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I've acquired a 10 bolt and I've taken out the axles to see what condition they're in. The axle bearings and wear marks on the axles themselves appear to have life left in them still. But one of the axles looks like this...
The little bumps I can chip away at with my nail - could be rust perhaps? Only a small area of the axle is affected.
I'm thinking of putting the axles back in and using them sometime later.
Those are trash. Rust has ruined them. The rust pits where the bearings run are the big problem. I'd say that the axle tubes are probably full of rust too.
The specific place where the holes are ate into it, are where the bearings ride. Or rather ... used to ride, but can't ride any more because the axle is sodomized.
Throw it in the trash and move toward plan B. (which SHOULD NOT under any circumstances involve 26-spline axles, or either drum or Saginaw disc brakes)
Hopefully it's visible enough in the photo below, but I've drawn a red rectangle on a different photo I took of the axle. In the lower part of the rectangle is where the bearing has been riding, and on that part there there's no damage...
Unfortunately I will have to use what I have, which includes 26 spline axles. You'll probably slap your head into your hand when I say this, but I have 14" rims so sticking on bigger brakes isn't going to work for me and neither will spending money I don't have on bigger rims and tyres. Pretty much everything I get has to come from overseas...
I have drum brakes now. Surely going to the pre-89 disc brakes would be considered an upgrade over drum?
Any suggestions on who makes a good axle? I've read a review on Summit where someone said the axles they got (Mosier I think), didn't have a big enough hub to hold the wheel and it relied on the studs.
My guess , from the extent of that rust , is that the rear end , likely still in it's car at the time , was under water deep enough , and long enough , for water to have gotten into the breather . What did the oil look like in it ? And the rest of it ? To have that much rust on one axle the rest of it has gotta also be rusted up pretty bad too , yes ?
One final thought ; Didn't you folks have some kind of natural disaster in Christchurch a couple or few years ago ? I thought I remember an earthquake or flood or something like that being reported in the news , could this rear end have been near the disaster and been under floodwaters ?
I've seen axle that looked like that from just sitting for years. Temperature changes cause metal to sweat and then it rusts. I've disassembled many rear ends that were under cars that had sat in someone's yard for 10 years and they were full of rust.
You can probably use that axle if you clean it up well. I would much rather use better axles, but your location probably makes it hard to come up with good parts. There is nothing wrong with using the drum brakes. For a street car they are more than good enough.
If you want a good set of axles then contact Tom's Differentials. He sells some high quality stuff. I'm not sure if he ships to where you are, but it's worth a shot.
Well remembered OrangeBird. Yes we did have some large earhquakes a few years (still happening to a small extent), but Biggearhead's hypothesis is probably right here. I bought the diff from out of town but still in the country and by the look of the rest of the diff it's been sitting outside in the weather for a long time.
The inside looks quite good to me, the only area of concern was the this axle and whether or not I could clean it up and reuse it. I might contact Tom's Differentials and see what he's got. To keep shipping costs down I'd probably send it by ship via L.A.
If I was living on the other side of the earth from where my car was made I would not hesitate to polish that axle up and use it with new bearings and seals.
