Radius Arms

[bilchap]

Anyboby on here ever grind a notch in their drivers side radius arm so you can get the diff bolt out?Will it make it weak?I have mine out and would like to do something to ease repairs in the future.Done some searching on here but could not find anything that helped

 

[4x4junkie]

Very bad idea. Notching the arm will create a stress riser there, which can cause it to crack and then fail later on.

Grind the bolt head down on one side so that it's "D"-shaped, then insert it from underneath rather than from above like stock. Should go right in.

 

[YBCold]

good question i wanted to know this.

 

[KPSquared]

Grinding the bolt head down works really well. If I have to work in my shop, I usually just drop that half of the axle on the floor because it's WAY easier to mount up and get a good seal if the housing is lying on a bench. But, if you gotta do trail repair, being able to pull that bolt without all the extra work is GOLD!

 

[Flip4ford]

I agree - I have used a saws all to remove the bolt head, then put it back in from underneath.

 

[Maniak]

Stupid question.. Which bolt are we talking about? I had my front diff out when I had to weld up some cracks in the axle beams.

I don't remember any issues getting any of the bolts out of the diff. I did have the suspension on the truck when I pulled the diff but it was hanging pretty low since I had the springs etc off (and no Radius Arms by then).

~Mark

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

sounds like the one that passes vertically through the drivers side of the diff.

 

[Maniak]

sounds like the one that passes vertically through the drivers side of the diff.

Ahh.. the vertical bolt that acts like a hinge? If so, I didn't even pull that bolt when I pulled my diff out.. it came right out once I had it rotated all the way back.

~Mark

 

[glfredrick]

I ground my arm a bit -- never bothered it at all, and I wheeled the snot out of it.

Grinding the head of the bolt would also be okay.

 

[unclemeat]

Mine is ground, I keep an eye on it and it has not cracked. But it does cause a failure point. I plan to weld a little plate in or replace the arm in the future.

 

[Slowlyvverot]

I think LD50 did this...here's the link to the page it's on:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66141&page=13

or maybe I'm reading this wrong.