The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 41 3/4 Ton Light Duty Rear Axle

I pulled my rear axle apart thinking the 2 pinion bearings were bad but found they are the only 2 that are good. Appears at some time there has been some water in the rear. The damage I'm concerned about is the axle shafts. There is some pitting on one side of the bearing surface of the axles.

Axle Photo

If I polish these pits before installing new bearings how long is it likely to last? I only drive this truck a couple hundred miles a year I'm trying to decide if I want to spend over $300 on carrier,wheel bearings and seals.

I have another axle from a 57 truck that is in good shape that I think I can make fit but will have to re-do the brakes & pinion seal.

Hi Harold;
I had the same issue. I had a machine shop make a 1/2 wide donut that I placed in the axle housing. The new rubber oil seals are thinner. Another stovebolter did the same thing and located a seal that fits the outer larger ring on the axle housing. This could let you use an even wider spacer. The only other fix I can think of is to hard chrome the axle and regrind it. I searched across the US and I could not find any place to buy or make new axles for this truck. There are photos in my photobucket of what I did.

Thanks,
I could only move the bearings less than 1/4" before it gets into a much rougher area. Plus the seal area is so rough I doubt a modern rubber seal will seal. I may only replace the carrier bearings see how it does.

Another option is to bore the axle housing deeper but I suspect a machine shop would charge quite a bit for the set up.