Busted Axle - help needed please

[whitepuff]

Hi all,

I searched high and low on the forum and only got drips and drabs of info and battling to put it all together so your help / advice will be much appreciated

I bent the front axle on my Avenger 8x8 (2006 model) and started looking at part to import to South Africa. The axle not only bent but also cracked the outer flange and i would need to replace this as well.(see pic below)


I decided that while I'm busy repairing the shaft, I might as well replace the seals and bearings as well, as they can be damaged by the bent shaft as well. I then stated shopping for parts when I realized the HD bearing setup is an option for this axle.

Sent an email to Adair for their upgrade kit and it seems like a good option but shipping to South Africa is gonna kill be if I include the new upgraded axle as well. So I'm trying to see how I can cut down on some of the costs to get the parts shipped in form Us and what "generic" parts I can get locally.

So here are some questions I need help with please:
1. on the HD bearing setup, is the bearing similar / the same as the U206-20 generic bearing one can purchase form a bearing supplier, or is there something special to it? I can get the U206-20 bearing locally at a 10th of the price of importing it form the US, so if there is nothing special to it I'll rather buy it locally
2. on the HD form Adair is there any drawbacks to using their kit, compared to replacing the complete outer bearing housing / outrigger?
3. is the HD upgrade really worth my while or should I rather just replace the outer flange , seals and bearings with the same ones in the pic above
4. I can most probably get the axle machines locally much cheaper than importing it. It there any changes to the axle (like material etc) to the new upgraded version with the thicker wheel flange? or is it just the flange that’s made stronger? Just to give you an idea, shipping for the axle will cost me double than the cost of the axle So I'm thinking of getting it machined locally.

Sorry for all the questions, but any help would be appreciated. Being one of the handful of Argo owners here in SA makes finding parts and advice quite difficult.

thanks

[L.D.Bruce]

What did you hit?

[whitepuff]

To be brutaly honest? I have no idea! I bought the argo from a chap 7 months ago and only picked this up this week when I wanted to grease the bearings. Don't know if I busted it or the previous owner. I can't recall a big hit at all...

[rapidroy]

whitepuff, if I may inquire, what makes the shipping so incredibly high? Import duties or handling charges?? I have several extra flanges due to upgrading to the HDI bearings on my conquest so... Does the wheel wobble due to the flange being bent or is there a wow in the axle shaft? I see this is on the corner so if it is a wow, it may be able to be straightened in a press. If it is the flange wobble they may be able to cut the welds and re-align the flanges. Of course the HDI axle upgrade will fix it altogether and switching to the upgraded bearing will eliminate the seal flanges also. Good luck // RR

[whitepuff]

whitepuff, if I may inquire, what makes the shipping so incredibly high? Import duties or handling charges?? I have several extra flanges due to upgrading to the HDI bearings on my conquest so... Does the wheel wobble due to the flange being bent or is there a wow in the axle shaft? I see this is on the corner so if it is a wow, it may be able to be straightened in a press. If it is the flange wobble they may be able to cut the welds and re-align the flanges. Of course the HDI axle upgrade will fix it altogether and switching to the upgraded bearing will eliminate the seal flanges also. Good luck // RR

RR, the axle shaft is bent / has wow....so I was thinking of either straighting it , or haveing it remanufactured all together locally. The wheel flange is still in good nick. The indication I have at this stage is the axle will cost me around &88 and the shipping to SA will be around $175 due to the weight and size of the axle and therefore the shipping package. And to make things worse is the South African Rand to dollar exchange rate is not in my favor at all , making it very expensive.

Is there any other major benefits to upgrading to the HD bearings? Better sealing? Better bearing mounting / seating? If the HD benefits are not that big, I will then think of staying with the current setup for now, and twist your arm to sell me one of the old flanges you might still have

thanks for the replies thus far!

[Hurtmudman]

Argo has dealers and distributors all over the word, check out Amphibious Vehicles - Amphibious ARGO UTV, ARGO ATV, ARGO AATV, ARGO All Terrain Vehicle and look up your region on the dealer locator.
You will find the below dealer located in South Africa, they may have these parts in stock for you or be able to get them at a cheaper price.

Fire & Disaster Dynamics
16 Victoria Rd, Suikerbossie, Hout Bay
Cape Town 8005
SOUTH AFRICA
Contact: Jens Jakobsen
Phone: 021 7910047 -
Fax: +27 21 7913341
Email: jens@firedisaster.co.za
Web: ARGO ARICA

[whitepuff]

Argo has dealers and distributors all over the word, check out Amphibious Vehicles - Amphibious ARGO UTV, ARGO ATV, ARGO AATV, ARGO All Terrain Vehicle and look up your region on the dealer locator.
You will find the below dealer located in South Africa, they may have these parts in stock for you or be able to get them at a cheaper price.

Fire & Disaster Dynamics
16 Victoria Rd, Suikerbossie, Hout Bay
Cape Town 8005
SOUTH AFRICA
Contact: Jens Jakobsen
Phone: 021 7910047 -
Fax: +27 21 7913341
Email: jens@firedisaster.co.za
Web: ARGO ARICA

Thanks. Unfortunately due to the small amount of Argos here in SA the dealership here doesn't carry stock - they only order on demand, which will still have to be imported then, at most probably the same cost as me buying and importing. Have sent a request to them anyeway to give me a quote, but in the mean time I want to do all my homework sas to my options.

Thnks

[spits]

If it were my unit I'd pull the axle, weld the hub and at least try to straighten the axle. If it works......great and if it dosn't work you won't be out that many $

[rapidroy]

whitepuff, as far as the benefits of the HDI bearing upgrade go I am hoping for longer bearing life as a result of the larger triple sealed bearing. With the seals in the retainer flange of the current set-up there is potential for them to hold the moisture against the bearing because eventually the shaft gets grooved in the seal area. I sent you a PM, regards the used flanges I have. // RR

[whitepuff]

Hi guys,

just thought I'll give some feedback - ordered and received new oil and cork seals from Adair and they arrived safely. Also received two flanges form RapidRoy (Thanks again RR!). Removed the bent axle and cracked flange last week, and found a local engineering company who managed to heat the axle and bend it back to its original shape without damaging its hardness and tensile strength. We installed it last week in a jiffy, managed to just push it in without even even taking off the chains....slipped right into position with just the tentioners off. Pumped the flanges and new bearing full of grease and ready to swim! Took it bass fishing on Saturday and not a single drop of water entering the tub and the "new" axle running true as new. Very happy with the result and not a serious hole in my pocket. Thanks again to all that gave advice and specially RR for helping with the flanges.