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1 piece axle install - bearing drag?

TravelnMan

Legacy Registered User
City
Granby
State
CT
Well I installed my one piece axle kit last week - followed the directions and everything went together pretty easily.

My question is when I checked for binding the axle spun but had some drag. It was a little cool, about 35 degrees out so maybe the grease was a little stiff. Does this sound normal? Haven't driven it yet because I had to go back to work.

Thanks
Brian
 

bigwalton

Alaskan Postal nutjob
FORUM MANAGER
SOA Member
City
Dexter
State
MI
Did you take out the thrust block that sits in the middle of the differential between the ends of the axleshafts?

You would have had to take the diff cover off, punch a pin out of the carrier and remove the diff cross-shaft to get the block out.

This needs to be removed with one-piece axles, it could cause binding and leaks at the wheel bearing if it's left in.

If you did that, I don't think you should be seeing anything that would cause you to think that there's binding... might be worth a disassembly/reassembly to try and see if theres anything odd.
 

scrambler83

Basic User
City
Bowling Green
State
ky
what?

Can anyone post a picture of the thrust block that need to be knocked out. I just installed one piece, and looked in the rear. It looked like everything in there needed to stay put. A picture would help.
 

mulescj8

INSANE SCRAMBLER HACK
Lifetime Member
City
Middle of No Where and Too Far From Any Where
State
Tn
I've never pulled it on any of the kits i've installed either,you shoudn't need to if they slide in and the bear is sitting in the recomended specs,i always check mine with a set of feeler gagues to verify it.......maybe the postals all had a trac-loc factory installed, i've never installed one in a trac-loc scrambler,I know 4 wheeldrive hardware kit in there instructions said that it would not fit in trac-loc equiped axles without modifacations
 

bigwalton

Alaskan Postal nutjob
FORUM MANAGER
SOA Member
City
Dexter
State
MI
You wouldn't think that it needs to come out just looking at it if you didn't know what it was to remove it. It does look like it belongs there.

JC, FYI The postals did get trac locs stock, but this was in my replacement rear end with a normal carrier.

I got my current rear axle with leaks at both ends of the axles.

I pulled the diff (non-trac loc) to pull the gears off (I was going to put thme in my original axle and reset the gears) and saw that the thrust block was still in it. I pulled it out and one end of it was ground down with an exact impression of the end of the axleshaft on one side where it was hitting BADLY. I decided to take a chance and reassembled it without the block and the leaks were gone (and still are).

I don't know if it has to come out for all of them but it certainly needed to with the ones I have.

From one site:

A word about axle shaft thrust blocks: A few differentials, such as the Jeep AMC and the older 19-tooth Spicer 44 axle, use a thrust block between the inside ends of the axle shafts as a part of the end play adjustment. When installing a LockRight, this block is reused along with the original axles so that the original end play adjustment does not change. However, if the original axles are changed to different original-type axles, the block will continue to be used but the end play must be re-adjusted (see the shop manual for the procedure). If the axle is changed to another type that does not need end-play adjustment, such as a one-piece design, the thrust block may be omitted. In the Land Cruiser, the block is never used.)

Here's a good page with a drawing of the block, check it out.

http://www.trailhed.com/axlepage.html
 

mulescj8

INSANE SCRAMBLER HACK
Lifetime Member
City
Middle of No Where and Too Far From Any Where
State
Tn
Interesting..................Eric did yours have shims between the backing plate and the end of the axle?...........all mine did and all of mine fit within specs without pulling anything, but i think most of the kits i installed also stated that if the bearing was not within specs to grind the spacer ring down to get the proper spacing, maybe that has something to do of whi i have never had to remove the thrust block??????????????? :confused:
 

TravelnMan

Legacy Registered User
City
Granby
State
CT
interesting issues but I don't really have binding. I was just wondering if there was enough preload between the pinion and the new bearings to make them have a fair amount of drag.

I guess I'll just take it for a short spin and see if they heat up. If they get hot I'll know I have a problem.
 

bigwalton

Alaskan Postal nutjob
FORUM MANAGER
SOA Member
City
Dexter
State
MI
My point is that you wouldn't know the difference between bearing drag and drag caused by the ends of the shafts on the thrust block when turning it by hand.

If the bearings heat up you've definitely found an issue. If you see leaks at the ends of the axles after a bit, I'd definitely go in and pull the block.

And on the issue of grinding the bearing retainer, I always just took that to mean that the bearing had to sit back in the housing far enough for the seal to work properly, not that it had anything to do with preload. I could be totally wrong there though. Just another thought.
 
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