If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another.

The clutch has been going out on the 1960 for a few weeks now. Because of this, she's been sitting a little more than I'd like her to. Well, the O2 sensor went out on our family vehicle (2010 F150), so I decided to take the Jeep on a six mile trip to town to visit the part store. On the way out of the O'Reilly's parking lot, I heard an unusual knocking sound. After turning onto the main drag, I looked through the hole in the floorboard where the 4X4 shift knob is, to see that the front drive shaft had completely disconnected itself from the front differential. I pulled over immediately, and called my father in law, telling him to bring a tow chain. When he got there a few minutes later, we disconnected the front drive shaft completely, hoping to still drive her home. I put it in gear, and the front wheels locked up.
The Jeep will fit on my trailer, but I don't have a gate or ramps. You can't exactly get her onto a trailer a foot above the ground when the wheels don't roll. Sadly, my worst fears came true, and we had to call a tow truck to get her home. It sure felt like the walk of shame the whole six miles back home.
From day one, the goal of this Jeep was for me to have a project vehicle. I'm not mechanically inclined, so this was meant to be a good learner, just to "dip my toes in the water." Well, I guess now I'm jumping in head first. I don't know jack s?@! about rebuilding a front end. My father in law mentioned a hog head. Truth be told, I haven't the slightest clue what he's even talking about. Wish me luck, boys. We all have to start somewhere, I guess.
P.S. - What's a gear ratio?

 

Jeep life. You could probably just unlock the hubs and keep driving it. Im not sure whats going on there but its a problem for sure. Gear ratio is the difference between the pinon gear and crown gear in the differential from the driveshaft to the axles. I think your screwed

 

Might be simpler to think about replacing rather than rebuilding. Swap axles, or whatever.

Don't feel bad, this happens with newer vehicles too.

 

On that note, does anyone have an axle in/around Indiana? What years would be compatible if I find a parts Jeep? (i.e is the axle in an M38A1 the same? Could I use one out of a CJ7? etc.)

 

That probably wouldn't have come off if the pinion nut had been properly torqued. I wouldn't assume it is trashed but that depends on how long you drove it when it was loose. The pinion is probably jammed forward into the carrier, locking it up. Pull the cover and see what presents it has for you.

 

That should be a Dana 25 with 5:38 gears, same as used from the early ‘50s through around ‘63. If the driveshaft was turning when you were driving, you may have been in 4 wheel drive, or your front hubs were locked in, or both. You shouldn’t be driving on pavement in 4wd, and it looks like you have lock-out hubs that allow the front wheels to “disconnect” from the drive axles. As stated in post#2, you likely could have unlocked those hubs and driven home in 2wd.
The nut that holds pinion yoke came off. That yoke is supposed to be tight, which holds the internal pinion bearings in a precise clearance. Driving with the yoke off, the pinion likely was damaged where it mates to the ring gear. You can pull the front cover off to see if anything looks broken.
If you have access to an M38a-1 front axle, that will likely swap straight across for yours, but the CJ7 is a totally different axle.
-Donny

 

Cj7 axle is totally different but the narrow version makes for a good but expensive upgrade.

Jack it up,
Pull the cover off the front of the big center casting and take the "hubcaps" off the front wheels until you see a splined shaft on each side. Take pictures and share what you see. You can remove all the shafts and drive it with driveshaft removed as long as everything is covered and sealed. Then you have a little time to catch up.
Do not remove the saddles on either side of the gears without marking them with a center punch. (I'ld leave it alone and pull the shafts out of the ends for now)

Midwest willys should be relatively close

 

To add to Donny's post, I'm pretty sure the D25 front axles from the flat fenders (2A, 3A, 3B) are also identical and should bolt-in. All were 5.38's. The MB/GPW versions would bolt-in also but those are universally 4.88's and have different steering knuckles-something to avoid. For future reference, anytime you have major leakage from a pinion seal, front or rear axle, you should be highly suspect the pinion bearings are either severely worn, the pinion preload was not properly set with the shim pack, or that nut was not properly torqued.

 

Donny- very thought out reply! THANK YOU! I don't have a M38-A1 at my disposal, but if I need to look for a replacement axle, I need to know what model(s) I can pull parts off of. I didn't think I was in 4X4, but frankly, I wasn't paying attention. Dad had a truck with lockouts when I was in my teens, and I never had to use them. So, I'm new to those. I get the concept, though. However, it never occurred to me that they would be locked in. This Jeep hasn't been offroad in years, so I just assumed it was in 2wd.

 

There is a '64 for sale a few hours away. I asked him what front axle was and he said he "thinks" it is a Dana 44. What's the difference?

 

The learning begins!

Here's a thought, if there's no shrapnel in the differential oil. Get the right nut, bolt up the pinion and driveshaft, see if it runs.

If it does, carry on. Maybe it will blow later, maybe it won't, but what's to lose? Maybe another towing fee?

Me myself, I wouldn't attempt a differential rebuild at home, that is highly specialized. If necessary find a swappable axle.

 

The dana 44 is what your rear axle is, the center casting is bigger. It should have a dana 27 front for a '64. Don't get too carried away in the current moment. Breath and diagnose.

 

To help with your learning curve a basic shop manual first published by Willys and then Kaiser has lots of basic information that helps explain the operation, maintenance & repair of all the Jeep's systems. Each chapter starts off with an explanation on how the particular system is designed to work, this will help familiarize you with terminology. The link here is to Kaiser Willys website, but you can probably find cheaper copies on ebay, amazon etc. Many of the pictures have gone down in quality as the manual gets re-printed so if you find an older copy it will have better images.

https://www.kaiserwillys.com/products/mechanics-service-manual-fits-46-65-cj-2a-3a-3b-5/

 

This is mandatory.

 

I have a pdf for the service manual from somewhere. It has been super handy being searchable.

 

https://oljeep.com/index.html
I would still buy a paper copy of the service manual and I would buy the parts catalog. In fact, I would buy two copies of the service manual - a clean one to keep indoors and one for the shop.

 

The OLJEEP web page has a bunch of PDF manuals: https://oljeep.com/edge_parts_man.html

Here's a 1965 and older manual: https://oljeep.com/65Universal/UniversalServiceManualForJeepVehicles.pdf

And here's a 53-71 manual that is searchable: https://oljeep.com/53CjDj/53-71JeepCjDjServiceManual.pdf

 

I was too slow!

 

Welcome to Jeep life. Gotta love it or hate it or both. Not for someone not willing to commit. A new vehicle payment would be cheaper and give
you a lot more free time to do the things you enjoy. Most of us here are hardcore enthusiasts and enjoy working on junk. Finding time is usually
the hard part. In my case, I can leave the mess in my garage and walk away for days, months and sometimes years. It doesn't mind waiting. I
find the best way to get motivated is to put a chair in the garage and go sit in it. The mind gets going and the body gets busy.

Lick your wounds, study and evaluate before making a move on the repair. Remove the front cover and assess the repair as said above. Un-lock the
hubs and see if it rolls. Go from there. It could be that bolting the yoke back on will be all it takes. Everyone is here for you. Pictures help.

 

Funny, I believe just the opposite. I have no desire to be enslaved to dealers and loan companies. Averaged over the years I spend very little on my Jeep(s), and get a great deal of pleasure.

Admittedly, the "per mile" cost equation would be quite a different thing.