[finlay113]

Broke my first axle today. The short rear. Had to leave the car 50kms from home. Go home n get replacement axle then go back n replace it. Does someone make a floating rear axle kit for sierras? So when it happens again I can still drive home. And what upgraded axles can you put in? I've heard some bad stories about some chromo rears? Help is greatly appreciated

[alien]

http://www.rocky-road.com/fullfloat.html

i'd hate to know the price on the parts and shipping!!!

edit: found that bit: http://www.rocky-road.com/fullfloatorder.html

ouch - then add shipping on!

[finlay113]

The price on there is $985.

[lukes_89]

you could always keep a 10 or 12mm whatever it is for your driveshaft unbolt it and remove the rear one lock hubs and drive in 4x4 high so using it a fwd car if need be couldnt you

[finlay113]

You can't drive with a broken axle in the back. The wheel doesn't appreciate it haha. It wobbles all over the joint. And every now n then the axle grabs where it's broken. I got a locker so I drove it to a mates. But it was very slow

[tanshi]

i have a set of custom full float rear axles, 4340 shafts alone cost me nearly 800.

havent actually got them fulled up as yet.

[lump_a_charcoal]

Paging Joeblow...

[finlay113]

Yeah Joeblow should make some

[lump_a_charcoal]

finlay113 wrote:

Yeah Joeblow should make some

He did.

[finlay113]

Does he still make them?

[shep]

who knows what he makes.

[alien]

i heard that once he made a....

[atari4x4]

platypus

[alien]

out of a

[Fatzook]

swamp donkey's

[joeblow]

penis.

[shep]

and sold it to...

[alien]

atari's mum so she

[Fatzook]

Could use its spoon bill to

[needmorelift]

those rocky road assemblys come with free wheeling hubs on the rear :S

[BlueSuzy]

Awesome tech!

Time to upgrade to the Calmini/HD rear axles,

Or change your whole axle driveline..lux/bundera.

35's will make mince of most suzuki drivelines..

[tanshi]

you can use solid drive flanges from a GV instead of free wheeling hubs

[Gwagensteve]

Even with shipping, that full floater kit from RRO is quite cheap, however, the material of the axle shafts isn't specified. That's a concern because "22% stronger" isn't, in my opinion, enough to justify the conversion.

The floaters I've built used EN-26 shafts these are a lot more than 22% stronger than stock. These cost $600 for the pair, plus $200 for the seal adapter to use a front inner axle seal.

Additional costs are $120 or so for a complete rear vitara axle and third member from a pull-it-yourself wrecker, and $20 or so for the laser cut adapter plates to mount the spindles.

I flip and cut down the vitara rear housing so the rear axle offset is very close to correct. This is time consuming work and requires a jig to get it anywhere near square. I shave the housing at the same time. IMHO there's no need to start from scratch with new tubes.

Ideally, the axlehousing should then be trued to ensure its square.

I've built 5 of these. They have given no trouble in victoria with 35" tyres and hateful driving.

I'm about to start a couple of WT housing based floaters because we have a couple of cars in the club that require 3.7/3.9 diff ratios due to 3 speed autos. They're not as good to use as a base as the housing isn't as strong, but there you go.

I'm not selling any or offering to make any more commercially, but I am pointing out that USD$985 is good value, and that a vitara based full floater rear is, in my experience, strong enough for 35's.

I wouldn't run a floater with free wheeling hubs. They aren't as strong as drive flanges and there's one more thing there to go wrong. GV's and early 1.0litre sierras are the source for drive flanges.

Bear in mind too that using a vitara rear helps with mounting a traction bar or 3 link setup as it has the A-arm mount cast into it. Another small benefit.


Steve.

[alien]

steve, don't forget the $985USD is a bare housing only... add all the extras including bracing for strength and its an additional $324, so $1309 total in USD (at .90c to the dollar thats $1454 plus shipping), then you still need to get hold of and fit Spindles, Hubs and wheel bearings, Locking hubs, Caliper mounts, Calipers, brake hoses and Rotors.

[appsie]

i think there has to come a time where as big a zuk fan as you are(all of us) there must be advantages in going the bigger lux/undy option etc.Sorta sux tho if you allready have airlockers and money tied up in zuk diffs

but i think the vit rear would be another choice worth looking into or buy another axle and see how you go it might hold up for one trip or might last 6 months being in the mud down there,or spend some coin and go calmini rears but as stated above have seen a few people have troubles with them

but what would i know im just on little 31s

[alien]

im also on 31s... and those considering hilux diffs need to run a 33" tyre to get the same clearance underneath - which means a bigger spend on gearing etc to get right.

while a full floater rear is cool, its dam expensive and cheaper to just replace your axles / pay for a tow truck when it does fail...

[Highway-Star]

Serious question seeing as the Vitara rear centre thing has been brought up. How much benefit does it really offer? From what I have seen with 1.3 WT axles, the shafts are the weak point, not the centres, so why put a bigger ground anchor in, when the axles are no stronger? (talking standard axle shafts at this point).
I would have thought the best combo would be to try and keep Suzuki centres, but somehow use Modified/Custom sidegears or something to run Toyota (or similar) shafts. (this is a vague concept I am using, I'm not suggesting people actually try to run Toyota shafts in a Suzuki diff).

[appsie]

tim hardys zuk runs a vit centre in rear with some modified side gears and then different/bigger axles.That zuk truly amazes me how long it has been relatively simple for yet the places it has driven

[kenn]

Keep your pants on peoples, Joeblow's building full floater rears with big arse custom axel's, first his car then mine then if all go's well, start throwing money at him..

Sorry Joe if I let the pussy out of the bag.

[rpmwrx]

I'm running the Calimini HD rear axels.. they've been in for a while now and i havn't had any dramas... you may be able to get a set imported at a reasonable price as the Oz dollar is nearly 95c US...