Reinstalling rear axles - help please!

[jkransbottom]

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

[Badass]

Im leaving friday and will be back sunday night. If you need some help Eric 843 67 two 588 five. 730am- midnight

[johnpaulgolf]

Did you replace your axle shafts? cratchhe:

I have a 76' 9" BB rear and thought my other BB 9" axles would fit but they DON'T they are a half inch to long or so ... :banghead:

76-77' have a different length than other years ... :biggthumpup:

[broncomatt]

Since your reinstalling the original axles and reusing the original center chuck I would say there are two possibiltys.
1 they gave you the incorrect bearings (measure the old ones to compare how wide).
2 the center section is a posi and to install the shafts you must enguage the first set of splines then turn the axle shaft untill they spline with the inner coller.
Those bearings press all the way on untill they stop. There should be a raised lip they hit when there done being pressed on.
If your problems still occure, take some pics and post them up. That will help.
Broncomatt

[jkransbottom]

Here are some pics of my axles and a close-up of the bearings and retainers:





Let me know if anyone has any additional thoughts. I'll try to find a way to see if I can see the splines to find out if they're lined up or not.

Eric (Badass), I'll probably be calling you when you get back into town. Thanks for your offer to come help.

Joel

[johnpaulgolf]

Its the wrong axles ... looks just like the ones I have tried :banghead:... 76'-77' have a different axles than any other year even though they are big bearing ... I will try and get some pics of mine but I'm telling you that looks like the wrong axles ... cratchhe:

[jkransbottom]

They're the same axles I took out. All I did was have new bearings installed and put in new oil seals. I don't have the old bearings but I compared the new to the old before I had them installed and they were certainly the same in regards to thickness. They're BCA 514003 bearings which are correct according to every resource I can find.

If the bearings can't be pressed on too far then it must be the splines of the limited slip diff that aren't lined up properly. Assuming that's the problem, here's what I'm attempting to do to get them installed:

- Drive shaft attached
- Gear shift in Neutral
- Insert both axles
- Have friend turn axle back and forth while I do the same and push in with the opposite axle.

Anything described here that sounds incorrect? Anything else that should be done? Should transmission be in Park or in Drive?

Thanks again.

Joel

[abunchofidiots]

Are the splines twisted at all? Also, did you make sure you got the old seal and any debris out of the tube before putting the shaft back in?

[66stocker]

It could be that you have no problem at all.

If the splines are going in and only half the bearing is sticking out take a block of wood and a hammer and tap the axle in.
The bearings are a slight press fit into the axle tube and being new might need a little help to seat all the way into the tube.
Don't wail on it but just give it enough to press the bearing into the tube.
I really don't think the bearing will just seat all the way into the tube with hand pressure.
Since it's all the same stuff except the bearings ... I believe that's where your problem is.

[johnpaulgolf]

this is a picture of a BB non 76-77 on the right and a 76-77 BB axles on the left ... notice the difference in the bearing and where it sits on the axles ... that is why it will be about 1/2" from going all the way in ... cratchhe:




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