what is the proper way to check for a bent axle? not axle tube, but the actual axle inside?


how do you check it?

can you check it without taking the rear apart?

 

You could check for runout on the wheel rim. Jack and support the rear of the car up and fashion some means of measuring the amount of wobble that the rim makes as it rotates.

Pete

 

hmmm... if i magnetic mount a dial caliper on the axle tube, and spin the rim with the wheel off, would that be accurate enough to tell?

how could i compare wheel roundness with the axle?

 

A dial indicator would prolly work better than a caliper
I would think that an aftermarket wheel, especially one with a machined lip, would tend to run truer than a factory steelie.
What I've done in the past (after being forced off the road by a transport This was on an 81 T-bird, not a thirdgen, thankfully) is to check a front wheel on the outside edge to determine that it was true, then put it on the rear axle and measure the same way. It had about 3/4" of 'wobble'.

Pete

 

lol... one of thoes cases where you're thinking one thing, and typing another. lol...

ok... is there a way to check if the wheel isnt totally true though?

im thinking that the drum isnt really ment to be true on the outside....... any other ideas?

 

Hmmm....
Use a piece of chalk to mark the 'high spot' of the rim and mark the wheelstud nearest to it; then remove the wheel and put it back on in a different position and re-check it. If the chalk still marks the same high spot on the wheel, the axle *should* be straight; if it marks near the same wheelstud, there's a good chance the axle is bent. Maybe try the 5 different positions (if there are 5 studs...)
Aside from removing it and having it professionally checked, that's the only way I know of...someone else may have some other suggestions...

Pete