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Re: [GMCnet] Final Drive Intermediate Axle questions [message #322504 is a reply to message #322495] Tue, 22 August 2017 19:06 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Ken Henderson is currently offline  Ken Henderson   United States
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
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Senior Member
Rick,

I have zero experience with the 3.21. But one idea popped into my mind:
Do you have the strut that connects the final drive to the stub axle
hanger? Or is one even used with the 3.21? Seems to me that the presence
of that strut would help to position the hanger properly, at least against
lateral movement which might result when you tighten the bolts into the
engine.

Ken H.


On Tue, Aug 22, 2017 at 3:40 PM, Richard Denney wrote:

> Sorry, I can't think of any way to present this briefly.
>
> After installing the new final drive, and reinstalling all the stuff I had
> had to remove, my last step was installing the intermediate axle, which
> extends from the final drive through a hanger that bolts to the starboard
> side of the block, and provides the flange for the starboard half-shaft to
> bolt to. This axle just inserts into the final drive, and the spline
> engages the spider (or, in the case of this rebuilt 3.21, the planetary
> gear). The manual says to adjust it around to find the middle of play, and
> then tighten the two bolts that hold that hanger in place good'n'tight (50
> foot-pounds). Those bolts have specially hardened and thick serrated
> washers to hold the hanger in that position.
>
> I anticipated this would be easy, but, of course, it's the easy stuff that
> surprises us.
>
> 1. I can't find the middle position--the play accommodated all extremes of
> the holes in the hanger. I looked for a position that provided easiest
> rotation (not easy to discern) and didn't seem to distort the seal (also
> not easy to discern).
>
> 2. The real problem is that when I tighten those hanger bolts, I get a very
> loud bearing noise in that hanger bearing when I spin the axle by hand. I'm
> expecting some roughness provided by the rattling of the gears in the final
> drive, but this sound was definitely coming from the hanger bearing. That
> bearing is new, and smooth as butter when not bolted up to anything. When I
> hold the hanger in what seems to be the best position but don't tighten it,
> I get what I think is only final-drive noise when I spin the axle.
>
> Yes, I have filled the final drive with gear oil.
>
> Manny had never experienced this issue before, but these hangers come from
> salvage yards and be slightly tweaked if the car was wrecked in a way that
> affected the right front wheel.
>
> So, possibilities: A. The hanger isn't quite straight straight, and it's
> not holding the bearing square with the axle. B. The hanger is too close to
> the final drive (or the bearing isn't seated all the way in the hanger) and
> it's binding axially. C. The slinger (inside dust cover) is rubbing on
> something and ringing when the hanger is tightened.
>
> Questions:
>
> Has anybody experienced this issue?
>
> Does anybody know if there is a standard piece of pipe that I can use to
> press against the slinger that covers the inside of the bearing? Or any
> other advice on how to reseat the bearing? The manual calls for a special
> tool, but it just looks like a piece of pipe that fits over the axle in a
> press that bears on the recessed part of the slinger that pushes directly
> on the bearing.
>
> Manny suggested that I could move the axle to the old hanger (they are all
> the same), given that I have a press, but I can't see how to get the
> slinger over the larger diameter of the seal race and spline on the
> final-drive end, and I think that slinger is just sheet metal that is
> crimped on the axle when the right pressing tool is used. Or, I'm missing
> some obvious point about how it's attached. The slinger covers the retainer
> to provide a dust shield for the bearing seal. I'm just not sure I won't
> mess up what I have. He also suggested that I could "adjust" the hanger so
> that it hangs at the right place, but my attempts to do that have not
> solved the problem. I even wondered if I could put a thin washer under the
> hanger, but I don't know what the axial tolerance is supposed to be.
>
> Alternative is to ask Manny to ship me a replacement 3.21 FD intermediate
> axle if he has one available, and send this one back for his far more
> expert inspection.
>
> Rick "advice welcome" Denney
>
> --
> '73 X-Glacier 230 "Jaws"
> Northern Virginia
> Offlist email: rick at rickdenney dot com
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach

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