I am in the process of putting the rear suspension back together in my 71 coupe. Its a 3:08 rear with no problems except one that I notice after it was removed. The left output yoke just slides out. It looks as though there is supposed to be a clip on the very end of the spline. Is it ok to run it that way? Is it something that could be corrected without diassembling the rear? What will it damage if I leave it the way it is.?
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Re: rear end
This is very dangerous and the stub yoke needs to be retained in the differential case posi unit. The c-clips retain the yoke as you mention, and this is part of the 3 link suspension. Now is the time to pull the carrier down and correct this dangerous situation. Check the end of the axle for wear, did the clip come off due to wear on the end allowing it to come out of the groove? You may well need a rebuild and new yokes....Craig -
Re: rear end
Also, be very careful removing the tension from the transverse leaf rear spring and follow correct procedures to prevent breaking ears off the rear cover asm....CraigComment
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Re: rear end
Actually running it that way will cause no problems unless you are engaged in some all out hard cornering where the weight of the car is overcome by the side force. This does not happen under normal conditions. Now as stated you should determine what has caused the clip to come off. If the shaft is worn to the point that the clip has come off, it should be replaced, if not you could wait with no ill effects.Comment
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Re: rear end
Thank you for your imput both oppions make sense but I find mayself trying to be both logical and thrifty. This rear was rebuilt about 15,000 miles ago my a previous owner. I had the cover off and found no sign of the clip or of any damage. The unit is presently remounted in the car along with new trailing arms, struts, and the spring etc. etc. I actual had forgotten about the yoke until today. I have not driven the car yet in fact I had planned to retighten all the bolts then take it off the lift. The problem now is do stop drop it or try it.Comment
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Re: rear end
Henry,
Fix it. Why take a chance on losing it. My $.02
DonThe light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.Comment
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Re: rear end
I wouldn't even consider putting it back together without fixing it. If it was rebuilt by a previous owner, did he put it back in this way? Either he put it back in with the clip gone or it's hiding from you somewhere and if it ends up between the ring and pinion you won't like the outcome. How's the end play on the other side that has a clip? If it's a wear on the yoke issue it's a double edged sword. The more they wear, the more the camber goes negative and the faster they wear. We've had em come in the shop with the ends of the U bolts digging in the housing, eating the seal and the area that retained it.Comment
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I find it hard to believe
that GM engineering would approve the use some flimsy 10 cent circlips to retain the yokes, if indeed they were subjected to tensional stress during normal (or even abnormal) operation.
Simple analysis indicates that there is a compresive load on the yokes at all times the wheels are on the ground. I believe the tires lose traction before side forces become high enough to put the yoke in tension.
I was under the impression that the circlips were there more or less for GM's convenience during assembly, similar to the fabled rivets on the rotors.
There's lots of cars running around with no circlips, either accidentally or deliberately, how come no one has ever come forward with evidence of a yoke popping out?Comment
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Re: rear end
I agree that it should be fixed, but at the same time it will cause no real problems. The fact that it wears from continuous weight on the end of the shaft and a loss of the case hardning is proof that it will not come out. I dont think that negative camber will increase the rate of wear. Increased rate of wear is caused by soft materials after the case hardning is removed. The clip is another thing. If it is already fallen dowm into the case it will not be picked up into the gears, but there is a chance that it is hanging there and could get in the gears. This is not a good thing and is chancy. I have seen clips ground up into little pieces with no noticable effect. I have seen chips out of gears again with no noticable effect, but you do not want this to happen. The fact that it has 15K miles on it already would probably mean that no further damages are likely. The choice is yours to make.Comment
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Re: rear end
Your comment: "I dont think that negative camber will increase the rate of wear"
There's no question that suspension sag and negative camber increase the inward load on the yoke. Increased load produces wear. Hold a tire/wheel assembly perpendicular and compare the load to a tire leaned at 45 degrees. Of course the weight of the car multiplies this load through the leverage of the angle.Comment
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Re: rear end
Wayne - I understand your point about the inward force, but I made my comments based on input from Charlie Smith in several Bloomington classes. He had a close friend, Jungle Jim Lieberman, killed in a vette accident during lane changes on a tollway in Chicago due to circlip failure on the stub yokes. Basically, during lane changes, these can move in and out, based on suspension forces, and can affect driveability. In this case with Jungle Jim, the vette violently swerved casuing a serious crash as speed. I won't argue he may have been pushing it, given the person and his racing background, but Charlie feels personally very strongly this is a serious safety issue, and wouldn't get it a vette with the rear end in this condition.He commented on two or three other cases of serious accidents with this being the cause. He has done upwards of 8000 rear ends and specializes shipping all over the world, so I trust his input. Seems like a small item to fix for safety and peace of mind...CraigComment
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Posting clock off???
Wow, that is weird...just posted at 11:01 PM MST, 10:01 PM PST. The post shows at 4:31PM PST....what gives??Comment
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