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35 Spline Axle bearing issue

OP
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67ANNMRGT

67ANNMRGT

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Nov 30, 2018
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I took the spacer out to show the gap. The nuts are only two finger tight for that picture. I have a couple extra spacers that I can add so the retainer can sit flush.
 
OP
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67ANNMRGT

67ANNMRGT

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Here it is with two spacers before and after the retainer is installed.
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DirtDonk

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Excellent. Looks much better now!;D

What you just want to make sure of with the bearings is that you have neither too much preload, or too much clearance when it's torqued down.
We're talking about just a few thousandths either way. A little preload is ok for this setup if I remember, probably because the bearings are bathed in cooling fresh oil rather than just grease.
A little play (again, just a few thou) is (probably?) ok too because they're tapered roller bearings and in general most setups (such as full floaters and front wheel bearings) are adjusted to have a final clearance of between .001 and .010 inch.

Seems to me a tiny bit of preload would have some advantages for once, but that's just a guess. I don't know anything for a fact! Maybe some experts on 9" tapered rollers can add their thoughts.

And thanks for using our XHD housing on your project too!

Paul
 
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Apogee

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There are rubber ridges inside the oil seal that make contact with the inner race of the bearing, and those ridges need to be compressed which will then provide the proper amount of preload on the bearing for the application. I would run a single 10 gauge spacer, which takes the place of the drum brake backing plate (assuming disc brakes), and then tighten down the retainer plate while checking the ease at which you can rotate the axle. If you don't preload the seal/bearing enough, it could allow axial endplay and premature bearing and/or seal failure. If you preload the bearing too much, it will overheat and die an ugly and premature death, so you're looking for "just right" on those setups.
 

DirtDonk

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Thanks for the clarification. Slight preload is good, slight play is not.

I remember a specification in the (surprisingly complete) instruction sheet that comes in the Set-20 box, but don't have one in front of me now. I know I kept it though, because detailed instructions were few and far between. Nowadays there may be better stuff on YouTube, but a few years ago there was not much on the Set-20 setup.

The instructions were was very detailed, but still very hard to equate to actually doing the work. Kind of typical of some instructions unfortunately.

The problem that I wish someone would deal with (and maybe they have, judging by the OP's shim pack) is the lack of proper retainer plates for the Set-20. The factory retainers were domed so that they would push down slightly on the bearing/seal, but still bottom out on the housing flange (or brake backing plate) before too much pressure was applied.
The flat aftermarket retainers commonly available need some kind of spacer like the OP has, or just a proper re-design to get the preload just right.
Like the factory did it.

Now that I've said all that, I'd better do some more googling to see what's out there.
By the way ANNMRGT, where did you get the brakes and axles? And which one included the shims?

Thanks

Paul

Maybe there are proper retainers out there, but I have not looked deeply for them yet.

Paul
 
OP
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67ANNMRGT

67ANNMRGT

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The axles and brake kit was from Wildhorses as well. After looking at how the bolt on brake kit mounts, I'm thinking about switching to the Wilwood Dynapro set instead. Sounds like the preload needs to be fairly specific. If you could find more info on that it would be greatly appreciated.

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OP
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67ANNMRGT

67ANNMRGT

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The brake kit included the shims.

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DirtDonk

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That's why I was asking. It sounded like you might have gotten the different components from different places. You should be ok though.
Pretty sure the shims you get with ours should put your bearing at the correct preload.

But I'll be happy to double-check stuff anyway for the peace of mind.
But you can answer this too. When you put the shims on and the retainer plate, how much gap is there when you start to tighten the nuts down?
Should be a pretty small gap, but you should be pushing up against the bearing when you torque the nuts. Not just bottoming out on the shims before it's torqued to spec.

Another test you can make right now is if you have already torqued the nuts, pull out on the axle flange to see if there is any play in the system. You should not be able to easily move the axle in and out. If so, take one of the shims out and see how that sets.
Then make sure the brakes still line up properly of course. They should, but you know... Trust but verify!;)

The new rear disc brake kit is pretty slick I think. But nothing wrong with the Dynapro stuff either and that's for sure!

Paul
 
OP
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67ANNMRGT

67ANNMRGT

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With two shims installed at .12 each, I measure a .035 gap with a feeler gauge. Even when you finger tighten the nuts down, I feel like I can take up most of that .035. I don't feel any in or out free play.

With only one shim, the gap would be .15 which would seem like to much preload, but maybe it takes that much?
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DirtDonk

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Initially at least, I prefer the two shim (.035") setup.
Still looking forward to seeing some instructions and specs. I have an '81 Ford shop manual hereabouts. Think I'll look into it and hope it covers the 150 as well.

Maybe Apogee has some input?

Paul
 

WILDHORSES

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I see a couple of issues.
1: The ends of the axles appear to be too close together, not allowing for the cross pin, fine with a Grizzly, Detroit or spool but not an ARB. What is that distance?
2:The long shaft may be slightly too large to fit through the hole in the ARB not allowing it to slip all the way in.

I run into these 2 issues pretty regularly.

This is the issue. We have run into this as well. Axles if built specifically for the 35 spline ARB should be about 3/8" shorter. Nothing that can't be fixed as has already been described.

Jim
 
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