Inexpensive Axle shaft tolerance jig!!!

[idrivemopar]

So boredom or curiosity or what ever you want to call it strikes again and I wanted to figure out a way to confirm that I have a bent axle shaft. So I knew it was bent when it was on the car because you could see the wheel move in and out about 1/4 of an inch when spinning but I didn't know if it was the shaft or the hub or both.

Take a piece of wood, some cabinet rollers and a scrap metal plate and make a jig for axle shafts to check the tolerances of the hub and the shaft, that is if you already have a dial indicator.
So here it is, now granted there is some play in it, but it works well enough to tell if you have a bent axle shaft or hub and I got some fairly good measurements on the one I thought was bent.

As it turns out, my good axles there is about 10 thousands of inch variance in the hub on the vertical per one revolution and less than that on the shaft measuring in two spots to get an idea of variance over the length.

The one I thought was bad as it turns out, has both issues, about 25 thousands of an inch variance in the hub on the vertical per one revolution, and around 40 thousands inch variance in the shaft over the distance of about 12 inches. The variance in the axle shaft actually is visibly noticeable when its rotated in the jig when using the dial mount as a reference.

Anyways, thought I would share!

 

[mopar 3 B]

Time for a box and dried ice. Pack the axles and see if they straighten.

 

[idrivemopar]

Nah, not gonna worry about it, I have a set of new ones!

 

[khryslerkid]

What was the cause of the bent axel?

 

[idrivemopar]

Not sure what caused the hub to be bent, but the Axle shaft may have been due to improper removal of the bearings at one time or another, because there are some heat marks on the shaft near the bearings and appears someone may have heated the bearings to remove and got the axle to hot, which I have been told, can cause warping!

 

[Daves69]

FWIW, some of these stock Mopar axles started out as questionable.
Ever wonder why you might not be able to find that elusive vibration?
Maybe your axle (machined off centers) has a cam lobe on it .............

 

[idrivemopar]

Yikes!

 

[idrivemopar]

Also wanted to mention, I checked my original axle shafts(not being used), and found that the one on the left with the adjuster is also bent and has a 40 thousands variance in the shaft, and it also visually noticeable arc on the shaft. Its the same side as the other one I have that is also bent. not sure if its a coincidence that both with the adjusters are the ones that are bent.