Good morning again, listers.
I was under the '74 B last night checking and greasing the u-joints and I
found an awful lot of play in the differential. There's a flange on the
input shaft of the differential. I can turn the driveshaft so the edge of
the flange moves about 3/8" (compared to the differential housing) without
the wheels turning. Wow.
I know these axles tend to get some play in them, but how much is too much?
Beyond that, how far can this go before I start breaking teeth? Lastly, is
this a matter of replacing thrust washers, or replacing differential gears?
The other odd thing, is that I was expecting to find a grease fitting in the
sliding splined shaft just behind the front u-joint. What I found was a
small machine screw loosely screwed into a threaded hole just behind the
yoke. This hole doesn't look big enough for a grease fitting, but I can't
figure out what else it would be for, or why a small machine screw should be
in this hole. What's that all about?
Thanks again.
Matt Kulka
'74 B - With all that play, no wonder it's so much fun to drive.
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