Rear Axle: Bent/Cracked Axle

[JoeHall]

Ted Harbit recently in another thread said, over the years, he'd used a sort of field check to determine potential axle problems, by looking for wheel wobble. So I checked all three of our Studes recently by using a floor jack under the pumpkin to raise the tires 2-3" off the ground, then let the motor idle, with tranny in low gear. None of the six tires were arrow straight, but similar. All except the right rear on the wife's 63GT, which is definitely wobbling in excess both laterally and radially.

So, looks like first course of action is to install a spare axle, and swap the wheel to the other side. If it still wobbles, its likely the hub. If the wobble has moved to the other side, its the wheel. If it does not wobble, it was the axle. The Fairborn flanged axle kit sure looks tempting about now.

[Mike Van Veghten]

Don't pay so much...or "any" attention actually, to the "tire".
Watch the wheel rim.

Remember, first there is the axle that can be bent.
Then there is the flange that can be bent.
Then there is the wheel that can be bent.

So...which of the three are you looking at and can say...which one is bent ?

The best way is to just set up a dial indicator onto the (clean) axle flange, and turn it by hand. Watch the indicator movement.
I've checked the rear axle flange, front hub using a steel plate, a magnetic base and a dial indicator.

A cheap way of doing the same thing is to make a solid wood base and pound a "long" nail thru a thin piece of wood that's vertical, (like an upside-down T). Put the wood/nail very close to the flange / hub and spin the axle. Watch the gap change between the nail head and the surface you are checking. While not nearly as accurate as a dial indicator, it will give you an idea what's happening.

As for the tire...idea...NOT happening. A tire is a big ballon filled with air. "NO" tire is perfectly round or true...period. Even race tires..! So all due to Ted, this is NOT a good way to check flange/hub out of square, unless it's really bad...!

Mike

[RDWEAVER]

This is what happens when they break. Keep in mind with the stock master cyl you have no brakes.
Also, no emergency brake and downshifting won't help you at all. You basically have no way of stopping. So the rear tire
when it decides to come out is going to wreck your car. I got the Fairborn kit put them on mine now. When I was converting mine
to Fairborn, I pulled the passenger side axle out and checked it. I am not so sure.... but I think it may have a crack in it as well.
I wouldn't give my old style axles to my worst enemy.

[Colgate Studebaker]

I agree with the above comments. I'd only use the tapered axles on a car that I want to be 100% correct. Phil's axle set will be used on all cars I intend to "drive". If I want to use tapered axles, I'll dial indicate them, and also have them magna fluxed. They just aren't trustworthy to me. Others may disagree, but I'd rather spend the money and feel confident about what I'm driving down the road. Bill

[kirkdob]

I saw one snap on a friends car at 70 mph, not pretty. I changed mine out this year since I started driving it more. I bought the pair from Studebakers West. It feels great to put that scenario out of my mind.

[JoeHall]

I swapped the axle out last night, and no more wobble, so it was the axle that was bent/cracked I suppose. Since its the wife's car, will probably install flanged axles later.

[wwogg]

Out checking some of the local junkyards today. Found a 66 Stude at this place http://kettylecars.com/index.htm . Flanged axle Dana 44 rear, they want $250 for. $750 for the whole car.