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New Member just now. Hello everyone and thanks in advance for any help. I am working on my 78 now. The problem is the left rear end yolk has a lot of wear on the end. It is worn almost to the C clip groove. I will replace it but am wondering what else would be bad to allow the yolk to move in this far. There does not seem to be any thrust washer to prevent the yolk end from contacting the center pin. Also, what is the normal amount of end play for the yolk. Thanks and Merry Chrismas.
The end of the side axles are supposed to touch the center pin in the rear end. That's what limits the inward travel. The stock yokes from the factory had a variation in hardness on the ends so some of the ends wore faster and others didn't. After-market parts places sell replacement axles with 'hardened ends', but normally, the stock ones should go for many years. If there was an alignment problem with the rear, that would put more pressure on the ends and cause them to wear faster.
You may have to remove the center pin to get the axle to move in enough to get the clip off the end of the axle. There is a small bolt that goes into the carrier and a hole in the pin. Remove that and the pin will come out. Try not to rotate the carrier much after removing the bolt as all the spider gears tend to move out of alignment and it is kind of a pain to get everything lined back up to put the pin back in. Just part of the fun.
With good axles in there, the in/out play is not much (1/16 inch).