Mystery axle noise

They are not torqued by feel, they are torqued to a predetermined range value(that I can't remember) and then between the high and low of the range the cotter pin hole in the shaft and nut will line up. The hub is stretched as it is pushed up the taper so no real bottoming should be felt but a linear ramping of torque required to move the nut.
 
I don't have my manual here, but I think it's 140-160 ft-lbs. Of course, I have no torque wrench that goes that high. Even if I did, I haven't figured out a way to apply that much force without moving the axle off the stand.
 
I would get them as tight as you can then bolt the wheel to the hubs and set the Scout on the ground. Set the e-brake, stick her in gear 4wheel low and, tighten till you are satisfied.

Rig a hillbilly torque wrench using a 50 pound spring scale and a 3 foot ratchet and pipe. At 50 pounds of pull on the end you will have 150 ft/lbs. Or 5 foot and 30 lbs of pull.:smile5:

or using your low rated torque wrench apply the info in this link to multiply the wrench to your desired torque. torque wrench extensions
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the help. I have yet another issue:

I had the driver's side together last night, which had no shims. Tonight I put together the passenger side and it had quite a few shims. I torqued it down and when I was done I couldn't even turn the axle it was so tight. That's not right, right? I mean, maybe the bearings haven't seated all the way onto the axle?

I was kind of worried that I had smushed the bearing, but I pulled it out and it looked okay. I'm slightly confused by all this though. The manual makes it sound like once the shims are figured out, they're good forever. Should I expect to have to change the shims when the bearings are changed?

Of course it couldn't be sloppy so I could remove shims. I have none on hand to add...
 
Mastiff: don't worry about putting the hubs on yet, not until the axle end play is set. As Robert sez, torque the nut with the tire on and on the ground. You are correct, the torque value is 140-160 ft.lbs. You go to the closest hole/slot for the cotter pin, do not back off to find one.
Here's how I set them up:
the bearing is snapped on the shaft, you just kinda throw it on, the taper on the bearing's id lines it up on the shaft's taper. Put the shaft in the axle tube while being careful not to nick the inner seal. Then put the bearing's cup on and carefully seat it on the bearing cone and in the housing. Lightly, very lightly, tap it in place until it contacts the cone.
On the driver's side, assemble the backing plate and retainer plate and tighten the nuts. On the passenger side assemble the shims, backing plate, and retainer plate, and nuts also. As you've guessed, I've left the outer seals out at this point, we don't need them right now. With a slide hammer, jerk the passenger side axle out with a few light taps. On the driver's side, pull the axle out also; this seats the cones in their housings so you'll be able to see what the full axle end play for both sides will be. You are looking for an end play of .001" to .010". That's a pretty wide playing field to fall into, check with your dial indicator. Add or subtract shims to get between .001 and .010" after all is up to snuff, now is the time to put it together completely with the seals and hubs.
Anytime you change anything, I.e. Old with new, the setup will change also. So yes, shims can come and go with new bearings.
Have you done any work to the differential? I've read your concerns about the play in the spider gears.
 
Thanks for the help. Yeah, I put a spider kit in. Not knowing, they seemed sloppy, but the new setup is not much different, so I May have wasted some money. One of the washers was wasted though, so I had to take it apart anyway.

I'll need to source some shims now to finish this job. I put the hub on because the manual suggested yanking on it to seat things if a slide hammer isn't available, which it isn't. I'm putting off final torquing of the hub until the axles are set up correctly. I'll use the weight of the vehicle as you guys are suggesting.

I've got about 1/8" of shims already, which seems like a lot. I'm surprised it turned out this way. Nothing's ever easy with this old truck.
 
1/8" of shims is a lot. When something like this turns up, I start suspecting something in the diff ain't right. Usually the spacer block isn't right, or in the case of pwr-lok limited slips, the button in the spacer block has fallen out and is blocking an axle from full insertion. Or, there is one other step to try after the diff is verified to be in order.
 
I have the open diff, and the spacer block is in place and looks right. From what I've read, most people with block problems couldn't take away enough shims to remove the end play. I have kind of the opposite problem, if it is a problem. I have no shims on the other side.

I know it's not grossly messed up since when it was all torqued, both sides were very tight. I know the block is providing a contact path between axles.

When I seated the race on the driver's side, I can put the shims in place and by eye tell that the outer face of the race is extending slightly beyond the shims. I think this means that the backing plate/retainer will push it in when they are torqued in.

I'm working on getting some shims. I don't think it should take much more. Is there any hope of obtaining these locally, or are they totally unique to old scouts?
 
At this point in time, I'd say the shims are unique. Maybe 40 years ago the shims in general weren't as other makes; I.e. Chrysler, studebaker, etc., also used tapered end axles in some passenger cars and light truck models.
Now here is a point I'll bring up. I've come across axles that had shims on both sides. I know the directions say adjustments are done only on the passenger side, but I don't think that precludes having some shims on the driver's side as well. I asked a local l/line Scout mechanic about that and he said it wasn't unheard of to see once in awhile. The axle in my 800 right now is like that. I swapped just the shafts some time ago, and I ended up using shims on both sides to get a total float with the final adjustments made on the passenger side to get between .001 and .010". Even then .125"(1/8") was not even close to where I was when I started.
If it was me, I'd start taking things apart and start over. I know it's a pain, I've done it myself, but's it the only way to review the work.
 
I hear you. I took a calipers to the stack of shims and it was actually around 0.09". It's probably slightly less than that when really torqued down. The thing about this, is that this is the stack that was already there. Someone else figured they needed it, and I'm starting to think that they didn't even have them torqued tight, like they stopped short of fully tightening the retainer bolts in order to get the end play right - that's based on my memory of what I saw from the outside before I really understood how this all went together.

I ordered some shims so I can go that route if needed. I'm not sure what I could possibly find if I pulled everything apart, but maybe I'll do that. I loctited the race on the driver's side per michael's instructions, so that's playing into my decision here.
 
Well, I think it's done. I got it all back together, fresh bearings, races, seals, new spiders and new drums. Seems to drive and brake properly. Thanks for all the help. Time to start on the engine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top