C1 Axles. What holds them in?

[Bob B.]

Hi all,

I just want to make sure that my axles are in correctly. I put the metal cover on the axle and had new bearings pressed onto the axles. Then I slid the brake backing plate on, inserted the axle into the housing, and tightened down the four bolts that hold the cover and back plate onto the end of the axle housing.

I am concerned about whether there is something else that holds the axles in other than just this cover. Is there something that holds the axles in securely? Should I somehow have the axles pressed into the housing? Or ?

Thanks,

Bob

[David B.]

Re: C1 Axles. What holds them in?

Bob,
That all sounds correct. I just did both rear axle bearings on my C-1. What holds the axles in is the retaining ring that presses onto the axle, just to the inside of the bearing. This holds the axle in place and prevents it from slipping through the bearing, and retainer plate which holds the bearing. The axles do not get pressed into the bearing per se. You may have to tap them a bit to get the grooves to fit into the differential is all but that is not what holds them. Some racers actually welded the retainers to the axles in the past but it is not necessary to securely hold the axles for normal use.
If this doesn't answer it well enough, I may be able to send some photos of my rebuild sequence.
Dave B.

[John M.]

Re: C1 Axles. What holds them in?

Bob,

The axle bearings should have had O-rings on the O.D. of the bearing to seal against the housing, so they would not press in. The retainer is all the keeps the axle in. The bearings should have had a retainer ring pressed on to the inside of housing to keep the bearings from moving inboard. There should also be a gasket between the retainer and the brake backing plate to keep any gear lube the gets past the O-rings or seals from running into the brake area. If you look closely, you will see that the gear lube will come out on the inboard side of the brake backing plates, if the gasket is installed. This will make the leak more obvious to a casual glance.

Regards, John McGraw

[John H.]

Re: C1 Axles. What holds them in?

Here are the installation instructions from Hyatt for the C1 rear wheel bearings, including the pressed-on retainer ring (a/k/a "lock ring").