Busted axleshafts and trail repairs

[JeepJunkie]

All righty, there are a lot of members on this board now so i figure someone can answer this for me.

when you break an axleshaft on the trail and you go to replace it...I would assume it breaks into two pieces. first off where do they normally break? somwhere in the tube near the diff, near the tires, in the middle? lets say it breaks in the middle of my non c clip axle or c clip(other than it falling off and the location of where it is held on) and i pull the part out that is connected to the wheel. how do i get the other half out? i dont think my hand would fit? a big long magnet? magic??

enlighten me please....i prob sound like a newbie! lol ohh well what can i say

[cbremer]

i helped out someone that had that problem (shaft broke at the splines)- they had pulled both axle shafts, and i loaned them my spare tie rod which they used to push out the broken piece. if it's not stuck too bad, you could also try using a firestik antenna.

[JeepJunkie]

so would a long magnet work if it was broken a few inches in from the splines?

[blkTJ]

a telescoping magnet is always a good idea.

[NAILER341]

sounds like it would work to me.

[RatherBeJeeping]

This is where ARC welding rocks. Whip out the on board welding gear, stick a couple rods together end to end, and zap it to the shaft.
With any of these, you're really hoping that you didn't twist the splines enough to bind it in the carrier. In the past I've seen it take a long piece of rebar from the opposite side and an hour worth of swinging a sledge hammer to get the piece to pop out.

[JeepJunkie]

sounds like a pain no matter where it breaks.