Thomas Stahel

iTrader: (1)

When I put my rear wheels back on my car I noticed that there is clearance when I pull at the wheel. From my feeling I'd say it's about 1/4 inch. I guess that's from the hub. But I know that I noticed it about a year ago when I last took off the wheels and inspected the brake drums. So I thought I might ask here whether this is normal and maybe if someone can explain this clearance to me. The rear axle is a little mistery to me ;-) Like I don't even know if there are bearings like on the front wheels that might have to be replaced after some time...

Thanks,
Thomas

86LG4Bird

iTrader: (1)

1/4" is excessive. I'd pull the diff cover and check for wear of the C-clips/axle grooves.
It's not the outer axle bearings; they are straight rollers, unlike the tapered roller bearings at the front.

Thomas Stahel

iTrader: (1)

Ok, well then it seems that I - at least sooner or later - will have to take care of that axle. Could such a wear be caused by a fluid loss in the diff?

What work will I be facing when the c-clips/axle grooves wear is too much? Is this something for a shop? I'm a bit afraid of the axle and the diff...

And with such a clearance of about 1/4 inch, what will / can happen if I go on driving like this for many months? Will the damage get bigger so that I'd have to pay more money for other / more replacement parts? Is it any safety issue as well?

86LG4Bird

iTrader: (1)

I forgot to mention it could also be a problem with a worn or wrong crosspin in the diff itself, or the wrong axles (too short) being used on a previous rebuild. Is this a new issue? gradually getting worse or has it been like this all along?
I wouldn't suspect low fluid causing it. Those are not high wear surfaces. I'd expect trashed and noisy spider gears sooner than this from a lack of lubrication.
If this has been getting worse at all, I'd stop driving it right now. With that much slop, a c-clip could fall out and your wheel and axle would exit the car.
Replacing any of the parts mentioned would be very simple for someone who knows their way around diffs, not much labor time for a shop to do.
You don't sound too familiar with it, so I would take it to a driveline shop where they can determine what the real cause is, rather than you just replacing some parts and dealing with the same problem later.

Thomas Stahel

iTrader: (1)

Hm

I've had the car for 12 years now and there has never been any work done to the axle. The first time I came across the clearance was - as I can remember - one and half a year ago when I took off the brake drum to look at the brake pads. After that I drove for half a year and now the car wasn't on the road for one year because I replaced the fuel pump and had the tank off the car. And when I put everything back together and drove for the first time, I could hear some noise and looked at the wheels again and then again remarked this clearance. It's hard to tell but I think there's not more slop than the last time, 1 1/2 years ago. And it was also not the cause for the noise. I just took the wheels off and put them on again and the noise was gone. Might as well have been from having the car on jacks for a year and needing some time to settle or so.

So did I get that correct, it's actually only the c-clips that hold the two axles to the differential and - eventually - to the car?

86LG4Bird

iTrader: (1)

With drum brakes,.... yes.

Thomas Stahel

iTrader: (1)

Wow it's hard for me to understand how only one c-clip can hold the force that is put onto the axles when going into turns...

86LG4Bird

iTrader: (1)

The most cornering force, coming from your outside wheel, is reacted by contact of the axle end against the diff crosspin. When you're really cornering hard, the inside wheel has very little traction, so it doesn't pull with much force against the C-clip. My WAG says it would probably take ~10,000 lbs to shear the C-clip to axle interface if the groove and c-clip are in good shape.

tom3

The side gears run on shim discs between them and the carrier housing. I have put in thicker spacers to tighten up the gears and get rid of some of this side clearance. Helps quiet the rear lash when shifting a manual tranny. Would be a good idea to pull the cover, new lube, and take a look at those c-clips & cross pin though. Hopefully the cross pin bolt is not broke.