bent axle housing?

Full_Throttle

Full_Throttle

New member
So last Thanksgiving I was hit in in the drivers side slider area just below the rear door. The car that hit me did damage to my rear door, and also the rear tire. I didn't really notice anything wrong with the rear, I just put on my spare tire it it seemed to ride just fine. You can see the thread I started when it happened HERE to see pics.

Anyway, I ended up selling the truck to my Son-in-law a few weeks later.

Fast forward to a few days ago. He calls me and says the rear axle seal has started leaking. I tell him to bring it by. I am shocked to see the two rear tires almost completely bald. Only 4000 miles since he bought it and they are bald. The outside of each tire is warn completely down and the inside of each tire is close as well, but not as much.

I take off the tires and spin the axles and It is very easy to see that the drivers side axle is bent.

My question is this? Will a bend drivers side axle cause the passenger side rear tire to wear out as well? I kind of doubt it. If not, then what else is damaged and how do I tell?

Three of us have looked over the rear end and nothing seems to stand out. We have measured and it seems the axle is shifted to the passenger side, but with it just hanging there, doesn't it shift because of the bar on the rear of the axle?

I am looking for advice here on how to tell if I have bent the housing or the control arms or something else? Frame?

Thanks in advance...
 
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I crashed a brand new (under 1000 miles on it) F150 work truck a few years ago and didn't realize I had bent an axle. They ran it for about 3000 miles before the brakes started giving problems and found the issue. At that point they had to change both rear tires, so it could well be your problem too.

You might be able to take some measurements between the wheels and see if everything is straight once you get the new axle in. I doubt you've actually bent the housing, but anything is possible.

I'd be more suspicious of the overall alignment though. I'd take it in and get it put on the rack, and let the operator know about the history so he's looking for issues.
 
Full_Throttle said:
My question is this? Will a bend drivers side axle cause the passenger side rear tire to wear out as well? I kind of doubt it. If not, then what else is damaged and how do I tell?

Three of us have looked over the rear end and nothing seems to stand out. We have measured and it seems the axle is shifted to the passenger side, but with it just hanging there, doesn't it shift because of the bar on the rear of the axle?

I am looking for advice here on how to tell if I have bent the housing or the control arms or something else? Frame?
Click to expand...

How much shift are we talking about in the axle? With a lift and stock panhard bar the axle will sit farther to the passenger side. But it shouldn't be way out there.

Bent control arms you should be able to check. If you really want to be sure pull them out and check them. Chances are you didnt bend both sides so both lowers and uppers should be identical.

A bent drivers side shouldn't cause the passenger side to have issues I believe. Hopefully somebody else will chime in and confirm that. Is the diff still functioning properly? If its locked up then you'll eat tires all day.
 
Have you had an alignment done since the accident?

Measure to see that the rear tires/wheels are parallel. Take a measurement from inside to inside of wheels or tires towards the rear of the vehicle then take another measurement 180 degrees towards the front of the vehicle. If the numbers are not the same something is bent. Now you need to determine if it is the axle housing or it is the axle shaft that is bent. The axle shaft would be bent outboard of the bearing. I would say it is more likely that the housing is bent. To determine this rotate the driver side wheel and see if the earlier measurements stay the same. If the measurements change then it is the axle shaft that is bent.

When I was rear ended in my Tacoma it bent the axle housing and not the shaft. I was able to repair the housing by machining four rings, removing the ring gear from an extra differential I had laying around and constructing a crude fixture. I am assuming you don't have access to a machine shop so buying another axle is the better option. For me I was on a budget and finding a Tacoma axle housing is much harder to do in my neck of the woods vs. a 4Runner axle housing.


Either way here is the process...


Here you can see how the ID from near to far is not concentric.




Here I have the first two aluminum rings machined and installed into where the bearings usually go. This ensures the shaft is centered. I think I machined the ID about 0.003" larger than the shaft OD.




Here is a picture of the good side. You can see the aluminum ring fits into the housing with the shaft passing through it.




Here is a picture of the bad side. The aluminum ring will not go into the axle housing because it is bent.




Here is the bending fixture in action. The shaft MUST be removed beyond the differential to bend the housing back. I was surpised by the amount of spring the housing has it. I had to bend it beyond what I thought was sufficent in order for it to stay.




SUCCESS! The shaft can be passed though all four rings when there is no pressure from the bottle jack.
 
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Full_Throttle said:
All good advice. Great advice on how to tell which part is bent, the axle or the housing....
Click to expand...

You are on the right track for sure.

But a little more advice from two worlds. First, I owned a body shop for 14 years, and have been in and out of the field for 35. Second I now sell alignment equipment for a living, so I'm very involved with alignment shops.

From the body shop side of things you have multiple issues to consider. Most have been covered here already. You have to know:

Did the shaft bend?

Did the Axle housing bend?

Did the Axle housing shift forward or back?

Did the Axle housing shift right or left?

Is the chassis still square?

I doubt you bent the frame, but it's easy enough to measure for square. That's the body shop in me talking.

You seem to have the shaft figured out, but you should have an alignment shop give you some readings. Of course toe and camber, but also offset, set back and cross diagonal AND THRUST angle. Just to be sure you don't swap the entire housing only to find you have some bent arms too.

Good luck to your son in law.
 
You should be able to get a used axle housing with axles and a rear diff for $500 or so from a junk yard or local part out. It's pretty easy to swap in the used housing and axles. Replace the axle seals while you're at it. Keep the diff you have depending on axle ratios, miles, condition, etc. There is a market for any parts you don't need or use in the swap.
 
So Many Roads said:
You should be able to get a used axle housing with axles and a rear diff for $500 or so from a junk yard or local part out. It's pretty easy to swap in the used housing and axles. Replace the axle seals while you're at it. Keep the diff you have depending on axle ratios, miles, condition, etc. There is a market for any parts you don't need or use in the swap.
Click to expand...

That is kind of the plan. I just hate to start throwing parts at something without knowing exactly what is wrong. I have found an entire rear end with a locking diff ( I have 4.30 gearing) with 4.56 gears, so I will be swapping out my center section and then selling the locker/w 4.56 gearing to try and recoup some of the expense. (assuming everything checks out)

I will call around to see if I can find a good alignment shop taht can tell me what is up and is able to measure everything.
 
Full_Throttle said:
I have found an entire rear end with a locking diff ( I have 4.30 gearing) with 4.56 gears, so I will be swapping out my center section and then selling the locker/w 4.56 gearing to try and recoup some of the expense.
Click to expand...

Remember that the axle housing with the factory differential is slightly different than the non-locker housing. Does your 4.3o rear diff have the factory locker?
 
So Many Roads said:
Remember that the axle housing with the factory differential is slightly different than the non-locker housing. Does your 4.3o rear diff have the factory locker?
Click to expand...

Yes, i have the factory locker. I am aware of the difference, and if necessary I can do the mod to make it fit in a NON-locker housing. There are plenty of housings for sale at car-part.com that are correct.
 
Full_Throttle said:
Yes, i have the factory locker. I am aware of the difference, and if necessary I can do the mod to make it fit in a NON-locker housing. There are plenty of housings for sale at car-part.com that are correct.
Click to expand...

If you are using car-part to determine the gear ratio I caution you. When I was looking for a 4.56 diff on there all of them turned out to be 4.30. This is because the software they use is not accurate for 3rd gen diffs but it is for 2nd gens. However if you do find a 4.56 I would be interested in taking it off of your hands.

How much are they charging for just the housing? I have an elocker housing sitting in my shop. If you are interested PM me with an offer. I am assuming shipping would be about $80 from Iowa.

Good luck.
 
xcmtb83 said:
If you are using car-part to determine the gear ratio I caution you. When I was looking for a 4.56 diff on there all of them turned out to be 4.30. This is because the software they use is not accurate for 3rd gen diffs but it is for 2nd gens. However if you do find a 4.56 I would be interested in taking it off of your hands.

How much are they charging for just the housing? I have an elocker housing sitting in my shop. If you are interested PM me with an offer. I am assuming shipping would be about $80 from Iowa.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

I don't care what ratio I buy, as I will be re-using my current center. :becky: It is interesting to know, however :cool:

If I get to the point of needing one, I will certainly give you a yell. I am getting quotes of around $100 for just the housing.
 
wow

So we pulled the axles this evening. WOW.

When tom brought me the truck, he had just had the ABS light come on and said he heard a slight noise from the back.

I think I know what that noise was :)
If you look closely you will see the bearing is toast and missing a few parts. The ABS sensor was covered in shavings.

The passenger side is fine. I will be pulling the center and then cleaning the heck out of everything.
 

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