Repairing the Axle mounts

The axle mounts are a seriously weak point on a Jimny, they are made of very thin metal and are prone to corrosion.

Typical Damage

They can wear out in an "oval" fashion that results in a strange "clunk" noise when letting the clutch up. In the worst case the mount can corrode through and rip away from the axle, this is becoming increasingly common as Jimnys get older.

Worn Axle Mount

Good Axle Mount

They can also completely fail and rip off.

Broken Axle Mount

Wear repair

If the holes have worn oval then a welded repair can be carried out by creating some form of repair piece. You could weld strengthening over the hole or, as I do here, create a washer to fix the hole itself. The internet shows a simple steel washer welded over the hole or the creation of a "top hat washer" I had to measure up to make the washers and the picture below shows the finished item and the template I sent to my friendly engineer to make them with. Yes, the template is simply a 2p coin and 2 x 5p coins – they were the correct dimensions for what I needed with a 12mm hole in the middle.

Template and washers

The trick is to now open out the oval hole in the mounting bracket to the point where the centre part of the washer fits the hole. I simply filed out the hole until the washers fitted. The first picture shows the washer as it should be fitted, whilst the second picture shows the same washer fitted backwards to show how it fits in the hole. I then filed out the other mount so that the other washer fits.

Washer fitted in place

Washer reversed for clarity of fitting

These arms are made with the adjustment built in therefore they should be fitted with STANDARD bushes. They are typically available for 3 inch or 4 inch lifts. Most people feel that 2 inch lifts do not need correction. If you are buying aftermarket arms make sure they provide for vacuum piping, handbrake cables and ABS cables.

Correction Bushes

These work by off-setting the centre of the mount to achieve the correction. They are popular because of the price however they are probably best for small lifts (2 inches up to possibly 3 inches at a push) because the off-set required to give a larger lift means there is little to no rubber on one side of the bush which really affects its performance and ride).

Castor Correction Bushes

Torque Settings

Full details of the torque settings can be found in the reference data

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Page last edited on 3/06/2016 by user Mlines