Hi There,
Finally picked up a RR axle shaft today after way too many years on a bent one. I got lucky and picked one up at the pullapart yard in Nashville (pullapart.com). There aren't too many 86's around anymore; the two they had there were "picked clean" and will be on the way to the crusher before long. There didn't appear to be any leakage around the case where the backing plate attaches, so I figured this had been closed since the pickup was manufactured.
I noticed when I removed the axle shaft (kept the backing plate on BTW) that there was some play in the bearing. I could move the axle shaft around. Before I loosened the four nuts to remove the shaft I didn't detect any play in the shaft. It turned freely in the differential.
Is some play normal? Bearings are about $40, and maybe I should go ahead and put a new one in anyway. I'll have to get someone to press the old one out and the new one in; it looks like a bear if you don't have the right equipment.
TIA, Kevin