10 Bolt GM Rear Question

I would appreciate any help with this one - I noticed that my passenger side rear wheel wobbled a bit - like 1/4 of an inch when it was in gear up on jack stands.
I changed the wheel and it still did it. So I assumed the axle shaft was bent.

I changed the passenger axle shaft and bearings on both sides. I didn't mess with the carrier bearings - since these were new about 6 months ago. It still wobbled just as before. WTF?

Anyone know what is going on here? I can feel a shimmy between 20 and arouf 50 MPH - once I get up faster than that it smooths out.

Could the casing be bent? The passenger axle I took out had some slight boogering where the bearing ran. So I thought I had found the problem.

 

When you say you changed the wheel, did you flip one side to the other or put the same tire on a new wheel?

Could be an egged tire.

 

Just a few things:

With the car off the ground, is there play in the wheel/axle? (Up and down, or in and out?).

Are you sure that the axle you put is good and the end flange is not tweaked?

Make sure that the brake drum is fully seating against the axle flange. If it isnt, when you bolt the wheel on, it may not sit flat on the drum.

Check the inside of the axle housing tube on that side. Sometimes if an axle bearing seizes up, it will spin in the housing making it a bit oversized. That might create some play in there.

Hope some of this helps!

 

Thanks fo rthe replies

When I changed the wheel - i just put a bare rim that i have on - it also wobbed the same amount

There seems to be no play up or down but both sides will slightly move in and out = like a 32nd - just a little play

I just assumed the new shaft would be true -it was a moser new replacement - the wheel on the new shaft wobbled the exact same as the old one - to the eye of course.

I should check out swapping drums and see if anything changes - that is a great point

The axle housing looked good when I changed the bearings - i took some heavy tapping to insert the new bearings and the shafts didn't move after they were installed. I am wondering if the axle tube on one side is bent slighlty - will it make the wheel wobble?

I hope the drum is the answer!!!!!

Anyone in GA have an 8.2 10 bolt housing sitting around?