The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts driveline

My 48 Loadmaster has about a half round of play in the drive line. How much is too much?You can rotate the yoke on the rear almost 180 degrees before it engages the axles. It has a two speed. I think the play is in the reduction gearing where the two speed is located. I haven't removed the rear cover to inspect as yet. I don't have any weird noises to indicate a problem. Any ideas?

Thanks,
JMH

Its probably a combination of slack in your side gears, your ring and pinion and the planetary gears in the 2 speed. If it isn't making strange noises, I would leave it alone. There is nothing you can really fix short of a complete rebuild.

Here we go again.Against my better judgement how big a job is a rebuild and can you find parts should I dare to attempt this.

JMH

I think parts probably could be found, but a complete rebuild is an expensive ordeal. If it were mine, I would look around for a used one with less slack and drive this one in the meantime. Used 2 ton farm trucks can often be bought for less than a rear end rebuild, and then you would have a bunch of spare parts. 46 through 51 uses the same third member. 52 and 53 can be made to work with changing side gears.