RetroRanger

I posted in this axle thread about trying to get my rear axles out. Well success I got them out but wait dont celebrate yet theres bad news too.

about a year ago I posted in this thread how one of my rear control arms was bent and I saw evidence of prior accident damage on the drivers side rear quarter. I also complained of an intermittent vibration above 50mph...I think I finally found its source

when I got the drvrs axle out I saw the bearing race? (not sure if its part of the race) was broken in one spot allowing the bearing assembly to seperate. Im assuming that the vibration also led to my drvrs side axle seal leaking which led me to pull the axle which led me to finding the bad bearing....

In addition the lug bolts are welded to the axle flange some just tacked some really welded in there. I noted in the above referenced bent ctrl arm thread that the drvrs rear wheel did not exhibit any detectable wobble (visual only) at low speeds

pictures show the bent ctrl arm
my axle puller slide hammer
the axle
the bearing w left side broken race ?
the flange with welded lug bolts

my questions are

-is this axle OK how can I tell if it warped or bent either at the flange or anywhere else

- are the welded lug bolts a concern (warped flange or strength)

- do I need a machine shop to press the bearings off and on also can any 'machine shop' or maybe even a garage ? handle it or is it a specialty kinda thing( i dont know of anywhere specific that why i ask if any shop can )

- how do the seals get seated in the axle tube ? by tightening the t nuts and back plate ? on my truck the axle was held in w c clips and the seal could be easily replaced in the axle tube w the axle out

monzaz

Well sounds like you have your hands full. I would check the housing for straightness before doing anything else first. If you do not have a good base. ALL the rest parts are a moot point.

Jim
JD

RetroRanger

Hi jim

thanks for the response, I do have my hands full w this. ...can you or anyone offer some tips for checking the housing for straightness ? I dont see any outward signs of damage like a ripple or crease in the housing can I just use a straight edge? The car drove reasonably smooth to ~50mph at which point I could sometimes feel a tire out of balance type vibration that usually would disappear after driving for a minute or two at 50+mph

also can anyone help w these questions ?

-is this axle OK how can I tell if it warped or bent either at the flange or anywhere else

- are the welded lug bolts a concern (warped flange or strength)

- do I need a machine shop to press the bearings off and on also can any 'machine shop' or maybe even a garage ? handle it or is it a specialty kinda thing( i dont know of anywhere specific that why i ask if any shop can )

- how do the seals get seated in the axle tube ? by tightening the t nuts and back plate ? on my truck the axle was held in w c clips and the seal could be easily replaced in the axle tube w the axle out

507OLDS

If the car had a side impact,and there was contact with the wheel,it could have bent the wheel flange on the axle shaft.I have seen this on a few rears that I knew were in similar side-impact accidents.I was abel to spin the shaft while in the housing,and notice the bend in the flange,but you could also take it to a machine shop,and put it on a lathe & spin it.
Likely,you will need one axle shaft,and it will solve all of those related problems.You don't need a new one,just a nice used one that is straight & free of damage.

Scott Hamel

if it was me i would buy new axles. why would someone weld the crap out of the wheel stud? i think these axles seen better days before you got them :O

monzaz

The housing will need to be totally disassembled and a narrowing straight bear with the proper carrier pucks will need to be used and this will tell you the straightness of the housing we use this tool to narrow housings.

The axle shaft will need to be chucked up in a lathe and check at the bearing spline and axle flange for spinning run out. Dial indicator will check it out. You will probably need a machine shop for the axle shaft and some one that narrows rear in the area for the housing straightness check...

I know this is probably NOT much help as there are just not too many guys building diffs anymore.

Jim
JD

RetroRanger

Thanks Jim

Short term solution, I located a replacement axle for this set-up but havent had the time to install it yet, for me the car is almost ready for winter storage and I need to put it back together so i can move it.

I have talked to brian about building me a 3:42 posi as a replacement rear end for the long term solution

jfb

dude find a 8.5 10 bolt replacement and check it there. I would also suggest like in earlier posts that you put some quality parts into it, This is a sure fire way to get some good power out of it without failure. Moser parts are what i have in mine. I suggested this in a santa posting to pilot 64 before. Axles,bearings,carrier,gears, yokes and u bolts for ultimate strength. I hope the 8.5 if you want to also has bolt in axles this is a real positive point for bop guys. 3.23 and 3.08 are our safe range for real duel purpose without overdrive. the tire size also can make a difference to.

oldcutlass

I'll be willing to bet that once you put the replacement axle in with a new bearing and seal, your issue goes away. Then save up for your performance stuff.

RetroRanger

Yeah I popped in the replacement axle and have only been able to drive it twice since between rain family work and other BS.

It runs and drives fine now, MOF my truck is down w a bad slave cylinder so i took the cutlass into work today

oldcutlass

Good to hear!