Driveshaft question

[Bob Johnson]

I put together a rear end today. There was something I was not sure about. At the front of the drive shaft there is a bearing/race, thrust washer, speedometer gear and snap ring. When I had everything installed there was about a 1/4" gap between the snap ring and the front of the speedometer gear. Since this was a replacement rear end I check with the one that was removed and it had a similar gap. Is this normal? Am I missing something?

Bob

[Bob Johnson]

The oil seal is in there. In fact if the oil seal were missing and the race was in too far the then the locator bump would not be in the corresponding hole. Then the roller bearing would not fit inside the race because the bump not seated would make the race too tight for the bearing.

I guess my question is this normal? I did notice that the old speedometer drive gear had a wear pattern which was centered on one side of the teeth and towards the end of the teeth on the other side of the teeth. This could indicate that the drive gear contacts the
driving gear differently in reverse than in forward motion. The 1/4" gap would allow this pattern to occur.


Bob

[Bob Johnson]

I just happen to have another car that has the drive gear and housing removed. I checked the driving gear and I could move it forwards and back about 1/4" through the hole where the drive gear housing mounts. Have I found 3 setups with the same problem. Or is this just the way it is supposed to be?

Bob

[Tom Wesenberg]

Tom Endy can better answer this, but I remember there being play on the ones I did, but I was thinking it was more like 1/8".

[Mitch//pa]

It's normal and will float that much.. The driven gear assy (turtle) will hold it center once installed

[Tom Endy]

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There is normally a space there. When I first started rebuilding rear axle assemblies 28 years ago I thought this should not be. However after rebuilding between 600 and 700 of them and seeing a space there, it must be.

Occasionally I find an assembly where someone has installed extra thrust washers to take up the space. Not a good idea. The thrust washer has a series of holes around the circumference of the washer. This is to allow grease pumped in through the grease fitting on the transmission rear bearing retainer to reach the roller bearing in the front end of the torque tube. If you put more than one washer there it could block the grease from reaching the roller bearing.

I have come to believe that the little snap ring was put there to allow the rear axle assembly to be transported down the assembly line with it hanging from the axle housings with the torque tube pointing straight down. The snap ring would prevent the speedo drive gear, the thrust washer, and the roller bearing from falling out.

Once the rear axle assembly is installed in a car, the snap ring serves no purpose. When the spedo driven gear housing is bolted to the end of the torque tube the gear will center itself on the drive gear and prevent it from going anywhere.

Tom Endy

[Bob Johnson]

Thanks to everyone. I feel better.

[Brian T]

That's the way I read it several years ago, it was for assembly line purposes only, the Double A has a expanding snap ring that locates in the torque tube the u-joint passes thru it and stops the gear from moving to far forward, the gear will have close to a 1/4 inch free play.