not clutch or linkage? help

freeze · 05-03-2009, 10:54 PM

okay everyone, thanks for previous help. Now, news. Its been 2 weeks since trans guy got my zuki. At first he said it was my carrier, after a week of poking his ass he finally took it off and says to me" your carrier and gears look great, but your left axle shaft is broken. I was relieved until i got the price from dealership-$607.Forget that! Now theres about 40 junkyards in El Paso, but apparently only 96-98 wil interchange. ? Mines a 97 sport JLX 4x4, and no junk yard in town has one-odd. Anyway, he ordered one from a yard in Idaho.. I hope.
Now ill describe what it did before i sent it to him. I could move shifter into gears, wouldnt go anywhere... Idles and revs beautifully. clutch works...Shift into 4L & 4H, works and moves but i wont drive it that way.... otherwise sits as if in neutral.... some noise at rear end- crawled under, noticed driveshaft spins, still-goes nowhere.
Heres my question- if the left axle is broken, wouldnt the right side work?
that being broken, is it normal for the driveshaft to rotate? and when its replaced, should it move again or could there be another problem? keep in mind the linkage,clutch,and rear gears are good. if any of this does or doesnt make sense please respond. Thanks

shackwrrr · 05-03-2009, 11:24 PM

if you have an open rear carrier then yes it will do exactly what yours is doing if the axle breaks. all the power is transmitted to the side with the least resistance.

freeze · 05-04-2009, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shackwrrr

if you have an open rear carrier then yes it will do exactly what yours is doing if the axle breaks. all the power is transmitted to the side with the least resistance.

What do you mean open carrier?

basically the broken side is the side with the least resistance?

cmays03 · 05-04-2009, 11:00 AM

open carrier is another way of saying limited slip. what that means is the side with least resistance will be the side that turns. if you had a locker in it then it would turn both sides together and if you break then it will just turn the side that is not broke. so yes if your axle is broke on one side then it will not move. samething goes for the front if one side was broke then 4x4 would not work.

freeze · 05-04-2009, 11:10 AM

thanks for the knowledge. im hoping that the part comes in quickly. now, the other part of my question is- would the driveshaft still spin? im pretty sure its in neutral.
When it broke, i was doing 65 on highway, i didnt hear anything break. I was in 5th, foot on accelerator, and basically ended up with no power. while coasting to a stop i was able to shift into other gears, and if i remember correctly, i didnt have to use clutch. never even heard grinding.
is that normal since there was basically-no rear end

cmays03 · 05-04-2009, 11:14 AM

i believe so. after it broke there was no load on the tranny so maybe thats why you could shift without the clutch. and i believe the driveshaft would still spin in neutral because there is no load on it but not positive on that.

jtgh · 05-04-2009, 01:08 PM

LSD not equal to Open carrier. Zuk come with a full differnential and what Shack said is correct, all power goes to wheel with least resistance or a broken axle.

LSD has friction plates and car would move. (maybe not too good but would go)

i take this post , it dont say, as
Broken Left rear axle?
car would no longer move forward
did you try 4wd ?

lots of types see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differe...hanical_device)

here is yours.

HowStuffWorks "Open Differentials"

it would move then I bet?

sure if in 2wd, and the axle broke, there would be little load on motor and clutchless shifts could happen.

try 4wd with front hubs locked.

the zuk has side gear /spyder gears in the diff.
its purpose is to turn car on the pavement and not tear the rubber off , inside tire.
as you can imagine, the inside tire and outside tires are turning in a different radius.
that being the case, both tires are trying to turn at a diffr. speed.
as you think about that , it seems impossible , right.
well , yes it is and sure enough you would have horrible wind up.

Open diff, (full differential action ) or LSD solve this issue.
the LSD is the best. workson or offroad.
then there is the Eaton Locker, like on Chev. trucks.

freeze · 05-04-2009, 03:18 PM

hey thanks guys. I now understand. and yes, it did move in 4x4. unfortunately, i dont have to get out and lock the hubs. I miss doing that in an old CJ-7 i had. its not off roading if it doesnt involve work. thanks again, hopefully ill hhave her back in the next couple days.

jtgh · 05-04-2009, 03:55 PM

btw , your axle issue was a symptom not the primary fail point, i bet

axle bearing sieze and or loss of fluid.
no one ever changes fluids or checks them these days.
as it seems

freeze · 05-04-2009, 04:07 PM

I hope. a couple months ago i was riding on bad bearings. my trans guy replaced both sides and seals- told me the shafts were good. Now this. he pulled off the carrier, inspected, cleaned last week-no problem.
thats when he told me about broken axle shaft. so i hope he fills it and fixes it right. it may be the last time i take it to him but finding an honest mechanic is hard. And i feel maybe the bad bearings, and i mean bad, caused the axle to take a dump. Thanks