I pulled my right side rear axle shaft out of the rear end. Something was making a strange grinding noise which would get louder if I turned to the left and would quiet down if I turned to the right.
Well the bearing looks beautiful, but I will have to grease it some how, but here are my questions.
- Is the outer race, the one that fits inside of the rear axle, supposed to come off of the rear axle? I mean I just used 2 fingers and it easily came out.
- The inner seal is broken so I am thinking about replacing it. Easy to install? Or leave it alone?
- The bearing feels good and looks good so I will lubricate it before installation. Is it lubricated with wheel bearing grease or gear lube?
The problem was the brake adjusting cable rusted away and part of it fell down and must have hit the drum only sometimes. So new brake shoes and hardware is in order. I am glad I popped out that axle shaft to take a peek though. ;-) I just used the reverse steel wheel on the hub and hit it with a baby sledge trick. Popped right out too!
I have a spare Axle Shaft that is an inch or two longer than my right side shaft on my Dana 35. Could this be for the left side? Or for the Dana 44?
TIA!