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Roger that,was the axle damaged by the bearing spinning? Was it repaired and run in the car before this with no problems,or is this the 1st attempt at install after the repair? Trying to be clear.
Regarding moving bearing around,not really an option,bearing has to be pressed against stop on axle and retainer pressed on top of bearing to locate it and the axle in the housing. If you were to try to move the bearing back inboard to restore correct axle protrusion,you would need a shim of correct width and dimension to fit axle to press bearing and retainer against. If you were to ask a shop to move the bearing inboard without a correct dimension shim,i would hope they'd refuse to do that,though this last shop apparently gave that axle back to you with a loose retainer.
There should also be a spacer between the bearing and the axle hub. It's about 1/8" thick with one side having a chamfer on the inner edge.
Looked at pic of installed bearing on axle and wonder if they welded up and machined that axle with bearing spacer dimension included to maintain correct dimension.Waiting to see op answer to whether that axle was previously in service with that repair or this was just done and machine shop left spacer out when pressing bearing and retainer on. Wondering about machine shop at this point.
Last edited by GSLSEforme; Apr 28, 2019 at 12:28 AM.
The axle was previously bent, I took the axle to get inspected at the machine shop. They ran it on a machine that rotates it at high speed. The part that was off is the end where the lug nuts are.
So I believe that's where they cut it and machined it. So I'm pretty sure they did what was mentioned, they cut it and repaired it without using the spacer. They never removed the old bearing or change its position. I ended up installing the axle after it was repaired. I ended up getting this loud winding sound when I drive. It sounded like if the brake caliper was stuck open. I checked the brake caliper and it was fine. Even when I would step on the brake I will still here the sound. So that's when i finally decided to replace the bearing since i thought that might be my issue.
I found the spacer you guys are talking about
So now, I am just going to order the spacer and bearing retainer from Atkins rotary. Hopefully that fixes my issues.
The fit of the bearing retainer is a critical safety item. That is what holds your axle in the housing.
There is a minimum (dry) press force that must be achieved with the bearing retainer. I don't trust aftermarket retainers that would come with new bearings. If they somehow machined the area where the retainer sits you may have a dangerous fit there.
Can you take some measurements of your repaired axle and compare to your good one? If they machined the face back that the bearing spacers sits on, you will need a custom spacer to get the right stackup of parts. I have a pair of large bearing axles sitting here that I could get measurements from....
I've been driving the FB.
Still need to wash it. Dirty from when I put it away for winter.
The axle was previously bent, I took the axle to get inspected at the machine shop. They ran it on a machine that rotates it at high speed. The part that was off is the end where the lug nuts are.
So I believe that's where they cut it and machined it. So I'm pretty sure they did what was mentioned, they cut it and repaired it without using the spacer. They never removed the old bearing or change its position. I ended up installing the axle after it was repaired. I ended up getting this loud winding sound when I drive. It sounded like if the brake caliper was stuck open. I checked the brake caliper and it was fine. Even when I would step on the brake I will still here the sound. So that's when i finally decided to replace the bearing since i thought that might be my issue.
I found the spacer you guys are talking about
So now, I am just going to order the spacer and bearing retainer from Atkins rotary. Hopefully that fixes my issues.
I'll come back and post my results
Thanks again for the info guys!
Rereading this thread right up until the last part since I can’t see the repair well makes me want to recommend you replace the axle. If I had it in my hands to examine i’m sure I would. The spacer being gone after that repair makes no sense. Bearing would have to have been removed to release that spacer and maybe how it got misplaced.
Why would they not replace a bearing they removed to do a repair to axle,especially one likely to have been compromised from being run from a bent flange? That usually only happens in side hits in accidents and or sliding into something.
If this was some old car you couldn’t get a replacement axle for I could maybe see trying to save it by repairing it. But what this shop has done ain’t kosher,definitely not worth a failure that could cause you to lose a wheel and damage the car or or worse. And this is a low power light car, am certain if this was in a car that was heavier and had more power it would have failed already.
Not worth the risk,seriously,replace the axle/bearing/retainer/seal. Put a WTB here in classifieds. Where are you located?
Reading back thru your thread and your last post about the noise after repair,looking at what they did,returning it to you with a loose retainer...Seriously,replace that axle. Even without looking at it in person,from your description of what the repair was,vibration/noise it now has...looks like has serious oil leak,axle seal? If that was an "old" car with no replacement parts available,i could see attempting a repair. Fortunate in the time you had that in your car nothing happened,if it was a higher horsepower or heavier car,pretty certain it would have failed.
From what you're describing,sounds like accident damage,slid into a curb,hit by another vehicle in wheel area, what happened?
Place a want to buy in classifieds on this site.I have an axle i could sell you,shipping across country would be cost prohibitive,surely you could find something near you. Look in and post in west coast forums for what you need. Possible a member of this forum from your area can point you in the right direction .Surely scrap yards out there would have an axle they can sell you.
Source an axle,good quality bearing/retainer and axle seal,get bearing and retainer installed,replace axle seal and assemble car. Likely used axle will still have bearing on it which means spacer will be there too.
Am certain if you pursue further repairs and assemble car with this axle,eventually bad things will happen. Not worth your life,loss of your car, collateral parts damage-in that order.
sorry rxtasy3. wasnt really an ad or anything. was going through the thread and saw his post from years ago. i just seen this at her work a few days ago and thought it was a killer coincidence. only mentioned it was for sale because he may be a collector of them. feel free to remove.
I drove 1000 miles from NH to Deals Gap. That's one way to break in a new build.
Got 300 miles to the tank, 23mpg. Only issue was the alternator isn't quite strong enough to keep the voltage up when the electric fan kicks in to full speed. I need about 1500 RPM to stabilize the voltage.
Replaced the Falken Ziex ZE912 with Azenis 615s on my 14" wheels. Much, much better. It doesn't have the horrible unsettled feeling on transition anymore, especially at the back, way more feel through the steering (R&P, sorry recirc guys) and much more overall grip. I won't be driving in the rain with these tires, the tread is pretty shallow, but the car is much better to drive now. Highly recommended.
changed the transmission oil (redline gl-4) and differential oil (lucas gl-5). Magnetic plugs sure had a lot of metal on them. I don't drive the car much. Should I change the oils every year now instead of everyother year?
Thanks for all the info, the rear end I swapped into the car I have currently is off my old gslse that got totalled last year. The car was hit on the passenger side which was why the axle got bent. The axle was repaired by a shop that has been around for over 70 years. I believe the diffrent shop I took the axle to remove and press the bearing was at fault here. I think they cut the spacer off and just installed the parts I gave them. I got all new OEM parts pressed and they fit perfect on the axle.
I was able to get the car back together with no issues. I just need to add some gear oil in the rear end and bleed the brakes and the car should be ready.
Tim,I looked at the short video. Light beams are scattered even at that short distance to wall,like a lot of the Hid and LED lamps you see for sale. Likely not DOT certified but may not matter to OP,suspect he’s not in this country.
I am very particular concerning lighting and don’t appreciate the light scatter coming toward me at night from retrofitted headlamps. Some improperly aimed,a lot,the light source/lens/ reflector don’t work well together. Some of these are big$$$.
Done a lot of research and hands down,supreme night vision WITHOUT bothering oncoming traffic is found on Porsche 999 series. I have found a supplier for them from overseas,they will fit FB lamp bucket with some minor mods and headlamp doors will function properly.
Self leveling,adjusting like Lexus Hid lamps I retrofitted to my Tacoma.
Price...pretty rich @ $1600.00. Yep
I will stay with my Eurospec Cibie Z Beams. They have a flood lo beam- no shadows,even spread of light,razor sharp lo beam light cutoff. Hi beam has 3 cones of light,wide near front of car,slightly narrower/further reaching 2nd cone of light and far reaching pencil beam. Coupled with 130/80 watt bulbs homemade hi capacity relayed harness and a healthy alternator to feed them what they need,the light is bright white/crisp and makes cruising at night at a good clip comfortable.
Have had these headlamps in a handful of Mustangs,couple Shelby’s,they are close to 40 years old,long since discontinued,but can still be found. You’d have to pay @ $300.00 apiece. If one of mine somehow got damaged/broken,I would gladly pay that to replace it.
I have used Hella,Bosch,Marchal lamps,all Eurospec lamps but the Z beams have the best lens/reflector.
I have Hella 181 mm Eurospec headlamps in my Ramcharger with 140/90 watt bulbs and they’re very good but Z beams in SE are better even with lesser
wattage than what’s in Ramcharger.
Til something better performing at a reasonable cost becomes available,i’ll Stick with my old school modified halogen lamps.
Last edited by GSLSEforme; May 7, 2019 at 11:14 AM.
Yeah I have the ones that were sold by blackdragon back in the day with H4 bulbs and they work really well, especially the high beams. I can't complain.
