Rear Axle Shims Problem

[Jeeps4Brains]

In the last post I was having problems getting the carrier out of the housing. I am glad to say heating the housing with the torches and getting my 200lb son to sit on the long side of the housing worked.

Well the bearings have seen better days so I pulled them off of the carrier and I found something with the shims I have not seen before.

I am going to try and link to an image for the 1st time:

Well the photo link didn't work so I changed them to URLs

http://alanspearman.myphotoalbum.com/vi ... le_Shims_1

The bearing on the side where the shim is bad was not on very tight. Could the bearing be turning on the mounting and ruining the shim? Any ideas?

The other two shims on that side had indents in them. See the next picture:

http://alanspearman.myphotoalbum.com/vi ... le_Shims_2

I will have to get new shims and try to figure out the preload on the rear just like I did for the front.

Thanks, Alan

[BobW]

It does look like the bearing was spinning on the carrier. Make sure the new bearings fit tightly on the carrier so it doesn't happen again. It might be time for a new carrier.

[Ryan_Miller]

I think Bob is right. You might have the carrier checked out with a professional.
Better to do it right the first time!

[Jeeps4Brains]

I measured both sides of the carrier shaft in multiple places and only came up with around .01 difference in only one spot on the side where the bearings were spinning. The rest of the differences were in the .00# range. I measured the bearings ID and did not come up with any major differences. I looked on the side of the race that faces the hub end, the more flat side. I saw signs that the race had been turning as well. That confuses me, as I would have expected the bearing to be the only thing spinning. How could the race turn under the pressure of the cap?

Are the differences I measured enough to allow the bearing to spin?

[Ryan_Miller]

Wes would be able to tell you better than I could on your tolerances.

If the race was turning, then I would say that there was enough friction/wear to allow it to happen.

Another reason to keep up the with the maintinance schedule.

I would still take it by a professional and let them look it over. Nothing beats hands on when determining something like this.

[BobW]

Usually when a bearing race has "spun" it is because the bearing failed and locked up. If your bearing looks good perhaps someone already replaced a failed bearing and reused the old shims. An out of round hub on the carrier can deform the bearing inner race when it is pressed on. This could cause uneven wear and shorten bearing life.