Hot Rods 10 bolt gm rear bearings slides off

Maybe have a custom sized lock ring made. 20 minute job on a lathe

 

The bearing will still be loose on the shaft....

 

If I’m doing metric conversion correctly, Op’s axel is nearly .006 under size per his info.

 

If it is that far under, the bearing would slide on. Typical interference fit is about .002" press fit. He was talking an " easy press".
In the case of a slip fit bearing, there would be too much of a reliance on the retaining collar, even if it was custom sized. If it is in fact a light press, then a custom sized collar would do the job. I think those are around .005" or more interference fit. So a precise measurement would be needed to get one made with sufficient interference.
As others have mentioned, new axle, if available would be the best fix.

 

I mentioned knurling before and here’s why. I rebuilt a Honda GX340, the crank shaft end bearings were supposed to be press fit, but the engine had seen better days. Both bearings were slip fit. I didn’t have a knurling tool for my small lathe then, so had a local guy cross knurl both end of the crankshaft. As I was pressing on the first bearing, I knew it was taking too much effort. So I spent a lot of time on my lathe with a fine cut file, then emery cloth to get the bearing/shaft to around .0015. Now I didn’t even think to measure how much the knurling raised the metal before I started with the “slip fit”, but I didn’t even need a light press to start with.
Now as @squirrel mentioned, no side to side loading, purely rotational.
I did a quick Google thing on a ‘56 Chevy axle, price is kinda steep, plus overseas shipping etc.
That said, maybe have them knurled the have the retainer spot welded in place as @A****er Mike mentioned (heard of this before, never heard anything negative) and I know it’s not me driving it, but I’d do that first.

 

Without specific information , no need to disparage the product or the possibilities . Countless items come he!d together with all sorts of adhesives these days .

 

Oh, I'm not disparaging the product, I'm just letting us know that some situations are different than others, and it's a good idea to know what all the differences are before proceeding.

 

I've had the same thing happen years ago on the road and pressed it all back together and laid a bead of weld on the retainer ring. Never fixed it and the car is still around 10 years later. Not saying don't do it but it sure has lasted. I recently just found some axles on eBay for a good deal for a customer's 55 for rent. It was two new cut to fit axles with about 8 in of splines with new bearings and collars for 350 bucks.

 

Thank you for the answers. Good advice. Which side has that long and which side has the short axle? Just to sort that out

 

Start with the long one first and see what happens.

 

The p***enger side measures the longest from the differential out. So I guess thats the longest. Just to get it right

 

No need to show you how to feed yourself vs just for a day.

 

Loc***e #660 high strength Stud and Bearing Mount for the bearing. Used for cylindrical fits with slight clearance problems.
Local made stronger, tighter press retaining ring.
Undersize, heat it to put it on as already mentioned by a couple guys already.
That would be my vote.

Any welding on the axle shaft itself and you can guarantee it will fail sooner rather than later.

 

What I don't get is what changed? You "blew the rear end up" suggests it was running and driving just fine with the axle bearings and retaining rings that were in it before you had the third member rebuilt/replaced. You press on new axle bearings and retaining rings and now you have a problem. Doesn't that suggest the new bearings/retaining rings or just the retaining rings are the problem?