Ae71 Rear Axle

[Gecko71]

G'Day all,

 

Now, i'm assuming that most of you KE70/AE71 owners out there will know what i'm talking about here.

There is a loud Whiring/Grinding sound coming form the back axle of my AE71, i'm guessing that it is the Axle Bearings.

I was wondering if any of you out there know specifically what the problem is (in-case i'm wrong) and how you fixed it?

Advice would be appreciated, my mates are making fun of my Rolla.

 

Stewart.

[nikctime21]

G'Day all,

 

Now, i'm assuming that most of you KE70/AE71 owners out there will know what i'm talking about here.

There is a loud Whiring/Grinding sound coming form the back axle of my AE71, i'm guessing that it is the Axle Bearings.

I was wondering if any of you out there know specifically what the problem is (in-case i'm wrong) and how you fixed it?

Advice would be appreciated, my mates are making fun of my Rolla.

 

Stewart.

 

Yep sounds like a bearing is gone.

 

Check the bearing hasn't started breaking apart by removing the inspection cover of the diff and looking at the oil (no idea if they have inspection cover someone else will be able to tell you) If there are sparkly bits then something is serious, if not do an oil change and run a heavier oil and a bit more full than normal and this should reduce the noise a bit.

 

The simple answer is yes it wrecked so either get the centre rebuilt (expensive) or go pick up a new diff from the wreckers.

 

Cheers

[Gecko71]

So you think its the bearings at the diff?

Cause the sound is coming from the ends of the axles, so i think its the bearings between the axle and wheel.

[nikctime21]

So you think its the bearings at the diff?

Cause the sound is coming from the ends of the axles, so i think its the bearings between the axle and wheel.

 

Yeh could be that also. Its hard to diagnose diff problems from in the car, you really need he car on axle stands and get some on to drive it while you listen to where its coming from. Wheels bearing could be something to replace first, and see if it remedies the problem. If not have a look at the diff centre.

[redae71]

hey mate...

 

to chack the bearings... jack the car up at the back and chock the front wheels... take the handbrake off and spin the rear wheels on both sides and listen for the noise... if you can't hear it... take the drum off, take out the 4 allen key bolts through the holes in the axle... once they are out put the drum on backwards on the axle and loosely fit 2 wheel nuts to 2 opposing studs... yank on the drum as hard as possible until the axle comes out... then you will be able to take the outer race off the bearing and inspect it for hotspots etc... do this on both sides and if you can't see anything it could be gearset ( crownwheel/pinion ) noise or side gear bearing noise in which case just buy a new diff... hope this helps... btw if you need to do bearings you will need a press

[Old fella]

G`day mate, sure sounds like axle bearing to me. There`s no short way around the problem, you just have to replace the bearing and it is best to do both sides at once, coz the other one won`t be far off knackered.

Method.

Jack the rear end off the ground and remove wheels and brake drums.

Remove the bolts/nuts from the bearing flange retainer.

This is where it gets tricky.

You may need a puller to get the axles out, but try using two levers first. Sometimes they will come out easily and sometimes they are a real b*#@ch.

Once you have the axles out you then need to get the old bearings off. This sounds brutal but is the accepted way of removal.

You need to place the bearing on some sort of anvil( a flat really strong surface will do it) cover the bearing with some sort of bag like material and then belt hell out of the outer bearing race with a big hammer.(no joke) Be aware that at some time during the process, the outer bearing will shatter, hence the bag like material to keep schrapnel to a minimum. (keep the balls to use in your slingshot lol)

Once that stage is reached, using the same anvil and hammer, use a cold chisel at right angles to the inner bearing race and belt it until in cracks on top and then repeat the process on the bottom.

This method(cold chisel) is also used to remove the bearing retainer collar, but the material is nowhere near as hard.

To replace bearings.

place the axles in your mums chest freezer for an hour or so. This shrinks the axles slightly in diameter. Then place the nice new bearings in mum`s oven for about ten minutes at around 100gegrees c. This expands the bearings.

Place the bearings over the axle an allow them to slide down to the bearing surface and then using a peice of pipe the same diameter as the inner bearing race, gently tap the bearing until it seats properly. Repeat the heatin process for the retaining collars. Allow to cool/heat naturally, don`t use water.

 

N.B. Clean up the braking area really well if there has been any oil leakage and always check your diff level. Never overfill your diff as this will result in oil getting past your axle seals and it will very quickly destroy brake shoes and wheel cylinder rubber dust covers.

 

I hope that this is of some help to you, but if you don`t have the gear or are not confident that you can do the job, get a proffessional to do it for you. There is nothing worse than having a rear wheel bearing seize because it often results in a broken axle and the rear wheel will depart the vehicle rapidly.

[Gecko71]

This all looks good.

I'll get hold of some new bearing tomorrow and get them changed. also got a spare diff lying around, so i'll clean that up and replace it.