rear wheel bearing failures

[dsraven]

just doing a quick survey after reading a few of the threads on here. it concerns rear axle wheel bearings and the worry about "losing an axle" due to wheel bearing failure. it seems like there is a lot of concern about the "right" rear axle choice because you "may" lose a bearing on a road trip and be stuck on the side of the road somewhere for days waiting for parts to show up.
looking for a reply on who has ever lost a rear wheel bearing and, if they did, was maintenance the issue, like going for a road trip but not checking anything first.was it improper installation methods, mechanical issues like a home done axle shortening with misaligned components, oil starvation, etc etc.
lets be honest here, I have personally never lost an axle in the last 35-40 years of driving and some of my early cars were lacking badly in the rear axle maintenance dept. I have heard of guys losing an axle but usually it was their own fault. never change oil, never check oil level, never check bearings, water in the oil, way overloaded all the time, that sort of thing. I have replaced many bearings in the rear axles for customers over the years but usually even a badly worn bearing with a grooved out axle makes enough noise so the driver would know enough to pull over and check it out.
anyway, enough of my ranting, whaddya guys think? please fess up. it may help others decide what they want for an axle type in their project.

yes you have lost an axle
what type of rear axle-ford-gm-dodge-other
what type of bearing-pressed into tube with C clips or pressed onto axle
due to wheel bearing failure
due to lack of maintenance
due to mechanical issues
due to racing or extreme conditions-not a road car or daily driver

thanks everybody

[_Ogre]

in 43 yrs of driving i never had a bearing fail that wasn't replaced for general maintenance
typically any bearing makes it's failing noise long before it goes completely out

i have had to replace a front bearing on the road, but it was on a 9000 mile trip
starting in kalispell mt headed to key west fl with lots of detours to id, wi, ny and elsewheres
had to replace the motor on that trip too, neither got to where i was stranded
i'd pull into a bud's driveway and use his driveway or garage to do my maintenance

on one of my many long trips the carrier bearing on my lwb 59 panel started making a noise
i pulled the driveshaft in my sisters idaho driveway, hitched into town and had the spline and bearing replaced
times were different for me back then, i lived in my panel truck for a couple years
i was a roughneck in the oil fields of wy, nd, sd and co, during a particularly cold snowy winter

2 years ago in nashville, coming back from dallas to detroit i lost fuel pressure due to a ruptured line in the tank
i repeated my 'pulling into a bud's driveway' and dropped the tank, cell phones make it a lot easier

[dsraven]

thanks for the reply ogre, sounds like you've been around.

anybody else?

[1project2many]

I don't remember comments about losing an axle/bearing discussed here so I can't speak to the specific complaints in those threads. I will say the 7.5 / 7.625 GM axles commonly found in GM S10's and many RWD cars do have problems with the metal of the axle itself failing along with the bearing. I believe I have seen some of the more common failures (and some have even been on my vehicles):

1) Overloading. The axle and bearing diameters are not large so the maximum load they can carry is not large. Axles are heat treated from the surface in but are not fully hardened. When a heavy load is carried by the axle for an extended time the oil can fail to lubricate and carry heat away from the metal surfaces. If this happens the bearing and axle will begin to weld together at the microscopic level, and the hardened surface will get pulled off the axle creating a groove in the axle.

2) Rust pitting. Moisture can accumulate in an axle that sits for years. The axle surface and bearing rollers can accumulate rust and pits. Surface variations in the bearing surface can "beat up" the axle over time causing the hardened surface to become grooved and worn.

3) High mileage. Axles with 200k plus are known to develop grooves at the bearing. This may be due to poor axle servicing, or poor metallurgy, or just the fact that the axle in it's original design was not expected to go that many miles.

4) Fracture at the wheel flange. Dump the clutch or spin the tires enough times and you can cause a micro-fracture in the radius between the axle flange and the bearing. Once there's a concentrated stress point, it's only a matter of time before the repeated cycling of force one way and then the other across the fracture causes a serious problem. This is aggravated with more weight. This type of break is often associated with a groove worn in the axle but can happen with or without the groove present.

I'm not one to jump up and recommend synthetic lubricants, but I can say that using an S10 Blazer for several years to tow a car trailer taught me there is a noticeable difference between synthetic gear oil and traditional gear oil performance. Once it's confirmed the axle and bearing are rust and pit free, and there are no noticeable issues at the flange, I'd recommend installing synthetic lube to increase the odds of survival if using a GM rear with small axle bearings.

[JimDirt]

Not having one fail is going to be my reply

My dads 58 (that i now have) , has over 450,000 miles on the original rear end , and it traveled from Southern California , to Ontario Canada , (i believe it was 3,600 miles each way , plus whatever driving was done all across Canada visiting relatives) every summer from 1967-1978 , it suffered a cam failure , and like mentioned by Ogre , a front wheel bearing failure while on the road , but never a rear , its the original rear end , and i know the gear oil has not been changed since most likely the early 70's , if that says anything ....

[Divine 59]

Don't recall a failure of a wheel bearing. I did have some troubles when I first purchased my 59 with rear axle seals. Seems the seal wore a groove in the axle that would cause the right rear brake drum to get coated in 90W gear oil. After replacing a few seals, I ponied up for a new axle from a salvage yard and never had a problem with the rear axle since.

[OrrieG]

I have never "lost" a bearing in 50 years of driving. I have had leaky seals and had to replace a couple that were showing signs of wear as outlined by others. I have broken a pinion shaft at 80 mph which required a change of shorts. I also destroyed a bunch of universal joints, always made them the weak link that would fail before an axle.

[1project2many]

Seems the seal wore a groove in the axle that would cause the right rear brake drum to get coated in 90W gear oil.

That's usually caused by dirt. The dirt will roll around under the seal lip but will slide across the metal and make small grooves which will eventually become large ones.

I also destroyed a bunch of universal joints, always made them the weak link that would fail before an axle.

It is always a good idea to build in a "fuse." It's even better when it's an easy to replace part that's commonly available.

[dsraven]

ya, see. that's where I was going with all this. I was reading a post about which diff to use on a build and there were several comments about this or that and losing a wheel bearing. I think it is either over thinking or else guys lose an axle because of abuse or not checking it out thoroughly before using it in a vehicle it wasn't intended for in the first place. I think if you put, say, an S10 diff fresh out of a wreck that has been in a field for 10 yrs, behind a hot 350 chevy engine with a manual trans, and you didn't look it over closely for issues or rebuild it first, then you are sort of asking for trouble. but if you took that same diff and went through it first looking for issues or just plain rebuilding it, your chances of failure would be much less. and again, maintenance is a biggie. guys that race check stuff that gets abused quite often for a good reason.

whaddya think? (I'm not saying use an S10 diff behind everything, that was just hypothetical. ha ha, I used a big word).

[1project2many]

Hey, I think you get a nickel for that word!

It's always smart to check parts over before installation. And it's important to remember that even new parts can fail. I made plenty of $$ doing warranty work in a GM dealership.

I usually caution about the axles and the ring and pinion with the 7.5. I don't like the axle, probably from my days in GM land. But I ran one behind a Buick 455 in a '79 Monte for years without blowing it up. Wanna guess what finally failed? The axles wore out at 212k.

[Coupeguy2001]

I had a 63 nova SS I put a 350 and 4 speed in with the original axle that I NEVER checked the grease in the whole time I had it until the bearing failed, and doubt the little old lady I got it from ever had it checked either, and it was 11 years old when I got it with 86,000 miles on it....
The 6 cylinder axle bearing was growling for a year before it finally let go. and then all that happened was more noise. it was a 3.56 rear end with D70/14 tires. (about 23 inch tall tires)

Nope, never had one completely let go, although there was a pic of a 55 chevy running around on the internet for a while that showed the axle shaft about 2 feet out of the axle on A DRAGSTRIP. Those cars had the bearings pressed onto the axle, and held in the housings with a retainer and 4 bolts.

There are horror stories of the axle C clip buttons letting go on high horsepower engine cars with the high time axles in them, but I never actually saw one.

[mr48chev]

I would believe that I am the one he is talking about and yes I have lost bearings over the 53 years that I have been driving legally.

Mostly I'd have to say in rear axles that I bought from wrecking yards or pulled from a donor rig and put in my 48 or another rig.

Trouble is that quite often the donor rig has more actual miles on it than the vintage chassis we are putting it in at the time we do the swap. These AD and TF trucks seldom saw 100K with the original drive train and it was somewhat of a big deal if one hit 100K. Now we think that 100K on a five year old rig is low miles.

I'm not that worried that I will loose a wheel bearing on the road but if I do I want it to be as simple to fix and go again as I can make it. With that taking out four bolts in a Ford rear axle and pulling the axle out with a pressed on bearing and heading to a parts house axle in hand is simpler than pulling the cover, pulling the pin, popping the C clip out, pulling the axle and hoping it isn't chewed up and then hoping that you can pull the bearing with the tools you have

I'd have to say that the first rear wheel bearing that I lost was on my 69 Olds Cutlass that I special ordered from Vietnam in late 1968 and at a little over 50K the left rear wheel bearing went out. That was around the same time the throw out bearing went out (I special ordered it with a Muncie 4 speed, 3.42 Posi and AMfm multiplex radio with the 310 hp 350. The shortest list of extras on a new car that Williams and Swanson Olds in Renton Wa had ever ordered on an Oldsmobile.

I lost at least one rear wheel bearing on my 59 El Camino but that car had had a pretty hard life before I got it. Popped the axle out, got a bearing and pressed it on and slapped it in and went again.
Ate up the bearing and axle in the first Camaro rear I had in the 48. Again most likely due to what transpired with the car before I got the rear axle. We ended up swapping rears on that deal.

I've lost track of the number of spicer wheel bearings and axles that I replaced in GM cars while working in shops over the years but I got pretty good at changing wheel bearings in them.

My deal is and always has been that I want the parts that you might expect to fail on the road to be easily replaceable with readily found parts with no more wait than a next day shipment if you are in some out of the way place on a road trip. That's wheel bearings, what ever you use for charging, what ever type of ignition/distributor, starter and what not. Then the Can I replace or repair that item easily on the side of the road or in a motel or parts house parking lot?

Think about it for a minute and you see that if an engine blows up you look for a way to haul the truck home or to a place you can fix it even if you are 2000 miles from home. That friendly place might be a fellow board member's house where you can either leave the truck safely stored or have help getting it repaired. I've seen one guy in my life rebuild an engine on the side of the road and that was a fruit picker from somewhere in the Ozarks in 1964 who rebuilt the straight eight in his Buick on the the road on Highway 97 right at the Gap where the Yakima river goes through Yakima and Rattlesnake ridge. He actually had the crank out of the engine taking it out with the block still in the car. Took him about 4 days with his family camped beside the car but he got it done.

I'm wanting to keep things simple and easy to fix because I plan some seriously long road trips not long after the truck is finished. First trip will probably put 10K on the odometer before we pull back in the driveway at home if not more. Most likely while pulling a tear drop or small camp trailer.

i don't expect to have trouble but I'd at least like to make any trouble I have as easy to deal with as possible and be back on the road as quick as I can.

[dsraven]

hey mr48, it wasn't you I was specifically referring to, just a trend I have seen over and over in different threads on different sites. thanks for the input though, but please, don't think I have singled you out. I am just trying to get comments on different diffs so other guys, who are building and asking questions, will get a better feel for the process. it is a topic I have read over and over on different forums-what is the best axle to put under my XXX.
like you said, your axle bearing growled for some time before you replaced it so, if a guy was so inclined, it could be replaced before it let go and caused a roadside stop. I guess what I am saying is for guys to go through stuff thoroughly before going on their maiden journey with their new ride. does that make sense? whatever diff a guy chooses, if it is not maintained and lets go it will likely make some noise and would give the driver some degree of fore warning before catastrophe. a guy could find a ford 9" under a tree somewhere and think it is indestructable because everybody says a ford 9" is the only diff they would use. he throws in under his high perf truck and finds out the thing sat under that tree for 25 years with water in the diff fluid so it blows up. personally, I usually mock stuff up with the wrecker/donor diff but when all the welding and fitting and brackets are welded etc and is all said and done, the parts get diss-assembled and checked/re-bearinged/resealed before the unit is done. usually the mock up is completed and then taken apart for paint and that is the stage when items like the diff are gone through. guys can buy a complete bearing kit for just about anything these days. if I had a diff with pressed on bearings it would be easy to pull an axle on the side of the road like you said, but I would probably be completely draining and flushing before I refilled with fresh fluid so I could get all the grindings out of the housing. you would probably do the same. that's just me though. some guys would say I think too much into stuff.
anyway, please don't think I am singling you out here. it sounds like you have been around the block on a lot of different topics by comments you have made on threads, and lots of guys appreciate your input. it sounds like you could rebuild a truck while you sleep. thanks for the input here as well.