Replace Axle On Trail

I have an old Dana 44 tapped rear axle. want to carry a spare short axle on the trail. What would I need to replace it on the trail. I was thinking a hammer to remove tapper part from the hub and something to remove what is left of the old axle. Has someone tried this on the trail before. Would like to do a full floating hub some day.

 

I would guess that the hardest part would be the bearing.
Maybe carry each side with bearings already pressed on?

 

Andrew has it right.
Press and grease the axle bearings onto the shaft(s).
Carry a hub puller. Maybe a big telescopic magnet.
The seals and such I wouldn't worry about if going to survival mode.
Have had to do this out in the field twice with my old tapered axles.

 

Another approach I figured I would take is to carry a hub with disk (disk on back of hub) and one spindle ready for the rear axle. If I bust a front shaft I can run 2wd low and if I bust the rear with locker I'll have 3wd. I figure that is the least to carry and cover as many issues as possible.

I also flat tow the jeep so it's critical to have 4 wheels on the ground.

 

If it was me, my spare axle would have the axle shaft, flange, loaded backing plate, bearing retainer and seal already on it as an assembly. Undo the six bolts, slide the old one out and slam the new one in. You'll have to carry less special tools that way and it will be a much faster repair on the trail.

Of course, the shafts usually break right at the end of the splines, so the diff cover usually has to be remove to pop the broken piece out of the side gear. The one I had do that I had to beat the broken piece out with a hammer and punch.

 

I did that. A Jeep friend machined the inside of the spindle so that it would fit/sit into the D44 tapered housing.
Jeeps don't make good tripods.
Never had to use it though.

 

Better carry some gear lube and grease too. I have never broken the short axle, but did break the long side once and had to be towed back to camp, as nobody had the parts or tools to do a repair out in the woods.

 

My experience also, never have had a broken axle that this was not the case. Always twist off right at the axle gear and just inside the splines binding the piece to the gear.

 

Best spare parts/tools? A full float rear axle where you can just pull the drive flanges (or what's left of the one piece shafts) and the driveshaft and motor home in front wheel drive mode. With the tapered shafts/hubs, there is a high potential of some significant collateral damage if you break them near the hub, including loosing your brakes.

 

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