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EFV-8 Club Forum / 1940 Ford Discussion / Rear end knocking noise finally identified

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Rear end knocking noise finally identified     Carcheologist 05-07-2022 @ 1:59 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 128 Joined: Jan 2016 I did some troubleshooting on my '40 Tudor Sedan today hoping to identify an annoying clunking/knocking noise coming from the right rear axle area and FINALLY isolated where it was coming from. The right rear axle shaft had just enough axial play to make a knocking noise when going over potholes and choppy roads. It might be somewhere around .015" to .020". The bad news is that it won't be an easy fix. Will I have to replace the axle shaft or can it be shimmed? Appreciate any input from all the rear axle specialist here on the forum. TomO 05-07-2022 @ 5:48 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7244 Joined: Oct 2009 The rear wheel bearing may be bad or the axle housings may be worn. The axle housing are used as the inner race for the rear wheel bearings and if the bearings are not maintained by greasing the bearings every 12,000 miles the housing will wear and have to be sleeved back to original size. You will have to disassemble the differential, have the housings turned down on a lathe and the sleeve pressed on. John Connely at http://www.columbiatwospeedparts.com/index.cfm has the best sleeves. Finding a machine shop to do the job is difficult as it requires a large lathe to handle the housing. Check with the local regional group of the V-8 Club or a local Model A club. Tom Carcheologist 05-07-2022 @ 6:30 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 128 Joined: Jan 2016 TomO, Thanks for your response. Just to help clarify my findings and why I don't think it's wheel bearing problem, when the axle nut is tight and I grasp the drum at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions and muscle the drum aggressively in and out on the same plane as the axle (horizontally), that's when I detect that small amount of freeplay and hear the bumping noise. If I try to move the drum up and down (vertically), I don't feel any freeplay. It sounds like the problem is excess clearance inside the spider carrier end of the axle shaft. I sure hope I'm wrong! I did a swap about 5 years ago from a 3.78 to a 3.54 and all was well. I didn't notice any problems until last year when I started hearing this knocking noise going over bumps. I thought it might be a loose shock, exhaust rattling, etc. I'm stumped as to what it could be and how to go about repairing it. I'm going to ask a lot more questions before I resort to pulling the rear axle!! TomO 05-08-2022 @ 8:34 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7244 Joined: Oct 2009 Recheck your bearing pre-load adjustment, you may have had a small burr that affected te adjustment. Tom Carcheologist 05-08-2022 @ 10:49 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 128 Joined: Jan 2016 TomO, When you speak of checking the bearing preload adjustment, are you referring to the large shims that go between the ring gear housing and the axle housing? TomO 05-09-2022 @ 8:00 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7244 Joined: Oct 2009 Yes, the different thickness of the gaskets adjust the amount of play and drag on the bearings. Tom Carcheologist 05-10-2022 @ 8:09 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 128 Joined: Jan 2016 Gotcha. Yes, I'll be looking into that when I get a chance. Thank you! 40 Coupe 05-29-2022 @ 4:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1649 Joined: Oct 2009 Ford Spec. for axle in and out play is less than or equal to .015" . If your in excess the problems lie with the spider cross or it's gears or the gears at the end of the axles. I would not be surprised to see a used differential above this value. Carcheologist 06-05-2022 @ 5:52 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 128 Joined: Jan 2016 40 Coupe, OK, so if I add a shim where the axle housing bolts to the banjo housing on the right side equal to the play in the axle, will that solve the issue?

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