willysmjeeps.com

On this m38a-1 I'm working on I've finished cleaning up and repainting the rear dana 44 axle. So now I've moved on to the front axle. Apparently this axle is not original....or at least the paint tends to indicate that it is not. The rear axle had red over od green over red oxide primer. The front axle has gray or light blue over bare metal and that's all. Also....on the passenger's side the king pin caps are secured in-place with studs and nuts while on the driver's side the caps are secured with bolts. Even the flexible brake line guards are different. On the passenger side I had to remove all four nuts to remove the guard while on the driver's side the guard was only secured by two of the bolts. Finally, the flexible brake lines were different from side to side. On the passenger side the flexible line was held in-place by cupped "U" clips while on the driver's side the line was secured with circular "C" clips. I had originally just intended to clean up and repaint the front axle but now my curiosity is getting the better of me and I'm seriously considering reworking the king pin and hub bearings along with all new seals, shims, and gaskets. One knuckle seems to turn with about the right amount of pull but the other one is about as loose as a goose so some maintenance is in order anyway. Besides.....I'm just dying to know what kind of joints I have inside those knuckles. Yeppers......every day I find out why working on these little vehicles is soooo addictive!

Jim

Jim,

Military brake gaurds only had two bolts holding them down and CJ had all 4.

Sounds like your front axle has been worked on before.

I went through the front and rear axles on my jeep back in 2004 and had to put a new ring gear and pinion on the front axle.

It is a lot of work, but worth it in the end.

I cleaned up and replaced seals and hoses on my CJ2A/M38 and my "real" M38 when I got them. The M38A1 is next. They were a real mess too. It is a sloppy job but you will drive the vehicles with more assurance that nothing will go wrong if you clean out all the old lube and grease and all the dirt that accumulates in the axle and replace the seals and hoses. Time well spent.