Rear knocking

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Did you use locktite on the retaining bolt for the cross pin?

 

[pjtoledo]

tell us exactly how you hammered the bearings in. what tool did you use.
get one wheel at a time off the ground and rotate it. you should be able to feel the clunk/catch/bump or whatever.
does it repeat in the same spot?
one side only or both?

 

[Michaelolson88]

I used a bearing driver for the initial hammer in and used the old bearing and bearing driver to fully seat it. Made sure to drive all the way until I saw the lip and that you could hear a difference of sound resonate through the axle. When I get home from work today I’ll do some more tinkering and report back. At the very least to help anyone else out that might have a similar issue.
This was the install that I followed.

 

[Michaelolson88]

 

[Jazzer]

Sounds like you used good procedure on the races- with the exception (rare) of really bad factory bearings you can give that lower importance.

 

[Michaelolson88]

Well I’ve got the wheel and the drums back off. How much play should be in the axle up and down?! I’d upload a video but doesn’t look like I can. Maybe 1/16 up and down. Seems like that might be the culprit. My driver side has little play but my passenger has more. Both bearings were the same brand, Maybe I received one bad bearing.

 

[sgtsandman]

A 1/16" of movement seems a bit excessive to me. Granted there is going to be some, or you would never be able to get the axle shafts in or out of the housing. But a 1/16th...

 

[Michaelolson88]

Yeah one side felt much looser than the other. I’m just gonna bite the bullet and buy new fluid and another bearing and seal for one side and exchange it out. Also I put it on jacks and put it in drive, couldnt hear anything odd with just the tires spinning freely with no weight on them

 

[Michaelolson88]

https://youtube.com/shorts/HMWyTin7Xl0?si=lEwkx4gneCPN1umV

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Check where the bearing runs on the axle. That can wear which will eat the seal and allow for excessive vertical movement of the axle.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yeah, you shouldn’t have play up and down, it should be close to a press fit into the bearing. I’m sure there’s some spec for allowable play, but it should be near zero. Either the bearing is bad or the axle shaft is. Replacement shafts are available. Also, you may be able to get away with using a “repair bearing and seal” because it shifts them outward. You do need to rip the inner seal off them though if you want oil to get to the bearing.

 

[Michaelolson88]

Just an update for yall all in case anyone else has this problem. The main issue was my inexperience on this one haha. After noticing the play I went ahead and ordered the axle shaft bearing and seal kit which I’m very glad I did. Opened everything up and pulled out the axle shaft and compared it to the new one and immediately felt like an idiot. The original was completely toast. The ring wear that formed around the shaft was very deep but also uniform and because I’d never done this before just assumed that the ring wear was normal…. DOh!! One thing I also didn’t do which I realize should be an automatic is to slide the bearings and seal over the shaft first to make sure it has a tight fit. Well now I know. All in all I gained some valuable knowledge and still saved money over bringing it in somewhere. Thanks again for everyone’s responses. It’s so helpful having a group of people to bounce problems off of.