31 rear axle problem

[tuccer2]

have a question on axle end play.
there is very little in and out movement when pushing and pulling on axle,
if i lift up on axle shaft there is about just over 1/16 inch play.
is this an axle,or housing problem?thanks.

[JFranklin]

It might be some play in the bearings and hub and axle housing races. There are kits available to make repair of this if it is excessive.

[A by the sea]

If you mean you are grabbing the tapered axle shaft or the hub attached to the tapered shaft then it sounds like you are pretty good.

The axle is a kind of full floating. There is a bushing where it enters the diff and the in out play from the center line is dependent on wear inside the diff carrier and the wear on the spyder gears. There is no axle bearing at the wheel hub. The bearing is in the wheel hub.

You can not know the play on the bearings in the housing. You have to measure the resistance in turning to be sure it is preloaded properly.

[tuccer2]

thanks for the info,when i turn the tapered end of shaft ,it turns with one hand w/effort. will need to find a in./pd. wrench to measure closer.

[A by the sea]

The tapered shaft will turn with effort. It has to turn a lot of stuff cause it is connected to the pinion.

Bearing preload on the axle must be measured with the pinion out. The pinion is then installed and checked for preload. The shims are then moved from side to side to get the correct pinion ring gear pattern.


The questions I would ask.

Is there oil and does it have metal sparkles in it?

Is it noisy when driven. How does the noise change driving coasting and such?

I would feel there is something wrong if there was no in out play on the axle shaft. The axle would likely go a long time with a lot of play here. The critical parts are the bearings and the gears.

Look in the key way on the taper. Is it a tight fit on the key? Is it wallowed out some? If the key slot is not square then look close for cracks in the key slot.

How are the brakes while you have the wheels off? Does it look like the whole shoe is hitting the drum?

[tuccer2]

i took it apart to put grease seals in,all bearings look good, no pits or scarring on bearings and races.put it back together and set all pre loads,there was oil,no metal,doesn't make noise at all,at any speed,but the right rear wheel gets to bouncing pretty good around 35/45mph,until i slow down then quits.that drum is out of round -'some'. got a steel band ,heated it,&pressed it to the bead on the drum.put it on the axle,turns about half way easy,the other half hard..
found 3 raised spots about 1 1/2 in. x maybe a dime thickness high on the brake surface. i.ll have to see if it's too much to turn down.