Rear axle fell out... (super crazy with pic)
 

Okay so my cars rear went bad i havent taken it apart yet but every1 thinks the pinion lost all of its teeth and was just bad. So i paid 200$ for a shop to rebuild the LSD rearend i had in the garage with all new bearings. I go to tow the car to my house so i can work on it over the 4d weekend and while towing it home about 1 mile down the road the wheel bearings (that i got pressed on new less than 300 miles ago) pressed off and the axle seperated from everything. The pic speaks for itself.. Im just glad it was being towed and it wasnt being driven and happen on the highway i probably would have died =/.

I could be wrong, but I don't think its suppose to do that. Glad you're okay man.

be sure to show the shop that did the work the picture...

i smell a lawsuit...

That's insane, that could have really ended badly.

Yeah. Thats exactly what i was thinking. Like i was following the guy towing it and almost shit a brick when i saw the axle migrating out. This pic is like what it looked like the second we pulled over..

Time for Disc Brakes!

Lol yeah the other rear thats gonna go in is a disc brake LSD rear with the bigger axles.

Lawsuit...

Did they forget to bolt the flange to the axle or did the bearing retainer fail?

umm the flange is still bolted to the 3rd memeber. Im assuming the retaining ring failed cuz the bearing and retaining collar both are not on the axle.

On Ford 9" stuff at my old fab shop (basically the same) we used to put a little tack weld on the collar to the axle just so this doesn't happen. Sometimes the new collar just doesn't have the clamping force to keep the bearing in place on the axle.

Glad to hear you are ok...this happened in a shop I used to work at....on an MCI bus...(wish I can find THAT picture!) Seriously...talk to the people that did the work for you, because you deserve some compensation.

Someone foget to install the 3 bolts to the axle housings? At any rate there js a complete s3 gsl at u pick and another one at octopus where theyre having a 50% off dueing 4day weekend. If u need help lmk. I will be back on sunday

speaking of which, Wacky you got a spare FC windshield at your junkyard? bring it with you, i need one!

I wouldn't think that could happen to a motor coach. I figured they would have full floaters, where the wheel isn't retained by the axle shaft. For vehicles that carry that kind of weight, they usually have a stouter design.

there are four bolts that secure the backing plate to the axle flange. this should NEVER happen and the backing plate should have been taken with the axle flange upon separation.. this means that whoever installed the new rear wheel bearings (axle bearings) did NOT install the bearing locking ring correctly or at all for that matter. the rear axle bearing (no the differential bearing) installation is at fault here. another reason why i do my own work. here is a pic of a completed drum axle unit with new bearing ready for install. note the backing plate flange and four retaining bolts sticking through the flange:

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/r...DSC07824-1.jpg

yep, i bet the asshats forgot the lock collar. cause most people just care about getting things done as quick as possible and collecting that money from you.

Nope it had the retaining collar on. I installed the axles on the wheel bearing change they pressed the bearings on. The 4 bolts in the backing plate are still in thats why it still attached lol.

From the FSM; If bearing collar is installed with less than 2.7 tons of pressure (2,451 kg), replace the bearing collar.

I wonder how many shops pay attention to this.

You would be surprised at how old the technology is that goes into driveaxle designs on these things. In our particular case the mechanic made two mistakes...1. he did not pack the wheel bearings properly and 2. the endplay was set way to tight. The excess friction and heat did the rest. The dual wheels, drum and axle shaft all came out as an assembly upon failure. It was quite a site!

then unless they installed the slip lock collar i suppose it wasn't the shop's fault. if the collar went on easy then it's a sign that the collar was incorrect or should not be reused if it was. if it came with the bearing, i would let the manufacturer know that they have a defect in their tolerances. if it was reused and heated to remove, that obviously could have relieved too much of it's tension to do it's job.

this is NOT an uncommon design, even the late 90's early 2000's Toyota Tacomas had a similar locking ring retainer design. it's probably still in use today.

The wheel bearings i supplied the lock rings i forgot to buy and the guy doing it said he would take care of it. I didnt get charged any extra $$ for retaining collars so he might have re used them.. im not too too worried about it cuz i have to replace the rear any ways.. Its just the principal of it like if i was driving in the car when that happened i would have a diff attitude towards it lol.

Keep us up to date with the lawsuit :)

Bet the "took care of it" by just reusing the old collars. They'e cheap enough, so I would never risk that, but if he had to order them versus 'getting 'er done' he may have been tempted.

Hope the spline tips didn't get too beat up, grinding away at the inside of the axle housing.