Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I was driving home yesterday in the '39 Six, and a half ton signaled me over and said my left rear tire was wobbling. I checked it for loose lugs and it was fine so I drove home. I put the car on stands and ran it in gear and there IS a bit of an oscillation to it. I removed the wheel and it would seem the issue is the axle. I had the car towed a couple of years ago and the driver put the rears on a dolly axle. During transport the dolly came undone and the car ended up on its rear wheels on the road. I was more worried about fender damage from the dolly assembly at the time and luckily, there was only a tiny dent in the running board. Thinking back now, I wonder if this was enough to bend the axle and also wondering if there are any options available to fix this? Can the axle be straightened without having to dismantle the whole rear end?? I see there is no cover plate on the Packard diffs, so everything must come apart from the drive yoke, yes/no???
Any suggestions much appreciated, as always. Thanks guys. Chris.

You can pull the axle out by removing the brake drum and backing plate. No need to disassemble the differential but you will need a heavy duty puller for the brake drum.
Best to have a shop check the wheel rim to see if it is bent before tackling the axle.

Hey Brian,

Good to hear from you. Hope all's well with you out Alberta- way. Re my car, I initially THOUGHT it was a bent rim and took the wheel to a wheel straightening shop. I had a spare rim as well and they put both on their machine and said they were true. Yesterday when I was running the car on jacks, I even put the second rim (no tire) on and bolted it down and the wobble was still there, so I am confident it is the axle. Good to know I can get it out without disassembling the differential. If I can get it in my hands, I'm sure I can find a machine shop that could straighten it?? You agree? Chris.

May be a deformed drum. I would think if it was the axle, you'd already have known.

Chris, if your planning on removing the hub yourself, do a search and you will find a lot of good information on pulling a wheel hub, somethings easy but most of the times hard. I even did a video removing mine, using a hyd. puller.
Best of luck!
Wes

Attach file:

---

  (96.16 KB)


  (170.53 KB)

Whether it would be a good idea to straighten an axle or not??? If it could be done cold maybe.
Might check the hub and drum first and the taper on the rear axle.

It is possible that there is a hairline crack somewhere at the base of the taper of the rear axle. If you do not find elsewhere and pull the axle try to put it between centers and spin the axle. If there is a crack it is hard to spot.

Hey Gents,

Wow, what a great thread of info, thanks! Thanks Wesley, for the pictures - as soon as I saw the brake drum off the axle, I am convinced David is right, it is a bent or deformed drum. I thought the wheel bolted to the axle hub and that's what was out of true, but when I viewed the axle turning, the centre of it seemed okay. Now that I see the wheel bolts to the drum and the drum to the axle, I'd bet money it is the drum. Anybody know where I can get one that is straight and isn't worn paper thin??? Not something that I believe has been reproed, so good used must be pretty scarce. I have had both these rear drums off since I've owned the car, and they weren't too bad, with the right puller, so imagine R&Ring a replacement drum would not be too difficult for a monkey see/monkey do mechanic such as myself! Chris

Chris, before you start tearing things apart, check that the wheel itself isn't bent and/or that it is seated properly against the drum. Once done and all is good, then check the drum to be sure it is properly attached and not bent. All that can be done externally and if all checks good, then start taking things apart.

Thanks Don, appreciate the counsel. As stated in my second post on this, I did run the wheel up on stands yesterday, both with and without the tire/rim mounted. One could see the out-of-round quite clearly. I held the handle end of my ratchet against the outer circumference of the drum and it was definitely wobbling. I DID clean the wheel face of the drum thoroughly with a scraper and a wire brush and even mounted my spare rim (which hasn't been used since it came back from the wheel straightening joint) and it showed a distinct wobble as well. I mistakenly thought the drum went OVER the axle hub and so any out-of-round would be borne by the shaft. When I see the pictures of the drum and realize it is one piece, the distortion would pretty much HAVE to be in the drum, is my thinking. And like I said, the centre point of the axle seems very true - no movement there. Do you have any good '39 drums, Don?? Chris.