8 3/4 axle leak and adjustment questions

[Jtucker66]

i have an 8 3/4 rearend with a professionally rebuilt 3.55 suregrip.

after driving the car a few times after the resto the axle seals began to leak so i replaced them and now the driver side leaks still. tried a second seal and the same thing.

i came across something online about the adjuster on the passenger side so i tightened as far as it would go and the axles still have what seems like too much play in and out. i know the bearings are cone style so as the axle moves inward and outward it would make sense that the axle shaft itself would bind down on the seal...does this make sense?

i guess im really just asking what i should try at this point. i dont know how to replace bearings or races on this particular car....if that the problem
thanks a lot.

 

[1966satellite]

i have an 8 3/4 rearend with a professionally rebuilt 3.55 suregrip.

after driving the car a few times after the resto the axle seals began to leak so i replaced them and now the driver side leaks still. tried a second seal and the same thing.

i came across something online about the adjuster on the passenger side so i tightened as far as it would go and the axles still have what seems like too much play in and out. i know the bearings are cone style so as the axle moves inward and outward it would make sense that the axle shaft itself would bind down on the seal...does this make sense?

i guess im really just asking what i should try at this point. i dont know how to replace bearings or races on this particular car....if that the problem
thanks a lot.

Check to make sure the thrust spacer is in place. I put a 3.55 posi in my 66 satellite without checking and had the problems you are experiencing. The guy I got the posi from had removed the thrust spacer because he had put in green bearings.

 

[Cranky]

Yup...seen it happen many many times! PITA but that chunk is going to have to come out and depending on if it's a Borg Warner unit (cone clutch) or a Power Lock (plate clutches), you may have to take the carrier out of the case and tear it all apart. I've heard that the PL unit can be fitted without tearing it down. Heard of one guy getting the thrust spacer in the PL unit without pulling out of the car....but I can only imagine the hassle that was making a tool to do that and then doing it.

 

[HitIt]

One other idea- do you have the correct axle vent breather? Or actually more importantly one that works correctly? If the vent has been replaced with a bolt or the vent has been clogged up, it will create pressure in the housing that will cause the axle seals to push out and leak pretty good. The vent holds the brake banjo fitting to the housing. Something to check at least.... good luck!

 

[Cranky]

i came across something online about the adjuster on the passenger side so i tightened as far as it would go and the axles still have what seems like too much play in and out.

One other idea- do you have the correct axle vent breather? Or actually more importantly one that works correctly? If the vent has been replaced with a bolt or the vent has been clogged up, it will create pressure in the housing that will cause the axle seals to push out and leak pretty good. The vent holds the brake banjo fitting to the housing. Something to check at least.... good luck!

I don't think that's his problem but it's worth looking at once his thrust pin issue is fixed....

 

[Jtucker66]

ok, so where axactly do the spacers go? in the 3rdmember itself i assume.

i remember the guy who built it asking something about stock bearings or green bearings but throughout the project i honestly forgot what we decided.

i just got it in the main and installed it.

EDIT nevermind found a good pictorial. so what your suggesting is that the guy who built my suregrip left them out because he thought i would use the different bearings so now the adjuster in entirely useless?

thanks

 

[Cranky]

EDIT nevermind found a good pictorial. so what your suggesting is that the guy who built my suregrip left them out because he thought i would use the different bearings so now the adjuster in entirely useless?

thanks

Sure sounds that way.....but there is another fix. Replace the bearings with the Greens. Pull the axles out and shine a bright light into the center and see if it's there or not. The thrust pin for the cone type clutch SureGrip is large diameter while the plate clutch unit is small diameter. One will allow you to easily see light on the other side while the other will show a large nail size hole if they are gone.

 

[Cranky]

Here's what the one for the BW cone type looks like. Once installed, it's in there and can't fall out like the one for the PL can. I don't have a pic for the PL thrust pin but it looks like a big double headed nail and comes apart. The shiny end with the dot in the middle is what the axle faces up with....

 

[69Bee]

I used a long tube like a brake line with a wire thru it. I treaded it thru the thrust button, and formed a small loop to hold it. Then I put some grease on the thrust button to hold it in place when I put it in the hole. When it is in place, pull the wire out, and it should stay in place. It takes ALOT of patience to do this, and might be easier if you pull it apart anyway, but I did do this way.

You didn't say, but make sure you replaced both inner and outer wheel seals, and adjust it per the service manual.