Hey guys. I'm brand new here. I recently got my first Olds. It's a 67 Cutlass Supreme Convertible. Needless to say, I love it. It runs great and has no major issues (until this week!). In fact, I bought it and immediately drove it 1000 miles with no issues. However, this week I noticed a strange sound from my left rear wheel. Specifically, after coming out of a turn it would sound like the axle had actually slid out a few inches and the tire was rubbing on the lip of the fender. I thought, "surely that's impossible". The car is lowered, so I thought that might be part of it, but the tires don't usually rub...therefore they shouldn't be rubbing while driving on a flat, straight road. Well, it happened a few more times and I elected to remove the axle to inspect the bearing. When I started pulling on the axle, ball bearings actually started to fall out of the axle housing (I know, not good). Once I got the axle out, it was evident that that bearing had completely come apart (see picture). The axle and axle housing APPEAR to been in good shape, but I don't have much experience with axle bearings. My plan is to have new bearings pressed onto both axles and go on with my business. Is this a dumb idea? Is the failed bearing a signal of a more serious issue? (Of note, the axle seems to be fairly new. The previous owner did not mention replacing it, but previous owners rarely tell the whole truth.)

Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

Sorry guys. I don't yet know how to upload pictures. Once I figure it out, I'll attach them to this thread.

 

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welcome to CO!

As long as everything else looks okay which the pictures I didn't catch anything wrong, but that doesn't mean there isn't. yes replace the bearings and you should be okay.

-Brandon

 

A bearing on a 45 yr old car is a 'wear item' to me, and I'd probably forget to mention it to a buyer!
Have seen them last 10 yrs, and know 55 year old cars that're still original - totally unpredictable as to how long they last!
Inspect the housing end - with luck the bearing didn't seize, requiring a machine shop to repair the oversize end, or a different housing.
And you'll need to run a magnet down the end that failed, drain the fluid, and run the magnet over everything!!
Those bearings and pieces can ruin a ring and pinion in a quarter second!!

 

Thanks guys. I found a machine shop nearby where I'll have the work done. Unfortunately, I cannot find new axle bearings locally. I figured they'd be an easy pickup at my local parts store, but I guessed wrong. Any suggestions on where to get some? I've been searching for "67 Cutlass axle bearings". Are they actually called that, or is there a more specific name for them?

Also, while pulling the remains of the old bearing from the axle housing, I found a little ring that appears to be a coil of some type. Does anyone recognize this? I'm assuming it's a part of the old bearing, but not sure. It could be a seal or bushing of some type.

photo.jpg

 

that ring appears to be part of the axle seal

 

You are going to need a new axel too, it looks like the bearing spun!

 

On a good note, I found the bearings and seals at Napa. I'm bringing it all to the machine shop tomorrow. I hope the machinist tells me the axle is still good, but I'm prepared for the worst.

 

Axle looks good to me also, just inner race of wheel bearing left on axle, machine shop will either cut with a torch or use a cut off wheel to cut most of the way through and snap the rest with a cold chiesel.

Good advice by running a maganet through every thing and change fluid.

Pat

 

The axel can be only 1000'ths of an inch off and it will be junk, my money says it is spun and will need to be replaced. Please let us know what the machine shop says!

 

Nice car (but I am a little biased to lowered 66/67 convertibles )

Make sure the inspect the axle very carefully. Is it is off it can be spray welded and remachined.

 

99% of machinest will not attempt to weld and re machine an axle due to the heat treated nature of the finished axle. I just had to buy a new one which is probably much cheaper than paying someone to re machine it, why skimp?

 

All good info. If I have to buy a new axle, any recommendations on suppliers? Never bought one before.

 

I just bought mine from OPGI, ( I could not find anyone else selling them new) 238$ shipped. Back ordered and I waited for about 3 weeks. My original one was spun so little that it was barely visible to the naked eye. There are people on here that will sell you used ones, post a part wanted ad and ask that they have the shaft measured where the bearing sits. I think it should be 1.38" ....may want to double check that.

 

You will have a hard time finding a new one. You might have to find good used or custom made. Don't discount spray welding. Talk to your machinist about your options.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/YGA-21289/

 

Ok thanks guys. Update: after further inspection, the inside of the axle tube is pretty mangled from the destroyed bearing. So, the axle might be damaged and the tube is definitely damaged. So, I decided to drop the rear end and take the whole thing to the machine shop to get their opinion. If they can press a new driver side tube onto the differential, I might go that route. If that proves to difficult, I might elect to go with a whole new custom rear end. That will be VERY pricey, but at least I'll be starting with all new gear back there and I could upgrade to rear disk brakes. I'll keep everyone posted. Your thoughts?

 

You don't say where you're located, but if you're close to 507olds (Erie, PA area) or monzaz (Richfield, OH), I'm pretty sure either of those guys could hook you up with whatever it turns out you need.

 

I stand corrected.

 

Ok, here's an update: I was concerned about the condtion of the axle tube after the bearing came apart. So, I dropped the whole rear end and brought it to a custom hot rod shop to assess the damage. Fortunately, they said it looked great. The same day, I dropped off the axle at the machine shop. The machinist said the axle was in great shape as well (wheeww!). Interestingly, the "race", which is visible on my picture above, is actually part of the bearing and not part of the axle. (I say race, but not sure if that's the proper term...I'm talking about the valley where the ball bearings sit.) The machine shop is removing the old bearing and retainer and installing the new ones. Once I get it back, I plan to put the whole thing back togther and let everyone know how it went. BTW, dropping the rear end was easy, but I think lining up all those bolts during install will be a real pain! We'll see...

Copper128, I'm in Virginia Beach, VA. I'll update my profile.

 

i presume you'll be checking the rest of the rear end out now? maybe change the lube in there too.


bill

 

Yes, I plan to change the gear oil, inspect the gears, replace the brake shoes, and clean/paint the whole unit. BTW, does anyone know how to add new gear oil to the differential? I didn't notice a fill plug at the top of the housing.

 

The fill plug should be on the rear cover.

- Eric

 

Lucky you!

Recently I pulled two axles from a '64 Jetstar 88 for a guy overseas. ONE YEAR and ONE MODEL ONLY uses these axles. Bought new bearings for them. All set to ship to Europe when I noticed that the one bearing was loose not between the RACES but INNER RACE TO SHAFT. Had spun very badly. I removed the collar to inspect and found the shaft was worn severely. Like at least 0.100" off the diameter. So, the fellow in the Netherlands got ONE axle and two new bearings.

Fill plug is usually RH side, front half, about midway up/down.

 

Whoops.

Thanks!

- Eric

 

Buy AMERICAN USA made bearings! If you go with offshore you will be performing this repair again shortly. Ask how I know. Do both sides too.
A tip here: I pop off the new inner bearing seal clean & repack the bearing and fill that whole cavity with grease between the seal and bearing. Slightly over fill the axle with high quality dinosaur juice. This way when you’re cornering the bearing will get some of that oil that may leak past the seal. I always repack these bearings with high quality grease. IMO The bearing manufacture doesn't apply enough grease and who knows how long it’s been sitting on a shelf? Also apply some type of sealant to the bearing seat area before inserting it so the grease & axle juice won’t wick out around the bearing. Same goes for the seal seat. Pack the inside of the seal with wheel bearing grease. It helps retain the seal spring if present and insures it won’t roll out when inserting the axles. Make sure you properly dress the seal surface on the axle or it will wick oil out on to the brakes. If there’s a groove on the axle clean and fill with JB Weld. Dress it with emery then install a speedy sleeve over the repair.
I have been doing this mod on O type axles for many years. I have not had one come back for failure. These axles are noted for outer bearing failures.

 

And if it was me, I'd do both sides, as they're both the same age - why go through all this twice??

 

i intend to do the bearings on both axles, but Napa had only one set locally. I have another set on order. Once it comes in, ill have the other axle done.

I was able to get US made bearings.

I also pressure washed the rear end and will put a coat of flat black on it tomorrow.

 

copper128, that link you posted is for a "C" clip chubby axle. Olds does not us e "C" clips.

Gene

 

Hey guys. I got the rear end back on the car. While I had it apart, I changed the brake shoes and fixed the parking brake.
The new bearings work great! Thanks so much for all the help. In the future, I hope to contribute as much as I take from Classicolds.

Joe

 

Good looking Olds , welcome to the forum.

 

Great news, Shark - now go enjoy the drives!

 

Lets start with some good full size pics of the car.

 

You were right. It was part of the seal. Thanks.

 

UPDATE: the bearing that originally failed is starting to make noise again. I'm worried I might have a bigger problem. I called the previous owner to ask him about it. He said that less than 2 years ago he replaced both the bearing and the axle. The bearing had failed and damaged the original axle. He was very surprised to hear that I had a problem with it. When I originally posted this, I had the entire rear end inspected by a rod and custom shop. They gave it a "thumbs up" so I felt confident that it was fine. In hindsight, I'm not sure that's right. I'm thinking the drivers side axle tube is bad. It's such a simple system, I can't think of anything else that could be causing these bearings to fail.

3 questions:
1. Can you think of anything else that would cause this problem?
2. Do you know where I could buy an axle tube?
3. Is there any compatible rear ends that I could pick from the junk yard that would fit my car? (330, 2-speed jet away auto)

Thanks in advance.

 

Have the axle checked for run-out. Certainly check the housing to see how far out it is. Put it in drive on jack stands and spin the axles with the drums off and look for wobble. (dont hit the brakes!). Have you inspected the failed bearing yet? Did you heed my warnings about offshore? Pull the bearing apart and see what it looks like. If the guy on the press didn't know what he was doing that will cause premature failure as well. Yes its possible to have a tube out of whack. In fact a factory tube has a pretty wide tolerance. Most of us would be surprised at how much deflection there is between the case and the outer end of the tube after the welding process. If the axle has been repaired from previous bearing failure that machining work could be suspect? Its less likely the tubes "out" but its possible. My money is on a inferior bearing or improper installation. Check everything before completing the repair.