Re: rear axle seal

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2011/5/4 11:14:53

JW, nice write up and a nice tool and a good move having the patience and desire to do it "right". Yesterday I was going to describe how to make that tool but ultimately decided that it took too many words and still might not be clear enough - and I didn't have a picture of the factory tool handy. Nice job!

Just as an added thought, for rear axles with a thrust block between the two axle shaft inners, the end play is the total end play, meaning you don't measure and set each axle individually, it's for the pair as an assembly. Therefore if that's the case with the rear end in question, you tap the far side axle to put the pair all the way to one side, set the tool, and then tap back from the side being measured to get the total end play. That's why you sometimes only find shims on one side with rears with a thrust block. Can't say if that's the situation with the rear in question here.

I would never set the end play greater than the spec, it will cause premature wear of the bearing races and then the rollers themselves. Stick to the specs.