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My local garage has done some work on my 1970 and has put it in for its anuall MOT test in the UK. The testing station has found movement in the rear axel and diff and is not sure if its normal and will not pass the car without evidence that this is normal for this car. They have asked me to find out and put forward a case where I may be able to prove this is normal. I am not quite sure myself ! This is what happens: if you jack up the rear wheels and suspend them off floor so that they hang down it is possible to move the wheel by holding the top and bottom (not left and right sides) by as much as 1 inch in and out. The garage say that the axel seems to be moving in and out of the differential. The car drives fine and if I can prove that this is normal for this car it will pass. I hope to have comments from you guys in order to help. If this is not normal of course I would expect to replace the part that may be worn, however the car does drive fine and I have no reason to expect to replace any parts. Quick replies would be most welcome as the mot runs out in 2 days.
I'm afraid that is not normal! it sounds like worn bushes in the bottom struts. Why dont you contact Scott at Corvette Kingdom in Catfield, not too far from you.
My local garage has done some work on my 1970 and has put it in for its anuall MOT test in the UK. The testing station has found movement in the rear axel and diff and is not sure if its normal and will not pass the car without evidence that this is normal for this car. They have asked me to find out and put forward a case where I may be able to prove this is normal. I am not quite sure myself ! This is what happens: if you jack up the rear wheels and suspend them off floor so that they hang down it is possible to move the wheel by holding the top and bottom (not left and right sides) by as much as 1 inch in and out. The garage say that the axel seems to be moving in and out of the differential. The car drives fine and if I can prove that this is normal for this car it will pass. I hope to have comments from you guys in order to help. If this is not normal of course I would expect to replace the part that may be worn, however the car does drive fine and I have no reason to expect to replace any parts. Quick replies would be most welcome as the mot runs out in 2 days.
Some play in the wheel as you discribe is normal when unloaded. But, the rear axel(s) should not move in or out of the differential. If this is happening, you have probably worn off the inner axel shafts to the point that the retaining clip has fallen off.
Bullshark
Last edited by Bullshark; Sep 20, 2006 at 01:02 PM.
I have spoke to scott at corvette kingdom and he has explained that as the rear axel is part of the suspension, it is quite normal for there to be movement in the wheel when unloaded other wise the diff would load up. He is going to speak to the guy that is doing the MOT and hopefully I will get my ticket for another year. The MOT inspector did say that he was unsure if this is meant to happen and was undecided whether to fail or pass the car. If all else fails I will take it to Corvette Kingdom for an MOT. I will keep you all posted in case some other member has the same problem with an over zellous MOT inspector.
There should be next to no movement in the C clip, " the diff loads up" ?? What does that mean, the halfshaft is the upper control member for the rear suspension, much oif the rear load is on the halfshaft because of that. If the stub axle moves in/out you loose some camber and also toe control and it can make the rear behave real funky.
1" movement in and out is WAY too much, judging from the MOT guy's comments it's not the wheel bearing but the stub axle/c clip. You most likely have worn stubs, a worn center pin and worn clutches. Time for a rebuild
I might be exagerating the 1 inch movement. What i mean is that when you grab the tyre at top and bottom points, and pull/push at those points, it is possible that the top of the tyre will move in/out 1 inch. I cannot help thinking myself that there is no problem because the car drives wonderfully.
It is perfectly normal for the side yokes (axels) to move in and out when tested the way you describe. When new, this movement is almost imperceptible.
When the inner ends of the yokes begin to wear, movement will increase. There are specs for this, however movement of the yoke up to about 1/16" is probably OK and more than 1/8" is getting close to becoming a real problem because there are c-clips on the inner ends of the yoke that can fall off when the wear is excessive.
Any wheel bearing play or universal joint play can add to the tyre movement. So it is important to measure only the yoke movement. Wheel bearings can have up to 0.008" end float and are still in spec. (although not too good) and can contribute a lot to tyre movement when tested the way you describe.