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9" axles are giving me a lot of headaches.

I assumed both rear axles on the same vehicle would be interchangeable.

I am putting an axle out of a donor truck into my '65 F100, and it lacks 1/8" to going all of the way in. So I took the axle out of the other side, (rt side) and test fit it into the left side, same problem, will not go the last 1/8" in.

All of the axles are the same length easily within 1/16". It is not a Trac loc.

I put grease on the end of the axle and it all squashes off, leading me to believe the axle is too long, or there is something wrong in the pumpkin.

The reason I am replacing the axle is because is slid out as I was driving about a foot or so.

This should be a job a 5 year old could do. I am considering putting washers (shims) behind the bearing retainer plate to take up the 1/8" and go with it.

One more factoid, the rear end assy is not original to the truck, I have no idea what it is out of. The spare axles I have are out of the original axle assy from the truck. They are all 28 spline and the same length.
 
I cannot believe not even one reply. I figured it out with help from the FEForums, the previous owner put a 2.75/1 3rd member in it, and the ring gear is a lot wider than the original ring gear, causing the axle to hit, therefore pushing the axle out as I drove. The idiot mechanic tightened the bearing flange down and let the truck go even though the axle was in a bind.
 

blacksnapon

Moderator
Staff member
No response because with older trucks, you don't know what's been done to them previously, and if it was one correctly. When thousandths clearances and minute "play" makes a tremendous difference, accurate advice is impossible. I was going to suggest that the axle wasn't engaging the side gears sufficiently. If clutches on a limited slip differential aren't aligned, your exact symptom occurs, but I was trusting you knowing the difference in an open rear and a limited slip. Clutches can be difficult to see the way that they are tucked in there.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
I cannot believe not even one reply. I figured it out with help from the FEForums, the previous owner put a 2.75/1 3rd member in it, and the ring gear is a lot wider than the original ring gear, causing the axle to hit, therefore pushing the axle out as I drove. The idiot mechanic tightened the bearing flange down and let the truck go even though the axle was in a bind.

The other issue is that you posted your question in a forum where only one person (our resident super tech :D) can answer, nobody else can.
 

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