How do I remove a rear axle in a bugeye sprite?

[ichthos]

Can someone tell me how to remove and install a rear axle? Thanks, Kevin

 

[Gerard]

Short version:

Remove wheel and brake drum. Drain oil or raise side to have axle removed higher than the opposite side. remove small screw holding axle to hub and withdraw axle.

Long version:


[here's a write up I did in April and also on my web site]:
https://gerardsgarage.com/Garage/Tech/rearAxleSeal.htm

Tips on doing rear axle seals.

If you are doing one side, or one side at a time, set the jack stand on the side you are disassembling a little higher to prevent the diff oil from dribbling out as you are working on it.

If you have diff oil on the drums, most like the lip seal in the hubs need replacement, but check the housing surface and make sure it not rusty, pitted or scored. It will make for a poor seal at best, and destroy your news seals in a hurry at worst. If you can't get the housing polished up with some emery cloth, consider a Speedi-sleeve (also known as Redi-sleeve). It will give you a new pristine surface for the seal to mate. They are available a variety of places from bearing houses to Amazon.

You will want a new lip seal, new paper gasket and O-ring for each side too.

The nuts are "handed" meaning one is RH thread, the other LH thread. The easiest way to remember which is which, is they unscrew opposite of forward wheel rotation. If your lock tabs are badly bunged up, replace them with new. The nut is (if I remember correctly) 1-7/8". You will probably need a hub puller to remove the hubs. Sometimes a good yank will get them off, but usually not.

You can clean the brake shoes with brake cleaner, but if they are worn, which they probably are, just replace them with new shoes and save yourself some labor. If you R&R the brakes, do it before you replace the hub. It's a little easier to install the brakes with the hub out of the way. The next step is to re-install the new seals and bearings back in the hub, and reinstall the hubs. The bearings should be a tight fit going back in the hub and on the axle housing. Lubricate the lip seal before putting them back on the axle housing. Cleaning and repacking the bearings is a good idea too. Replace the lock tabs and then tighten the nuts and bend over the lock tabs. If you are not using new lock tabs, try to use a fresh area to bend over.

Before reassembling, I strongly recommend you clean everything really well and especially the mating flanges on the hub and axles. Make sure the groove for the O-ring is clean too. I use a 6" wire wheel in a hand drill or a drill press to get the metal clean of any corrosion or stuck on debris (gasket material, RTV, etc.) Check the surfaces for any high spots or divots from prior rough handling. Take a file to any high spots.

Once you are to the point to put things back together, I like to wipe down the mating flange on the hub and axle with a solvent or degreaser before applying and sealant. Personally, I hate RTV, especially in "mass quantities". Use whatever you want, but my choice of sealant (if you use any at all) is Hylomar, but use it very sparingly... you don't need a lot if everything is clean and smooth. Install the oil ring in the groove, then apply the gasket to the hub, When reinstalling the gasket and axle, pay attention to the orientation of the three small screw holes in the hub. The center one matches the single hole the axle, the opposing 2 are for the brake drum. Align the spine at the end of the axle into the diff and push the axle home and insert the single screw through the axle and snug it up good. Next, replace the brake drum and replace the screws. If you plan to do the other side without reinstalling the wheel, place at least 2 lug nuts on the studs and snug them up. The (Posi-drive) screws alone may not give you enough compression to keep things a tight seal without the wheel in place. Best to use the proper (Posi-drive) screwdriver to keep from buttering up the screws, if they are not already. I put a dab of anti-seize on them too. Torque on the lug nuts is 44-46 lbs.

Well, that's most of it. If I forgot something, I'm sure someone will chime in.

 

[ichthos]

Thanks Gerard!

 

[HealeyRick]

If you're replacing a broken axle, be prepared to remove the diff to get to the little piece that's always stuck inside.

 

[aeronca65t]

Rick:

I've seen axles that have snapped on the inner end, but in my experience, it's not *that* common.

In the last 10 years, I've snapped at least 10 axles in my race car.....all on the outer (hub) end.

 

[HealeyRick]

Rick:

I've seen axles that have snapped on the inner end, but in my experience, it's not *that* common.

In the last 10 years, I've snapped at least 10 axles in my race car.....all on the outer (hub) end.

I musta been just lucky I guess I wonder if street cars break near the diff and racers near the hub? You using double bearing hubs?

 

[aeronca65t]

Yes, running double bearing hubs, which greatly reduced axle breaking (but didn't eliminate it). I'm cheap and still run stock axles too.

I did break one at the inner end when I was in college (40 years ago).
That was in a street Sprite during a furious peel-out session, while trying to impress some girls at the Jersey Shore. :laugh:

 

[regularman]

If you're replacing a broken axle, be prepared to remove the diff to get to the little piece that's always stuck inside.

Yes, do this. I helped replace a broken ring gear in a dodge charger one time. The ring had broken and sheared bolts. We missed a small piece that looked like the head of a carriage bolt. After the change, taking the car down a favorite stretch of straight interstate, doing well over 120mph, that piece got in the gears.
You would think it would have broken many things, but those gears are tough. It locked the rearend down at speed. We screeched down the interstate and slid of into the median where we continued to slide for an eternity without flipping the car. We were lucky to get through that uninjured.
He restarted the car and backed it up and it was free, then forward again and we were able to go under the car's power back to the garage. We cleaned everything good this time and found that piece. The rearend had a bit of whine after that but worked flawlessly.
It just lets you know what those small gears are capable of and how tough they are.

 

[startech47]

Well, were the girls impressed?

 

[JPSmit]

Well, were the girls impressed?

and were you wearing brown pants?

 

[HealeyRick]

:lol: Nothing like a foot long patch to impress the bystanders.

 

[aeronca65t]

Well, were the girls impressed?

Even the 60's versions of Snooki weren't impressed.

Story of my life.

 

[Gerard]

Yes, running double bearing hubs, which greatly reduced axle breaking (but didn't eliminate it). I'm cheap and still run stock axles too.

I did break one at the inner end when I was in college (40 years ago).
That was in a street Sprite during a furious peel-out session, while trying to impress some girls at the Jersey Shore. :laugh:

As far as street cars go, every one I have ever seen (and there have been many including on my first Bugeye within first 30 days of ownership when in high school), breaks at the diff. I've seen a couple Morris Minors and they break the same way. Some of that might be because people mix up sides, but I've never seen a street car break at the hub. I have a friend with a Morris Minor van, who's axle nut came off allowing the axle to slide out about a foot and even that didn't snap the flange. Luckily he was only going a couple MPH as he was just about stopped at a stop sign. He did break a couple axles before that at diff though.

 

[Nelson]

I've only had one axle break and that was at the hub. I wasn't even pushing hard, just casually driving away from a stop sign. It was my original axle and had been in a number of gymkhanas though. At least it was an easy roadside repair.

 

[ichthos]

Just to make sure, the left and right axles are the same, correct?
Kevin

 

[Gerard]

Just to make sure, the left and right axles are the same, correct?
Kevin

Kevin,

They are the same but you should not use them interchangeably. The one originally used on the right, should remain on the right. Ditto on the left. Swapping sides will toque them in the opposite direction and make them prone to weakening/breakage. If you are buying new, it doesn't matter.

 

[ichthos]

So using a used spare in which I do not know what side it was from originally is a bad idea? Also, if the splines are slightly twisted where they go into the pumpkin, does this mean the axle is bad? I will not be home for a couple of days or I would have posted a pic. One of my axles was broken at the pumpkin end when I bought the car. I am not sure of the other axle and just wanted a spare just in case. After all my other problems are sorted out, I want to take a trip down the Pacific Coast to the Southwest next summer. I just wanted to have spares just in case.
Kevin

 

[Trevor Jessie]

I'm using axles in my car that I have no idea which side they came from. They had no visible twist or wear that I could see/measure. They've held up very well (they were from a rubber bumper car). Maybe I got lucky and put them in the correct side. Or maybe it doesn't matter if they have been gently used. I don't know.

Yes,the splines should be dead straight. If they are twisted, then toss the axle.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Actually, bad axles can be used as horseshoe pegs. They have a nice ring to them.

 

[aeronca65t]

Just to make sure, the left and right axles are the same, correct?
Kevin

Yes. But some folks don't like to mix them up once worn.