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Old May 12, 2015 | 10:28 PM
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One of the yokes on the rear differential has moved out about 3/8" from where it was. Tire is canted at an angle. I am wondering if possibly the circlip on the yoke has came out of the groove. What are the chances of doing one of the following and getting it to last?
1. Put circlip back in place
2. Installing a new circlip?

Thanks.
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Old May 12, 2015 | 11:08 PM
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#3 replace worn out yoke
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Old May 12, 2015 | 11:51 PM
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Originally Posted by redcar1979
One of the yokes on the rear differential has moved out about 3/8" from where it was. Tire is canted at an angle. I am wondering if possibly the circlip on the yoke has came out of the groove. What are the chances of doing one of the following and getting it to last?
1. Put circlip back in place
2. Installing a new circlip?

Thanks.
If the tire is tilted then I'd look for some other issue as the cause of that, possibly the camber bolts are loose and/or they have moved. Or I would look at the strut rod bushings and see if they are worn out.

Many cars come in the shop with worn yokes but still driving without a tilted wheel.

What are the chances of doing one of the following such as put the clip back in place and/or installing a new clip... Slim and none.

In most cases when the clip comes off the yoke it's caused by wear on then end of the yoke. Removing the rear spring, and then the rear end only to place a clip seems useless to me if I'm pulling the rear and re-installing it. I'd want to inspect the yoke and find out why the clip came off. But odds are the end of the yoke is gone and this is what caused the clip to fall off. Re-installing the clip would probably return unfavorable results down the road.
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Old May 16, 2015 | 03:05 PM
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Originally Posted by redvetracr
#3 replace worn out yoke
Thanks for the reply.
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Old May 16, 2015 | 03:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Willcox Corvette
If the tire is tilted then I'd look for some other issue as the cause of that, possibly the camber bolts are loose and/or they have moved. Or I would look at the strut rod bushings and see if they are worn out.

Many cars come in the shop with worn yokes but still driving without a tilted wheel.

What are the chances of doing one of the following such as put the clip back in place and/or installing a new clip... Slim and none.

In most cases when the clip comes off the yoke it's caused by wear on then end of the yoke. Removing the rear spring, and then the rear end only to place a clip seems useless to me if I'm pulling the rear and re-installing it. I'd want to inspect the yoke and find out why the clip came off. But odds are the end of the yoke is gone and this is what caused the clip to fall off. Re-installing the clip would probably return unfavorable results down the road.
Thanks for the reply. Makes sense. The caster bolt was stripped out and I had replaced this. Maybe because it had let the yoke move and caused the wear.
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Old May 17, 2015 | 05:20 PM
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The only way a worn yoke would/can move is if the strut bar moves.
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Old May 17, 2015 | 05:52 PM
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Originally Posted by gjohnson
The only way a worn yoke would/can move is if the strut bar moves.
Are you absolutely sure. If the clip is missing and you jack the car up and pull on top of the tire the yoke will move. Plus, it can be noticeable on curvy roads. From experience.
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Old May 18, 2015 | 02:06 AM
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Originally Posted by redvetracr
#3 replace worn out yoke
This was the case on my '79. Both sides were worn out, terrible negative camber. I pulled the case out and had it rebuilt at a local driveline shop.

The strut bar adjusts camber from the bottom. The shafts and yoke are the upper support.
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Old May 19, 2015 | 10:21 AM
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I've seen a couple of 79s with yokes that didn't seem to be hardened properly. Usually they wear enough that the u-joint strap starts cutting into the housing. This shows up as negative camber (tilts in). If positive camber couple still be worn yoke where clip has come out.

Oh and do check the strut rod settings and for loose bolts. Same issue if they move.

Strut rod and upper shaft are independent but both can change camber angle.
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Old May 19, 2015 | 11:30 AM
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Originally Posted by DaveL82
Usually they wear enough that the u-joint strap starts cutting into the housing.
This is what happened to mine. The previous owner let it go long enough that the casing was ground into by the u-joint strap/nuts. The shop I took it to for a rebuild ended up sourcing another case from scrap and put all my gears in that one.
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Old Jun 7, 2015 | 11:36 AM
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Removed differential and the circlip had indeed came loose. Why it came loose is not yet clear to me. The yoke end was worn past where the circlip groove used to be. So it may have come loose because of the excessive wear on the yoke. The yoke had also moved so far that it had cut a groove in the outside of the housing. I could see this on the housing before I took it out of the car. Hope you can understand this description. In summary the yoke had moved in on the differential that it wore off the circlip end and cut a groove in the housing. Why is still a mystery to me.
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Old Jun 7, 2015 | 11:39 AM
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Originally Posted by redcar1979
Removed differential and the circlip had indeed came loose. Why it came loose is not yet clear to me. The yoke end was worn past where the circlip groove used to be.

you just answered your own question...worn yoke
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Old Jun 7, 2015 | 02:14 PM
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3/8 is a lot of wear. You have to ask yourself, where are all the metal shavings? They aren't lying in the bottom of the diff. They are in your clutch pack. Since the diff is out, you should consider a rebuild.
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Old Jun 7, 2015 | 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by mortgageguy
3/8 is a lot of wear. You have to ask yourself, where are all the metal shavings? They aren't lying in the bottom of the diff. They are in your clutch pack. Since the diff is out, you should consider a rebuild.
The shavings (more like a grey paste) are on the bottom of the housing between the inner & outer pinion bearing. You have to completely disassemble the diff to clean it.
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Old Jun 7, 2015 | 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by redcar1979
Why is still a mystery to me.
What is it that's a mystery?
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Old Jun 7, 2015 | 04:47 PM
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Mike Ward would say "just drive it, nothing to worry about".
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Old Jun 10, 2015 | 04:45 PM
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Originally Posted by redvetracr
you just answered your own question...worn yoke
yea! Good job!
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