Rear end
 

Don't know if I need a new rear end or not. Up on jack stands there is practically no noise. On the road it is very loud. Should I start a tear down or take a chance on a complete used one? Anything else to look at before I start?

Re: Rear end
 

Re: Rear end
 

Hi Dan,

Not trying to be blunt, but why try somebody's used rear end? No pun intended.

Look up Mr. Tom Endy's articles, tear down your own rear end, and just get back ..... you will be glad you did!

Re: Rear end
 

On jack stands there is little or no load on the wheel hub and pinion bearings so detecting noise from wear is not a good test. Post #2 is good advise. But I suspect you will be rebuilding it to fix the problem. And as stated, Tom Endy's article is a excellent source for doing the repair/rebuild.

Re: Rear end
 

Is it from the front wheels? Using a listening device you should be able to hear the noise on the stands.. Probe behind each rear wheel, ctr pumpkin, and pinion area.. See where it is the loudest. As mentioned the load is less jacked up..... How bout the speedo cable?
A bearing makes a distinguishable sound but a trained ear needs to hear it

Re: Rear end
 

Tom Endy's report is about as complete as anything I have read. Thanks for the reference. I don't think this is something I want to tackle. I'll look for help.

Re: Rear end
 

Did you check the oil level in it?

Re: Rear end
 

Some of your noise could possibly be attributed to bearing wear and spalling on the underside of the rear axle bearings. The inside race for the rear axle bearings is actually a hardened sleeve shrunk onto the rear axle hub. You will not hear any noise from this scenario with rear end up on jack stands, as the weight of the rear drums and wheels release pressure from the underside of the axle bearing surface.

Re: Rear end
 

Your choosing looking for help, for whatever personal reasons, sounds like a comfortable, wonderful plan.

If you have someone in your area who has done this successfully only once, he/she realizes it is just a simple matter of following Mr. Endy's easy to follow procedure with a multitude of very helpful simple tips written by a true professional with lots of Model A differential experience.

Good luck with your project.

Re: Rear end
 

Thanks to all for the many kind words. There are three dissertations available concerning the rebuilding of the Model A rear axle assembly. All three are posted on the web site of the Santa Anita A's of Arcadia, California.

Go to www.santaanitaas.org. On the home page put your cursor on "Technical Reference", my name will appear below. Click on it and a menu will come up. Scroll to Differential. The three articles are dated revised 2014, 2015, and 2016. The 2014 article is the main "how to article". This article was written a number of years ago with the current revision in 2014. The 2015 article is a pictorial of a job I did that required shimming both carrier bearings in order to achieve carrier bearing pre-load. This article should be considered a supplement to the 2014 how to article. The 2016 article was posted just a few weeks ago. This is also a pictorial of a job I did. In this article the early 28 banjo was replaced. The early banjos without support gussets are prone to crack at the four banjo mounting bolt holes nearest the torque tube flange. The 2016 article should also be considered a supplement to the 2014 how to article.

All my articles posted on the SAA web site are PDF files and can be downloaded and printed out. There is no restriction on their use.

Tom Endy

Re: Rear end
 

OOPS! Disregard my question below. I just went through Tom's complete differential restoration write up and he does the backlash setting without the axles in place.

Tom Endy's concept of using a modified carrier yoke with a length of threaded rod strikes me as being a stroke of genius. Of course, at least one of the axles must be absent when checking for carrier bearing preload, which should be no problem. My question is, once carrier bearing preload has been set, could the pinion be installed in the banjo and then the same carrier yoke and threaded rod (once again, without axle(s)) be used to set pinion / ring gear spacing? A pointer with a length which equals the radius of the ring gear could be mounted to the threaded rod and pinion / ring gear clearance could be measured directly. Then, the whole mess could be disassembled and then reassembled with the unmodified carrier yoke and the axles?

Re: Rear end
 

When you're on the road, the axle bearings are riding on the underside of the axle housing bearing surfaces. The tops of the axle housing bearing surfaces never see any loading. So, when you run up on jack stands, your bearings are now riding on the still perfect tops of the axle housing bearing surfaces. That could be a bummer if you have to replace the axle housings or, worse yet, have your axle housing bearing surfaces renewed with sleeves.