Noisy rear axle...

Thanks for the heads up, I just sent him an email. He parted out the front axle first thing but maybe he kept the brakes.

Veefre - I once owned a 1966 Chevy van that had a complete 1967 Chevy Bel-Air drive train in it. 283 / powerglide/ and the whole rear axle ass'y that was a little wider than the chevy van's. The nice part of it was the 3.08 gears. I also had a 1964 Chevy van that I parted out and found out it had a 1968 Camaro rear axle under it. Both of these axles were attached to the original van leaf springs. I don't recall if the mounting pads were moved and rewelded. Maybe these are some ideas to consider if you're looking to replace your complete van axle.

Don,
Is there anything you "Don't" have a picture of? You got the best photo's I have ever seen, and of just about everything. Thinking maybe you should put together a "how to" CD. You seem to have done it all and always give great advice. I'd buy one....lol

Dan

DanTheVanMan wrote:Don,
Is there anything you "Don't" have a picture of? You got the best photo's I have ever seen, and of just about everything. Thinking maybe you should put together a "how to" CD. You seem to have done it all and always give great advice. I'd buy one....lol

Dan

+1

Yes they do. Thank you for all the extra effort and Support. We all appreciate it.



Thank you,

Well, four month update. Rear axle is running just fine. No leaks that I can see from the seals, which is good news. The van rides much quieter now as well.

And of course the front drum brakes have been fixed - thanks to Scott for sending me his backing plates.

Noticed some squeaking coming from front springs... so jacked up the van body till front wheels left ground, springs fully extended. Then got a flux brush dipped in Permatex anti-seize compound (the bright silver stuff) and got as much of it as possible in between the leaves. Squeaks gone, and I could swear the van rides smoother as well.

Former owner says he had the front leaf springs re-arced a while back because he wanted the van to ride lower. Side effect is that it probably rides stiffer. Positive result is that it seems to have very little body roll w/o anti-sway bar.

Will see how long the anti-seize compound lasts. It's almost impossible to wipe/wash off things, so it should last a while.

Don,
Do you know where to get the teflon leaf spring inserts?

Ah yes, the tree van. That's funny.
OK, I'll check to see if any of them have restocked since Vanish's ordering frenzy.

Thanks again,
Dan

Update: Just ordered some. Thx, Don
http://www.danchuk.com/09_02_leaf_insert_liners.html

Do I understand correctly that those longer Timken (always pleased with their bearings) replacement bearings have an internal seal? Otherwise, if the stick out 1/4" how could we put a seal on the outside of the bearing? And, thanks to all who contributed to this thread as discovering an oversized bearing kit for these hard to find rears is a lifesaver, happy motoring!

It's been a while since I did this job, but as I recall I had to get the repair bearings and the associated seals as separate items. I don't recall the seals being built into the bearings. I didn't have to grind anything to get it to fit. I did clean up the fillet on the outer end of the axle a bit, but not much. It took a little tap with a soft hammer on the end of the LH axle to get it in far enough to fit the c-clip, but after about 5,000 miles and 12 months it's been just fine. No leaks no runs no errors.

Well, as usual... Donivan is right.

It's been a couple of years since I renewed the rear axle bearings with the Timken repair bearings. Lately I've been noticing some grumbling form the right rear brake. Actually grabbing sometimes, when pulling away from a parked position after the parking brake has been on for a time, and backing. I figured something was up, so I pulled both rear drums. Lo and behold the left rear drum and shoes were coated with what looks like moly grease - I recall I used a fair amount of that stuff to lube the repair bearings and seal for the install way back when. Since it's been two years and several thousand miles, I figure it's more of a seepage than a major leak, but I suspect the bearing seals are seeping. I cleaned up the mess as best I could, with brake cleaner and all. I have new shoes so I can fix that problem. But the issue is, are the seals leaking? Quite possibly. I checked the other side, the right rear brakes, and they seem to have a kind of waxy build up on the shoes and drums. Not as much or as "wet" as the other side. This might help to explain the grabbing, not sure.

Anyway I have two new sets of repair bearings with intergral seals on order, will pick them up after overtime/work tomorrow (end of quarter rush) and will probably put them in on Sunday, work permitting.

Don, I noticed in the prior discussion you were talking about putting "real" bearings on a friend's van. How does that work? Do you have to modify the rear brake assembly?

Later...

These axles were chewed up by the original bearings, and I put in the repair bearings, which are working quite well except for the seepage issue.

I gather the 13 roller beefy bearings require that the axle not be worn in the original bearing seating area. Unless they ride outside that area, like the repair bearings?

I posted a photo of the orignal axle condition a few pages back. Let me see if I can copy it from there and repost in in the next message...