Hello,
I had been hearing bad sounds from the right wheel of Jag 3 so crawled under and discovered the outer universal joint is failing. Taking the four large nuts off the differential to release the axel was quite a project! Couple of things first: the nuts were not 17mm or 18mm but instead I needed a 11/16th box wrench to fit the nuts; which seems odd. (Perhaps these were changed at some point and the wrong nuts were used?) Also, I could be wrong but it looks like the threads in the nuts are sort of messed up like the nut was not quite the correct pitch...like a close SAE pitch but they were used anyway? They were extremely difficult to remove and I had to wrench them just about all the way out to finally get them off. Has anyone who's removed these nuts had the same experience? If these are the wrong nuts, where do you suppose I could find the correct replacements apart from the dealer? There is a company selling then on Ebay for about $37 each which seems crazy but I wonder if I bought some regular metric nuts with the crimped end or the plastic security end would that work? I'd use thread locker in any case...
Thanks much guys, Dave

 

The 4 output stub axle nuts are 11/16".

 

I won’t know the correct thread pitch and size until I go into work Monday but, I do know that ACE Hardware has the best selection of oddball fasteners. I know they also sell those Nyloc (?) fasteners as well. However, it’s pretty common that they’re a pita to remove every time I’ve dealt with them.

 

You're in luck, I was just cleaning out a box of old jag parts and found some of the studs out of the stub axles. Thread is 7/16-20

Mcmaster has some nylocs, and lots of others in that thread size, part number 97135A245 for example

 

Hello Guys, Thanks for the many helpful replies to my axel nut question. I'll be scouting out some new ones while awaiting the new u-joints and having them pressed out and in. Will update the group when I get this finished. Best, Dave

 

Hello,
I found these nets on Moss Motors; a site for Jag parts; first time I had stumbled upon it. Click the link for the nuts...
https://mossmotors.com/half-shaft-to-differential-nut
Anyway, had the new U-joints pressed in and reattached the axel using these new nuts. They are a bit shorter than the original but I had a thin wall 11/16 box wrench that I used to get them very tight. Thanks much for all the guys that replied to my message....

Best, Dave

 

Hi Dave,

My recollection is that the original nuts are a type of locknut known as a Stover nut or "distorted-thread locknut." The top or narrow end of the nut is distorted into a slight elliptical or ovate shape so that once the undistorted threads have been spun onto the stud and the distorted threads engage, significant force (prevailing torque) is required to turn the nut the rest of the way. This is why when removing them, they never loosen until they are nearly all the way off.

No threadlocker is needed (or advisable) with this style nut.

Cheers,

Don