Ran into something new to me. Changed quite a few 8-9" ford axle bearing over the years but never found this. I had a rough sound coming from the rear and suspected a bad bearing. What I found when I pulled the axle out was a fairly tight bearing but a broke outer race at the top of the bearing. I was wondering if any one had a guess as to what would cause one to break. Oh yeah the inner race showed a lot of wear in one spot also. FYI this build has coil over shocks on the rear and the upper and lower bushings were beat out. Could a hard jolt from a bump or pot hole cause a bearing race break???
A couple of thoughts- axle tube bent downwards putting an excessive load on the top of the bearing. The tube could have warped during welding. A bad bearing could also be the culprit. I don't think a bump or jolt caused this. How old is the bearing? Installed correctly?
I have had the car for I little over a year and it was an older build. The axle and new bearing went back in easy so I will just watch it. Thanks
No I did not notice anything that felt like a bent axle. I just started noticing more road noise than usual and it was getting worse. Had a hint of a droning sound like a bearing going bad I also notice a trace of lube on the inside of the wheel and tire that I think was grease out of the bearing. I pressed a new bear on the axle and it went back in easy. I will just keep an eye on it and we will see. Thanks
Only split outer race on a Ford 9 inch that Ive seen was in a Pick up that was badly over loaded. It split the race right down the center,and the axle left the truck completely at speed.
The only time I've seen this happen was a sharp blow ro the tire or rim. Winter having people slide into curbs at slow speeds with the the newer front wheel drive cars and it will split the race, usually the outer, when hit just right. Same on an old school rear end, be it Ford 9", gm 10 bolt etc. Never seen it on a Dana 60 other than a dually that was hit by a car on the outer rim... .....
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