hi,
i've just put new bearings in the left rear wheel,
shimmed it up fine, when i get hold of the wheel at 12 o clock and 6 o clock position i can move it,
when i get hold of it in 9 o clock 3 o clock position there is no movement,
now, surely, if it was the wheel bearings i would get play both ways,
could there be something else wrong???
thanks,
neil

 

How do your side yokes in the rear end look. If they move more than an 1/8 of an inch in and out you have to get new side yokes.

 

side yokes????
it definately looks like bearing move, a friend of mine was watching under the car while i was moving the wheel,
i wish i lived in the good ol usa and could get you guys to rebuild them,,,,

vansteel, do you have them on the shelf rebuilt????
i'm coming to texas in 3 weeks time, you could send them to my friends where i am staying as they would easily fit in my large suitcase, i brought bigger bits back a few months ago,

neil

 

I am in the same boat. The slack is very likely in your differential. some of my slack was in the u joints on the half shafts. Many will tell you that the side yokes have worn on the ends and this is causing the movement. While this is possible, I believe it is more likely the clutch pack has worn down causing the slack. The tip of the yoke rides against a center pivot shaft, if worn this will make for back and forth movement. If the clutch pack is worn out, even with no wear on the yoke tip at all, there will also be movement.

I set up my differential pretty tight (I thought) when I rebuilt it. However, the force placed on the yoke side to side is much greater when pushing from the wheel than it is sitting on the bench and moving it back and forth. I had to really wrestle to get additional shims behind the side gears and clutch pack to obtain the ideal 0.001" of clearance. A properly rebuilt posi differential should require 70 pounds of torque to turn one axle when the other side is held. One that takes 45 pounds is merely OK.

My slack or movement at the wheel when pushing at the 12 o'clock and 6 as you did was about 3/16th's of an inch at the tread after I first rebuilt the differential. I want it to be only about 1/16th" or less at the tread.

Chuck

 

guys,
i don't know how to explain it,
i can have the halfshaft disconected and still feel play but only when i push the top of the wheel inwards and pull the bottom of the wheel outwards,
it seems like it's in the bearing support,
can these be worn oval???? i fitted new races and bearings,
neil

 

Camaroneil-
No I do not stock these b/c I build about 300 units a month. However if you did place an order I defintely know I can get them out to TX w.in 3 weeks. I could have them there in 1 week. I've never seen a bearing support go oval. I've seen the legs bent and I've seen spun races. I don't think your race would hold if your support was oval. I mean it may but you would probably notice it. Are you sure you set up the assembly right? If you didn't shim it correctly your still going to get play. What did you torque the spindle nut down to? 100 ft/lbs. is where you want to be at.

 

I rebuilt both of my trailing arms and have the same problem. My bearing end play is fine. When you move your wheel at the 6 and 12 oclock position, look closely at the trailing arm and you will see it moving as well. The play you are getting is in your yoke and maybe the ujoints and trailing arm mounting bolt. You may be able to fit another shim in. The bearings are supposed to have a certain amount of play. When I first got the car I was shocked at the amount of play on the passenger side rear wheel. I thought for sure the bearings were gone. While there was some excessive play in the bearing, it checked out fine. Turned out to be the yoke and old u-joints. I still have more play at 6 and 12 than 9 and 3. Also note that to check end play you should disconnect halfshaft from the trail arm and attach the gauge to the trailing arm via a clamp or magnetic base. My advice would be not to worry about it unless you are getting noises or bad tire wear. Someone on this forum might know what the endplay is supposed to be....I forget..old age I guess. :rolleyes:

 

KJL-
His half shafts are off the car. Our assemblies go out w/a 0 to 1/2 thous play. No more than that and if you have more than an 1/8" in movement you have a problem.

Camaroniel-
Put your half shaft back on the car. You need it on to check it correctly. You may be feeling some bushing movement. I also still thin you need to check your side yokes in the rear end

 

I think I got mine to about .006" or so. The crude shim kits they sell make it hard to dial it in much closer than that. Do you sell sell better shim kits?

 

Yes I do. My shim kit comes w/9 different shims. See the factory set up the bearing assemblies wrong to begin with. They set up all units between .003-.008. Anything over .006" is going to fail sooner or later because it's to much play and leads to excessive wear on other parts. Even lets air up into your system.