Taylormade Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I recently bought a 32 Dodge DL. The rear axles had been removed in 1980 and never replaced due to the lack of the proper inner seals. Everything was taken out: the axles, inner and outer seals, inner and outer races. The tapered roller bearings were left on the axle. The bearings will have to be replaced and I now have the correct inner seals. To get the car ready for transport we temporarily put things back together, but didn't put in the inner seals, as I knew I would have to replace in inner bearing race with a new one.I need some help on the correct proceedure to get things back apart and then put this together correctly with new bearings.First, there were no metal shims behind the inner race. They may have been lost, but I understand they should be in there to get the correct axle end play - so how do I handle that?Second, what is the best tool to pull the axle and the outer race out of the housing without damaging anything? (I have a hub puller and am familiar with that process, but haven't pulled an axle.)What is the best tool to pull the inner race out? There isn't much of a lip to catch or attach any puller to, and it's pretty deep inside there.Do the roller bearings have to be pressed on the axle by a machine shop? How do I get the old ones off?Once I have everything out and cleaned up, I have a bearing race driver set that should work to put the inner race back in, but am I going to have to assemble everything, check the end play, and then pull it all apart and install the correct shims - which I guess I'll have to make? - and then put it together again to get the correct end play?Any help from anyone who has done this before would be wonderful.Thanks,RT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinkeys Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Hi RT !i have replaced axle bearings on my 30 U Plymouth around 2 years ago and has travelled 2500 miles since and no signs of oil leaks , when I took apart bearings of axle they had no shims between them but there is shims between the outer backing plate and axle housing this is where you fix end play! Not between bearings , bearings were removed by carefully grinding the outer race case then inner race collar with a thin cutting wheel with extreme care not to touch axle, clean axle check for straightness and measure size of new bearing inner bore and axle for interference fit , I used a hydraulic press to push bearings home all the way to stopper ring on axle ( note there is a machined edge between bearings on axle )which is the stopper ! Some previous owner to me tried to press bearings of axle in one direction and broke this machined edge , I replaced axle as I won't trust a welded axle !hope this has not confused you !cheers Tony . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60ch Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Taylormade, I recently went through this on my 29 DA. The axle with the outer race might come out just by pulling on it. If not a slide hammer will help. I did make up an end for my puller from a nut of the same thread as the axle end. When using an internal claw type puller to remove the inner race, be careful nut to score the wall of the axle housing. There are shims under that inner race and they may well get chewed up by the puller. The shims are carried by Motion Industries which used to be Berry Bearing. There is a good chance that the new Timkin bearings and races will not be the same overall height as the originals. What I did was use a depth michrometer to measure from the end flange of the housing to the bottom step where the inner race seats. measure in several spots around the flange to make sure that the flange is parallel to the seat and not bent. I then pressed the bearings onto the axle and slid the races onto the bearings. I made a fixture to hold the races in place on the bearings and measured the overall length of the bearing assembly on the axle. Compare your dimensions and shim accordingly. I will take a picture tomorrow of the fixture and post it. On my car the brake backing plate is the outer bearing race retainer and there was a very thin gasket used between the backing plate and the housing outer flange. The thickness of the gasket material that you use will need to be figured into your calculations. On one axle I used a "form a gasket" material by Locktite instead of a paper gasket. The inner seals on mine are metal cased felt pieces and they go in before the inner race goes in. The new felt seals fit snug on the axles and I had a hard time trying to esablish end play with them in place. Also my rear end was out of the car. Thats why I measured and went the route that I did. I read somewhere on line that a car will run a long time if the axle bearings are loose but won't run for long if they are too tight. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 I just read the instruction book and looked at the cutaway drawing. It says the the shims to adjust the end play of the axle are located "between the cup of the inner axle shaft bearing and the shoulder in the end of the axle housing. So, Terry, you're saying to measure the entire bearing assembly length, then compare it to the depth of the opening in the end of the axle from the outer flange to the step where the inner race seats. Then add shims to allow for end play of .0025 to .005. That makes sense as long as I can get that fine a measurement of the depth. An easier solution than trying to reassemble it over and over. I'm not clear how that gasket between the backing plate and the outer flange comes into play. Post those pictures, I'd like to see them.Tony, I must be missing something. I don't see any shims between the outer backing plate and axle housing in the cutaway drawing in the book.<quickprintreadystate style="display: none;"></quickprintreadystate> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I never found any shims in my 1931 DH6 rear axle (which I think is a lot like if not identical to the DL6) when I re-did it. Just pulled the axles, replaced the "back to back" bearings and their races and reassembled......good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinkeys Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Hi RT !When I did mine I had not used a book ! The way you are describing must be the correct way ! Although mine is not giving any problems to date and I do have bearing Clearence ,I made sure of that by shims which were already there just altered them to suit new bearings , just seems odd that factory would rather fit shims behind a pressed bearing when it's possible to get a similar result behind retainer flange . It's all good as long as it works ! Cheers Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Thanks keiser3. Phil, the former owner, didn't find any shims when he took it apart so the situation is similar to yours. I'll compare the total thickness of the bearing package like Terry suggested and see how the old and the new match up and take it from there.RT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60ch Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Taylormade, Here are the pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60ch Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 One more time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60ch Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 [ATTACH=CONFIG]180461[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]180462[/ATTACH]One more time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60ch Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Taylormade, It is pretty obvious that inserting files is not my strong point! After the fixture is in place I measured between the 2 plates to get my stack up dimension. It is not uncommon to find that an inner race has spun in the housing or that the original machined step is not parallel to the flange. I found that this was a good way to inspect the housing for irregularities. It also tells you that your bearings as pressed on the axle are the same stackup on each axle. You can find that the ridge on the axle that positions the timkin bearings has been damaged and the bearings do not seat as they should. You will know exactly what you have and not be unpleasantly surprised after spending a lot of money for the new bearings and seals. If you would like to borrow this setup let me know. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Its good to see u can buy the shims from Motion Ind. Does anybody know where u can buy them in Australia?If I do buy some what size/thickness should I go for?Thanks for your help.Manuel in Oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60ch Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Manual, Unless you have measured the stackup of the bearings and races on the axle and measured the depth of the axle housing where the bearing race seats, you will probably have to put it all together and put a dial indicater on the end of the axle and check end play. It would be pure luck unless you had the original shims that came out of the housing and your bearings and races are the same dimensions as the ones you took out. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Thanks Terry.Manuel in Oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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