K11 rear axle failure !

[DozyB]

A quick note and picture to show what can happen very quietly under our noses.

Admittedly, I do have a towbar but only do light loads. Fortunately I backed into the
drive and there it was!!. My back wheel was looking decidedly out of sorts.
Imagine trundling along the Mxx at any sort of speed and having the wheel assembly
go its own way !!!!

The rest of the car is relatively rust free ( 15 years old) so I am loathe to part with it.
The rear axle is a HORROR to dismantle as some of the lower link bolts have seized.
I nearly collapsed at the cost of a new axle (£680 + VAT) and am now in the market for
used parts. I am on the Isle of Man so am trying to locate bits locally for now.

 

[frank]

pretty common on the later k11,s dozyb

 

[andy]

wow that's bad.

 

[Naz-b23]

That's y I under sealed mine alreay

 

[andy]

yeah did mine when i had a k11 and the floor, but the floor give way first

 

[plmval]

pretty common on the later k11,s dozyb

View attachment 39826

The Micra Big End of The Road To Wigan Pier,~ FUBAR.

 

[DozyB]

Determined not to disturb the chassis, ( using forum information), I devised a way to retain the end of the link and drill out the offending bolt. +£15 of drills, lots of elbow grease,
much swearing, 2x modified hacksaw blades and a modified "puller" bolt did the deed. The sleeve is fantastically hard and brittle. Do not hit or stress it!!. It also trashes the drills and the hacksaw blades, so don't worry about cutting it.
The breakeryard replacement axle has a 4 month warranty and would probably survive that!! Does anybody know about the rear axle strengthening kit supplied by HumphriesOxford as I could try that. Last resort, of course, see if Nissan has a new axle.

Also note the " Made in England" proudly marked on my ancient clamp. Pictures of the clamping system and replacement axle.

 

[DozyB]

The second rusted bolt was removed much more rapidly. Devised a centerfinder from an old 10 mm bolt and a
3/8 th 19mm socket. This was used to make fairly accurate drill starter holes in both ends of the bolt.

Drilled 4 mm from both sides and missed. The 5 mm drill holes started to meet up. The 6mm drill was able to
go right through the bolt. Used the 7mm, 8mm and 9mm drill to centralize the through hole. Maxed out at 10mm.

A 12mm drill ensured that the bolt head would snap off. The nut unscrewed easily and the threads were easily cut off.

Remove the bracket. In this case the 10mm drill had settled along the super hard sleeve. Very little hacksawing was
necessary. Use a punch to fold the bolt edges over ( Makes a lip for the puller bolt to work on ).

The puller is an 8 mm high tensile Allen bolt ( head reduced to 11.5mm) , spacers, washer and nut.

Basically I avoided expensive extra parts and possibly extra work (yuk!).

My faithful servant may get past 100k miles yet!

 

[Guy]

Just a quick tip guys, avoid the gold coloured titanium nitride coated drill bits, they're a total gimmick. The drills you need are cobalt alloy bits. They'll cut through hardened steels other bits bounce off and they sell 'em at Toolstation and Screwfix .

 

[pollyp]

ingenious solutions DozyB

and thx for heads up Guy.
btw anyone recommend an affordable drill sharpener under £50 cos most of the commonly used bits on my two box of drills are getting blunt and need something to restore those small drill bits rather than buy another whole set and ain't skilled enough to do it manually on a grinder

 

[DozyB]

Finally!! fitted a NEW rear axle. ( Horrendous price.) I gave it a good dose of paint, inside out. The car should get to 100k plus now.
Thanks to this forum for the useful tips about the K11. Hopefully my little breather fitted to the axle will keep some of the water out.

 

[plmval]

Improvised, adapted and overcome a nightmare DIY job with focus and tenacity.
Credit where it's due.