Warming.
Going back for a pair of rear bumpers--the ones on his scrapped trucks are better than the ones on my drivers.
Just had to gloat a little...forgive me. Updates later, when I get the axle shafts and maybe the driveshaft swapped.
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