67delmont330

I have a 67 Delmont 88 and the rear wheel bearing has failed twice in the last few months allowing the entire wheel, brake drum and axle to seperate from the car and damage the axle so badly it had to be replaced. Its a very dangerous situation and we cant figure out why it keeps happening. The second time was 2000 miles after the entire bearing, clip and axle had been replaced by a shop using the factory manual we have. There was no bearing noise of any kind prior to the failure before the wheel and axle separated from the car. From what we understand, Oldsmobile put the retainer clip out by the wheel instead of the middle of the rear end like the rest of GM and we've been told by several shops that its a very poor design. We replaced the rear end 4000 miles ago from a donor car and we're spooked now by this happening twice thinking that possibly something is very wrong with the new rear end. Wondering if anybody has had a similiar problem or heard of it or possibly knows a fix that would give us the confidence we'd like to have driving the car. We'd hate to lose control and total it after the extensive restoration we did. (pics of the separation are in my profile pics under restoration). Thanks all! Bill

ent72olds

Ttt

Paladin31

Had it happen on my 69 cutlass S W31 390 Posi. All OE. Had d/s shaft walk out of diff. Had earlier on broke both off both bolt flange snap off at shaft leaving me coasting to a stop. I was a hard 1-2 up shift under wot. Rebuilt with donor parts off another 69 new bearing seals etc. found out the retainer rings which press on we're just loose enough to have slid back out. Re-rebuilt oth sides by drilling and tapping holes for set screws on retainers. No further problems. Have since tacked welded the retainers on in other car rebuilds. Sorry for the book, hope it sheds some light for you. Brett

67delmont330

thanks!

copper128

When assembled correctly with correct fitting parts, it's a safer design than the c-clip type axle.
It sounds like someone (the shop that did the work) didn't measure the interference fit for the retainers and put oversize retainers on the axle shaft. Check with Monzaz or 507olds for the correct size/interference fit on those retainers. You need to measure to be sure the shafts are in spec, too.
If they came apart, there was something wrong!

67delmont330

Hey. thanks for the response and happy to hear that the design is safer than the c clip. The shop that just fixed it again in New Mexico had my manual bookmarked to that page so hopefully they did it right. Drove the 1300 miles back to CA and its ok so far. Have a new shop here in CA now that the car is back here and will have them double check it this week when I take it in for all the other little stuff that developed on the trip. MPG went up 20% after the replacement too which makes me think maybe it was creating some kind of drag too. By the way, your Delmont is about the nicest one I've ever seen. Mine's just a basic boring 4 door town sedan but has been in the family since I was 2 so its a valued member of the family and one that everybody ca n be proud of now that its restored. Keeping the parts car back east if you ever need something hard to find. Bill

wmachine

X2

I had an axle come out (back in the '70s) and it was due to a crooked retainer ring that should never have been installed.
The retainer and ring need to be pressed on with a hydraulic press. If it went on with anything less, then there is your problem! Any good press operator can tell you if there is enough resistance when pressing it on.
This is absolutely critical. Oh, yeah. I obviously don't need to say that part......

67delmont330

Thanks. Appreciate the response!

bdub217

I have a press company I use locally to press bearings, retainers, pulleys, etc. I think Sears might have the ability to do this. or your local gm dealer of course.

Hopefully nobody gets hurt, this is scary.

wmachine

Looking back in your door mirror and seeing your rear wheel starting to pass you is unforgettable.....

67delmont330

fortunately I didnt see it til I opened the door. All I knew was that we lost power and then I heard what sounded like a flat. that's when I guess the axle started coming out and it got almost impossible to control. Fortunately for us we were in the middle of nowhere with a wide shoulder and light traffic so I was able to get it off the freeway and stopped before we scrapped the ground.