this morning my girlfriend left home and just after 1/4 mile ,while shifting to forth ,the left rear wheel locked making the right wheel spin and slide into oncoming traffic.luckily noone was coming and the guardrail stop the truck from falling into a 100 ft. gulch.
when i drove the truck home i didnt notice anything but when i took the axleshaft out i saw metal shaving and dryness!so i knew the bearing was gone.
i had check the bearings and put new seals and new gear oil a few days ago.
i did my C.S.I thing and notice the fill plug in the diff kind of low ,almost at the botton of the axle tubes.i had filled the fluid to the fill hole level but i notice that when the fluid goes to one side,theres room for half a pint of it.
when i opened the messed up side it was dry.the bearing got stuck,then started spinning on the shaft putting some nasty grooves until it froze and the axle hub bearing seat died too.
is there a trick when filling the diff?
has anyone notice the filling plug being too low?
does anyone know a good junkyard for parts?

 

Thank god she didn't go over the edge.

Fill hole is located at the bottom of the axle tubes on everyone I've worked on.
How many quarts did you put in it?

When you replaced the seals did you pour a little oil between the seal and bearing.
Helps with dry start up. The axle bearing only gets oil from the axle shaft spinning
the oil to it or sloshing the oil side to side.

There isn't much room for the fluid to go in because of the pinion and bearings. I usually fill the it though the VSS on top the housing until it runs out of the fill hole. It seems to go in faster.

Most junk yards have rear diffs that will fit your truck...not sure about Hawaii though.

 

good tips Jim.....was your truck on an incline when you filled?If it was...depending on incline,you could be over a quart low(watch for this changing oil too).

 

Yea. I always look up ammount to fill and keep finding ways to get fluid in there until the required is gone. if it's just at the hole, i'll keep filling untill all my extra is gone. I fill mine to the top of the drain plug, but i have a rubber hose shoved in there so it keeps fluid from comming out.
Not sure how good of an idea this is on a full floater, but with those outer bearings the way they are, it would be a good idea to fill, drive, then check and fill some more.

Never thought of using the sensor hole. Good idea
Treacherous Cuda Luthor.

 

the truck was level when i filled it.i missed the part of driving and rechecking though.yes i like the idea of the vss hole as a filling point.whats the reason of the level that low,how could a quart more affect the system?i saw what a quart less did...
here in hawaii land is so expensive that junkyards have few cars for a while then change them,not much to choose from.anyone knows of one on the west coast that i can call and have parts sent?thanks!

 

How much fluid did to put in it? should be 4 quarts or a little less.
Your damaged axle/bearing might be from a lack of oil or it was already wore out when you did the axle seals.

If you over fill it the axle seals will be submerged in oil all the time....
Not a good idea, the seals will wear prematurely and the oil will aerate.
Every diff I've worked on are filled to the bottom of the axle tubes.

You could try junkyarddog.com I've used them in the past for hard to find parts.
The problem is that most junkyards don't sell axle parts...just the entire axle....
the shipping would be cost prohibitive to Maui
Hopefully some one here will have the parts you need, look at the classified section at the top of the page too.
Maybe craigslist...if they have one there.

 

I assume this was on the 97 in your signature. I also assume the spindle is damaged and needs to be replaced, or a complete axle. Before any of you folks think I'm nuts, I did say replace the spindle. I've done 1000's of them, on stuff from dexter boat trailers to off road equipment. The bulk of the business is semi trucks, but more and more we're getting in the 3/4 and 1 ton market. The business is called axle surgeons. I don't know if they have one in Hawaii, but you can call 877-349-2953 and find out. Here's their website, Axle Surgeons Home Page

Remember to put some gear oil in the hub and oil the bearings when re-assembling wheel hubs. Cuda Jim is right.

 

yes jim i put 4 quarts but i didnt grease the bearings like im reading in the service manual i just bought.
john how perfect needs the spindle be?it has scratches but i think i can sand them off with cloth sandpaper.
what about taking some measurements and machining a spacer tube that fits between the two bearings so i can tight them hard on the inside race of each other like in some other aplicattion i saw somewhere.using shims to make it spin just right.i dont like the idea of the inner race of the bearing being able to spin on the spindle.i rather destroy the bearings inside rollers if some kind of debris gets in there than letting the whole bearing get stuck and spin on the spindle until high temperature makes it expand and froze solid like it did.

 

nikwave, The ratcheting hub nut takes up the slack in the bearing clearances.
It sort of acts like it's spring loaded.
I don't recall ever having to replace those bearings under normal circumstance.
It's a pretty stout axle.

Did you torque the hub nut correctly?
65 ft lbs while turning the hub then back off 8 teeth/clicks about (1/6 turn)

 

The problem with a tube is that it has to be perfect. There is little room for error, and isn't necessary if done right. I have replaced wheel bearings in trailers and drive axles that have those sleves. I throw them away when replacing the bearings and wheel seal. (They also take up room that could be used for more oil.)As for how perfect the spindle needs to be, it needs to be just about perfect. You can use a mic and check the bearing journals for wear. If you have more than 4 thousandths difference, (measure top to bottom, and side to side) you will likely have problems. Also, is the spindle bent? If it is, the bearings will not run straight seated in the hub races. This will definately shorten bearing life, potentially causing another accident.

During assembly, I would not use grease, but gear oil, or better yet, lucas hub oil. That stuff is thick, and stays with the bearings. The problem with grease is that too much on the outer bearing will prohibit oil from passing through the outer bearing and reaching the inner bearing. I have replaced spindles because of that too.

 

if there is damage to the axle shaft where the bearing rides, then it either needs to be sanded/filed smooth or replaced.
If it's just marred up a little, you can usually file it smooth again and it will work fine as long as there isn't much slop between the bearing and the part. don't want the bearing to be able to rock on the part.
I have unfortunately had to many experiences with bearings and axles. heh.

Yea. john is right. It has to be pretty much perfect.
I'd use grease, not anything with the name "lucas" on it, but thats me.
No reason to pack a bearing that is going to be in oil. I brush grease on them.

 

STP oil treatment has about the same consistancy as the hub oil, as does motor honey.

 

man, motor honey is like molasis.
I always wondered what happened to it when it got 200F

 

At 20 degrees, the lucas hub oil is almost like grease. It will not run out of the bottle unless warmed up.

 

I thought the wheel bearings ran in grease, not the rear end oil. Or are you talking about the bearings inside the pumpkin?