dana 35 axle bearing

Did seals and an axle bearing on an 87, now the brake drum rubs on the backing plate. Is it possible to press the bearing on TOO far?

silent_bob said:

Did seals and an axle bearing on an 87, now the brake drum rubs on the backing plate. Is it possible to press the bearing on TOO far?

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As far as I know, no. I seem to recall there being a "positive stop" (read: "ledge") on the shaft that prevents that. You press the inner race (cone) onto the shaft until it hits that stop, and you're good.

QC issue - is the new bearing the same width as the old? It's rare, but it happens. It's also possible that the web of the drum got slightly bowed when you removed it, or that something that was providing some space between the shaft flange and the drum web fell off while you were working.

Just a thought...

5-90 the new drum was swaped with the other new drum from the other side and it still rubbed. Even grabbed the old drum & it rubbed, so it's GOT to be a bearing issue.

5-90 said:

As far as I know, no. I seem to recall there being a "positive stop" (read: "ledge") on the shaft that prevents that. You press the inner race (cone) onto the shaft until it hits that stop, and you're good.

QC issue - is the new bearing the same width as the old? It's rare, but it happens. It's also possible that the web of the drum got slightly bowed when you removed it, or that something that was providing some space between the shaft flange and the drum web fell off while you were working.

Just a thought...

Click to expand...

It has to be a bearing issue.

silent_bob said:

It has to be a bearing issue.

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Note that was the first thing I mentioned - that the new bearing may be a bit narrower than the old one was. I've run into that - it's rare, I think it's happened to me twice in the last few dozen years...

5-90 said:

Note that was the first thing I mentioned - that the new bearing may be a bit narrower than the old one was. I've run into that - it's rare, I think it's happened to me twice in the last few dozen years...

Click to expand...

So is there a differant bearing Or does the drum or backing plate just need to be CLEARANCED? If you know what I mean.

silent_bob said:

So is there a differant bearing Or does the drum or backing plate just need to be CLEARANCED? If you know what I mean.

Click to expand...

Both times I'd run across this, it was that the bearing wasn't manufactured quite right - and the inner cone was something like .010-.015" thinner side-to-side than the bearing it replaced. This was where there was a single bearing listed for fitment - so it wasn't due to a mis-picked bearing. And I recall that the numbers etched into the bearings were correct for what was printed on the box, so that wasn't it.

They'd just ground the inner race a little too much!

Fixes? You can let the drum "self-clearance" (the drum will probably wear down vice the backing plate, since the plate is steel.)

You can use a surface grinder (or an angle grinder, a firm mount for the drum, a solid workbench, and a very steady hand!) to clearance the drum straight away. Jack up the rear end and see if the wheel turns by hand, and how much effort it takes over a wheel that turns freely. This should give you an idea of how much you need to take off (more than .005" with everything torqued down properly will probably lock up the wheel outright.) It won't be much! Bear that in mind...) Clearancing the drum will be easier than clearancing the plate, since you can remove the drum and mount it somewhere convenient for you to work on.

You can check the numbers on the bearing, and see about getting a replacement from the shop - this will depend on your working relationship with them. Let them press the bearing off instead of cutting it off - if it's a manufacturing defect, the manufacturer will want it back for SA/SPC (statistical analysis/statistical process control. It's important that they not only know "what" - but "how much" to correct their tooling.)