If the housing is out far enough to cause trouble, usually you can see the warpage by sighting through the tube from one end to the other. Not as accurate as a fixture of course, but over 1/4" or so of bend will be visible. That said, I don't think that's why the bearings cracked. Misalignment will cause rapid wear, but I've never seen it break them.
looks to me that the end of that axle has been cut off, becuase there should be a number 5 size center drill on the end and looks like its been shaved down.and also looks to me that someone tryed to press the bearing off without removing the lock ring. check those axles on lathe, or v blocks, in three places with a dial indicator,.000-.008 should be safe.filthy frank.
Thanks for all good info This is two pics of the other axle that have been narrowed I see nothing wrong in the splines area or at the end filthy frank maybe the first axle also ARE narrowed ? i was told only one axle was narrowed, maybe that was wrong ...
That "new" axle looks way goofy to me. First off what's with the black paint??? Second I notice that the end of the splines look dinged up - no reason for that unless a nitwit was involved. Your "stock" axle has all sorts of grinder marks - that almost makes it look like there was an interference issue and someone need to add some extra clearance - makes you wonder WHEN they noticed they had an issue. I've seen axle flanges bent that results in all sorts of mayhem - I think the suggestion to check these axles (in addition to the housing) for straightness is an excellent one. Ovviously you cannot put both between centers since your aftermarket one doesn't have any, but you could put them on V blocks - or even chuck them in a lathe ( can we ***ume the flange end still has a center??) Whichever you do - be sure to also check the axle flange - it matters as much as the rest. The cracked race is strange to say the least, but if some bozo beat it together with a hammer than anything is possible. Keep this in mind when you check your housing. Having the housing "straight" is obviously a GOOD THING but you ALSO need to be sure that the housing END is not only centered but it is ALSO perpendicular to the axle tube. So pay extra attention to that IF you get your hands on a checking jig. These are very simple devices, but precision is required. Good luck with it!!!
Maybe the black paint was their way of looking for spline engagement and witness marks ?...but it looks like they painted the entire length....odd.........Littleman
I've looked over the pictures for the tenth time to try to find a clue of what has happened. Why did "they" paint the brake shoe linings too? The fifth picture down, backing plate closest to you might show the possibility of come kind of housing misalignment by a bunch. Cheap check on the housing ends----grab two long straight edges, meter sticks, whatever. Three person job. One person at each end of the axle housing to hold a straight edge against the axle end flange face , one person to consistently measure between those straight edges to find inconsistencies as the teams adjusts clocked measurement positions.
It would be interesting to find out what is wrong. I just pull apart the rear for my Model T and both bearings are broken like the one you have. The rear is a stock early Bronco 9 inch.
I dont know why they spray paint the axles black The brake shoes lining is not black Its new parts, also the drums, very few miles on everything Shoes lining not been "run in" yet
Brake shoes have odd wear pattern. While everything is apart have a shop rearch them, ie more sure they are round. Also, have the drums rechecked for correct tolerances. Yes, the grinding(?) on the end of the shiny axle does not look like done by a shop. If ideas on here do not bring a true answer to problem try one of the big rearend shops like Currie for input. Why did the seller remove it from his car? Have you checked with him about any known problems?
By bending them straight in a press, cutting the ends off and reattaching them in the right location, by welding beads of weld on the tubes to counteract the shrinkage caused by other weld beads, or a combination of all 3. Your tube looks bent at the suspension brackets, probably caused by shrinkage at the welds, unless that is an illusion caused by the camera. That's too short a distance to bend straight in a press, so the simplest thing is to cut the housing end off and weld it back on carefully using the alignment fixture. When I'm doing this, I do all the welding on the housing first, then put the ends on last after everything else is done.
yoyodyne has it correct, cut both ends off, install jig, wherever the ends want to be is where you weld them up, leave in jig till cool. Any other way will throw your bracket alienments off than you might as well start over.................. JMO
Yes ! its caused by shrinkage at the welds Are aftermarket housing ends better ? Witch company made housing ends with the thickest flanges ? My axle are from an Mustang so i need the Mustang ends Thanks all !
On the ones I've taken apart - the factory ends are actually piloted into the factory housing tubes - nice way to do it IF your tubes are right to begin with. The AFTERMARKET ends I've seen are a bit different - they are THICKER pretty much everywhere and are not piloted - and I am betting this WASN'T by accident. Being pilotless - if your housing is off some - you can just weld the end where it needs to be - no fuss no muss - you won't be fighting with the pilot. There is however a practical limit to how far off you can or would want to be. Mark Williams sells nice ends - fully machined and thick. I bet there are other nice ones out there as well. Stick with any of the BIG manufacturers and I'm sure you'll be fine.
I have the RW207CC bearings in my erlye Mustang 9" bearings are 72mm outside diam / 2,83" These two Housing ends are at the Mark Williams webb: http://www.markwilliams.com/detail.aspx?ID=754 http://www.markwilliams.com/detail.aspx?ID=759 Are both for a bigger wheel bearing ? ( big Ford 3,150" / 80 mm ) Can i use my old axles, and new bigger bearings and house ends ? I want to use my old brake backing plates ...
Somebody makes aftermarket housing ends that are flat on the tube end. By using the bar that you have in the picture, you will be able to weld on the new ends and the axles will be aligned with the center section. I'm sure this isn't easy because of your location. If Williams doesn't have what you need, check Strange engineering, Dutchman or Moser. Good luck.
You can get them from Strange Engineering, they cost $40.00 less than the MW ends. Strange small bearing housing ends part # H1134 $70.00 for the pr (you can use your existing axles, backing plates, and brakes with these). The axle bearing, locking ring, and retaining plate Strange part # A1023 $38.40 each (you will need 2). You can't use your backing plates with the bigger housing ends. Click on the link below, axle bearings are on page 16, housing ends are on page 90. http://www.strangeengineering.net/catalog/index.html
As Kenneth S said, you can't change the size and style of the housing ends without changing everything, axles, backing plates, drums, bearings. There's nothing wrong with reusing the original ends if you cut them off nicely, unless they are distorted from previous welding.
My original ends are distorted from previous welding and the kracked bearings I need new ... Thanks for all info !
That's why I supplied the info on the new stuff, I wouldn't trust the old ones after seeing the amout of warpage (and the broken bearings).
just asked Mark W ... The ends will only work with our axles. Thanks Brian Balsley Mark Williams Enterprises Subject: Customer Comments Feedback: I have a Ford 9" Mustang axle on my Hotrod 32 Ford With the small Ford housing ends with RW207CC bearings this bearings are 72mm in outside diam I need new housing ends, the axle housing is bent caused by shrinkage at the welds for 4 links etc I wonder if your part # 57800 or 57810 will fit ? </pre>
Yeah that might be a problem - all the aftermarket guys are likely building ends for the BIGGER bearings as that is one of the upgrades done for high stress use. You may have to go and find a good set of stocker ends your size. Have the pilots removed and then weld them on using your jig. The other option would be to upgrade to the bigger backing plates & drums- probably not so easy where you're located. You could avoid removing the factory pilot IF you got that housing tweaked BACK to the origional straightness - that too may be a tall order depending on your local resources. If it was ME - I'd loose those small bearing ends and upgrade everything - but that's easy for me to say when it's YOUR money!!!!! Cheapest way out and still have it right would be to get another set of factory small bearing ends and go from there, but before you do that - what kind of abuse do you plan on giving this thing??? If you are gonna stomp on it a bit - then you might be better of to just bit the bullet and upgrade. Hey if it was EASY - everyone would have a cool hot rod!!!!
http://www.mittlerbros.com/rear_end_parts__accessories.htm This shows all the dimensions and bolt patterns currently available. And theres no real reason to ****can all your stuff and go with big ford. Get the small ends and run with it.
maybe it's just the pictures, but the splines on those axles looked ground, not rolled...but maybe it's just my eyes.
If the housing is not horrific, a skilled torch operator can straighten the housing with nothing more than a torch. Find a local torch expert and seek his opinion. The power of Mr. shrink is amazing. B.
The parts you are looking for are available (used) from Currie. www.curieenterprises.com Also from Moser. www.moserengineering.com (part # 7755, I think.) Their phone number is 260-726-6689 JG
Deep Purple I've had a couple of axle housings narrowed without much trouble with the housing or with the bearings. I prefer to use the "Federal Mogul" brand of bearings. These have steel side retainers. Those you show in the pictures have plastic side bearing retainers. I've seen many of these wear out with only a few hundred miles. I've put over six thousand miles on my most recent ride without incident. Try the Federal brand of bearing which is USA made. Stay away from those made in Japan and in China. These will be prominantly displayed on the bearing. Hopefully our experience will help. As long as the axle shaft (with its properly pressed/installed bearing) is inserted by hand into the housing, you should be okay. RGV
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