06-16-2009, 10:54 PM
Hi everybody. Need your thoughts and experience with rear axles on a standard 9" setup.
For background, I have a '77 Sport that's pretty much stock and it had a leaky axle seal so I tore everything down, replaced all the drum brake hardware, put on new axle bearings and seals, removed the third member to drain the old oil, installed a drain plug and am putting everything back together. But I've been having a hell of a time getting the axles reinstalled and I've been stumped and frustrated for way too long.
The axles are on the correct sides and they will install fine and I can feel them engage the splines and then it feels like they bottom out but there's still half of the bearing hanging outside the housing and the mounting bolts will barely reach through the mounting plate.
All this time I thought the axles weren't going in all the way and on cb.com it was suggested that since its a limited slip diff there are two sets of splines for each axle to pass through and they may not be lined up. 66stocker suggested inserting the axle and then removing it slightly, tunrnng it, reinserting and repeating until I found the sweet spot. I've tried that before with no luck but I fiigured I'd give it another go.
Well, I just finished trying that approach again and the result is the same - the axles seem to engage the diff but just won't go in far enough to connect the mounting plate. And that's when it hit me.
Is it possible that the axle is fully engaging the diff but the bearing is sticking out of the housing because it's pressed on too far?? Can anybody give me a measurment from the spline end of the axle to the outer edge of the bearing? I think that may be the problem I've been struggling with all this time!
If it is, how can I get the bearing and retaining collar pressed inward far enough?
Sorry this is so long, but I've been fighting with this for longer than I care to think about.
Joel
For background, I have a '77 Sport that's pretty much stock and it had a leaky axle seal so I tore everything down, replaced all the drum brake hardware, put on new axle bearings and seals, removed the third member to drain the old oil, installed a drain plug and am putting everything back together. But I've been having a hell of a time getting the axles reinstalled and I've been stumped and frustrated for way too long.
The axles are on the correct sides and they will install fine and I can feel them engage the splines and then it feels like they bottom out but there's still half of the bearing hanging outside the housing and the mounting bolts will barely reach through the mounting plate.
All this time I thought the axles weren't going in all the way and on cb.com it was suggested that since its a limited slip diff there are two sets of splines for each axle to pass through and they may not be lined up. 66stocker suggested inserting the axle and then removing it slightly, tunrnng it, reinserting and repeating until I found the sweet spot. I've tried that before with no luck but I fiigured I'd give it another go.
Well, I just finished trying that approach again and the result is the same - the axles seem to engage the diff but just won't go in far enough to connect the mounting plate. And that's when it hit me.
Is it possible that the axle is fully engaging the diff but the bearing is sticking out of the housing because it's pressed on too far?? Can anybody give me a measurment from the spline end of the axle to the outer edge of the bearing? I think that may be the problem I've been struggling with all this time!
If it is, how can I get the bearing and retaining collar pressed inward far enough?
Sorry this is so long, but I've been fighting with this for longer than I care to think about.
Joel