keithb7

I opened up the right axle today. This being my second time in there now, I had some experience! This time I knew what to pay more attention to now that I had my head wrapped around the design, placement of parts, and the right tools for the job. I did buy a slide hammer kit on Friday evening. That made pulling the inner seals an absolute breeze. The RH axle was harder to pull using the "drum-hammering" method as described above by @Dodgeb4ya. With a little perseverance it came off. The bearing had not failed but it was lumpy after I cleaned it and rotated it by hand. Here is what I found when I got into things. I'm certainly enjoying this project. I am now pretty sure there is where my howling noise was coming from. In the interest of contributing to this great group, I will share this quick video. Those who have not been in their axles may learn something. This all reminds me of a saying an old guy told me 30 years ago. "There is no substitute for experience. Read and study all you like, but you must gain experience", he said. That discussion has replayed in my head so many times in my life.

Parts ordered. New Tiimken bearings and inner & outer seals. Both sides. Now we sit back, have a cold one and wait. Oh the joys of shipping times up here in Canada.

When I pulled the axle I was able to see that the grease cavity behind the cone only had the recent grease in it that I added this spring. It was not much compared to the area. I was guessing how much to put in there as I had no idea if the previous owner ever greased this. I am doubtful now that I have seen it apart, that the previous owner ever added any grease here. I cleaned up the bearing as you said and it does not feel smooth as I'd like. I'm in this far now I will replace these bearings and both seals. I watched a few YT videos on removing and installing bearings. I think I may have some contacts with a shop press in their garage so we can do this. I will order new inner seals as well so I should be well and good for a some years, as well as piece of mind on longer trips. This may or may not address the howling I heard but is part of my goal to get through this part of the car for reliability and piece of mind. Once back together I will test ride and then consider the inner bearings if needed. I drained the diff today. No chunks and the oil appears clean of any, at least visible, metal flakes or particles.

Dodgeb4ya nailed it. The drum worked quickly. Thanks folks. Next hurdle. Getting the pressed-on bearing off the axle shaft. Any more backyard tricks?

Hmm...https://youtu.be/X9CBYR5ue64

Double post.

I got to thinking. When I first went in behind my drums for the first time I found this. I had no spare seal so I cleaned it up and reassembled. No sign of any leakage in 1000 miles since I cleaned it up. Yet, who knows how long this has been going on? I greased the bearing this spring. I figure I may as well start the discovery by checking this outer bearing. So as soon as I got home from work today I dove into it. While I was preparing to pull the drum (waiting for my dear wife to hold the brake pedal down) I spun the drum. It did not turn nice and smooth. It felt a little bit lumpy. I figure bingo, gotta be this outer bearing. We shall see. The back side of the outer seal is in poor shape. Some tracing of rust too. I got this far and I am without a puller to remove the axle. I am headed off to see what I can round up. Any suggestions what I need here to pull the axle? Will a slide hammer do it? Looking in the manual they show a cone shaped puller with a threaded rod and a T handle. Hmm...

I suspect that was the case John however with my limited axle bearing experience, I wanted hear from others. Sort of along these lines:? In a tapered roller bearing, as the rollers wear, clearance between the roller and cup increases. During a turn the weight of the car rolls to the left or right. Add inertia, then theres quite an increased load on a bearing. Especially an outer. As the increased wear allows for more movement, the cone to cup fit starts to increase. The bearing may now start milling into the cup and getting noisy at times. Although on a very small scale, it indeed does compound if not addressed. I’m going in. I’ll start with the outer bearings and see what they look like. I will replace them regardless as service history is unknowm.

I have not yet had the opportunity to swerve side to side while maintaining the speed required to hear the noise. The roads up around my house are winding and not ideal to do this. I can tell you that I hear the howl while going up the hill when I either steer left or right up the twisty turns. A trip on a straighter wide road with no trafffic may be required fo swerve at the required speed. An old airport runway would be ideal. None around here. The old girl may not take much of a liking to swirving at 30 Mph. Lol. I may consider trying it though. My concern now is any trip in the car could potentially lead to a full bearing failure with a slew of contingent damage.

1953 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe C-60. I have been hearing a howl starting to develop, in what I think is the rear end maybe. It seems to be happening under certain conditions. I notice the sound climbing up the big hill back home. Only when navigating a turn in the road on the way up only. Going down the hill, or driving around town, where it's flat I don't hear it. Last night coming up the hill I experimented a little. I could hear it on the turns on the way up. I put the tranny in neutral at the top, where it's flat again and coasted for a bit. No noise. Made the last turn in before my driveway, coasting in neutral and the sound was there for sure. I suspect maybe an inner axle bearing? I am not 100% sure on the workings of the diff. When I turn the car, the internal side and pinion gears walk around inside the diff case. Correct? This only happens while turning, when one wheel is turning faster than the other. There are no bearings to support these side and pinion gears. Just pinion shafts and everything is submerged in the diff oil. A couple of things I am thinking. When I climb the hill home, the car is working it's hardest using every ounce of torque to maintain 30 or so mph. Is the diff under a fair amount of stress at this time? A failing bearing getting hot under this condition? The oil is topped up, I check it as part of my routine. Maybe I am mis-diagnosing. If it were an inner or outer axle bearing, would it not make the howling noise at any time the axle it spinning? Straight while cruising around town too? Next steps, I will drain the diff oil and see if anything comes out. I'll look for shiny small pieces of bearing material suspended in the oil. Is there a way to jack up the axle and turn the wheels to troubleshoot? Any tips? While jacked up, is it possible to hold one rear wheel still while turning the other to get the diff gears turning? Maybe right after I climb the hill? I'd hate to dive in and start ripping stuff apart before diagnosing things properly. A failed bearing could be catastrophic to the diff if a bearing roller went through some gear sets. Likely taking off some gear teeth with it I suspect. Maybe I will proceed to pull the carrier and get a good look. At the same time slide the axles out and change outer bearings and seals. I have never done this work before, but I think I can handle a good portion of it. Comments, tips appreciated, especially on the troubleshooting. Thanks. - Keith

Outer seal seen here:

#1 and 2 bearing cone & cup. #3 seal. Outer seal not shown is pressed in to brake backing plate.

When viewed from the axle wheel end the axle has an inner seal behind a single outer bearing. Then there is an outer seal that is pressed into the brake backing plate. So 1 bearing and 2 seals per outboard side. The inboard axle bearing, the diff has to be pulled to access.

This one is a little easier for me to understand. From my 1953 C60. Hydraulic Operated Simplimatic transmission.

Does this help any? It confuses me somewhat.

Yes two wires into 1 connector. I’m not sure what retainer plate you are referring to. I don’t see a male spade near these connections.

That was interesting. Thanks for sharing. It is amazing to hear what a huge impact Mopar autos had on these towns. The number of employees and the sizes of the factories is staggering.

Where would one go about ordering this pivot mount? I could use one. Thanks.

Thinking of going with this for a couple of reasons. Safety is a big one. Anyone installed one of these? Comments? http://www.ecihotrodbrakes.com/chrysler_master_assemblies.html

Went for about a 75 mile cruise this morning. A little town north of here. Barriere BC. Got up early and headed out. Great run. Kept the tank over ¼ full and no issues. 2 lane hiway. I kept my speed at about 50-55 mph. Was nice with some twisty roads and nice scenery. Sneaking up to the 1,000 mile mark for 2018 cruising. That's the North Thompson River seen in the photo. If any of you have been to the Canadian Rockies, the river begins not far from the west side of it's foothills. Not too far from Mount Robson, our tallest here in the Canadian Rockies.

Thanks. Usually a sign of a crappy seal or excessive bore wear I assume?

I was under my '53 Chyrsler today with a light doing a regular general inspection. Looking for signs of something needing maintenance. I noticed a drip of fluid handing right off the bottom of master cylinder boot. I touched it to see that it was brake fluid. This is a little concerning. I just rebuilt the master cylinder this winter. Shouldn't it be dry inside the boot where the push rood meets the piston? I assume brake fluid is somehow getting past the secondary cup. The brakes seem to work pretty well. I noticed that my pedal travel was increasing a bit lately. Just yesterday I adjusted my front shoes closer to the drums. I definitely noticed and improvement with less pedal travel when I took it out for a cruise last night. I was planning to do the major adjust on the rears today. However I found this brake fluid in the boot and stopped there. Piston stop is in place. Maybe my cylinder bore is worn just enough to let some fluid get by the secondary cup? Comments and advice appreciated. Thanks, Keith

Found a couple more pics to compliment this thread...Its turning out real nice. Thanks for making it so folks!