My rear axle nut came off last night...

Baja Wes · 2007-03-03T07:44:25+00:00

This all happened on the way to a party. I was driving along and started getting a weird vibration noise from the left rear tyre when decelerating. Hmmm, that's odd I thought. Then the rear end felt just a little loose on change of direction. Then when slowing down for traffic lights I could hear a rattle like noise in the rear wheel. I wasn't far from my parents house, so I dropped my car there for the night and borrowed my mums car. Then I went back today to pull the rear wheel off and figure out what was going on. When I removed the wheel I had found the axle nut and stub axle had sheared off!!! :o :o :o All I can say is, lucky I have rear disc brakes. The rear caliper held the disc onto the stub axle (despite the missing nut). If I had of had drum brakes my whole rear wheel would've come off! [ Edited on 3-3-2007 by Baja Wes ]

Matt Ryan Fahrvergnugen

890 posts · joined Jan 2006 · 6 Mar 2007, 9:55 am

#577224

I have stripped the thread on an axle nut using the 6ft bar method. Everywhere I had read up about it raved on about how "bloody tight" they have to be.

After cleaning up axle thread I fitted new nut & tightened as much as I could with a 3/4 socket and standard bar, not standing on it, just putting my shoulder & back into it. I also liberally used nulon anti-seize on splines, thread & nut face.

Then I drove gently to the nearest 4wd mechanic who had a 500lb tension wrench (they use them all the time) When he put the wrench on it registered 250lbs, so I backed the nuts off & re-set to 220lbs. The guy charged me nothing for a job that only took a couple of minutes.

I am a former mechanic (20 years ago) so maybe it was down to technique, but I really think all the stuff written about how tight they have to be & jumping up & down on 6ft bars is aimed at absolute novices. Fair enough for getting them off, especially when they've been on there for ages.

I agree with Grey57, you can see the varying stages of failure in the axle, I reckon stage one is due to over-tightening.

Oh, & I'm 85 kilos and a short arsed 5ft 8.

Matt.

[ Edited on 6-3-2007 by Matt Ryan ]

http://portvwforum.freeforums.org

$2.63 homebrand baja

0 posts · joined Feb 2004 · 6 Mar 2007, 11:35 am

#577252

Baja Wes wrote:
$2.63 homebrand baja wrote::duh :o lucky it didn't do that at speed down hwy 🤪
I was doing about 90kph when it happened, and I still had to drive about 10km with it broken. It was fine when I was on the power (couldn't hear it at all). It's only when I backed off it sounded like a mud tyre hum, and when I cornered the wheel floating with the floating caliper. I'll have to check the caliper didn't suffer any damage from holding the wheel on.

Well I was just about to order some new parts from Moore in the US, and they tell me they don't ship to Australia

:cry

did u buy a lotto ticket? ur very lucky indeed :o :jesus

normally you at least get a minor 'klunkety thud-thud-thudwtf?IthinkmyengineisabouttoexplodeomghittheejectbuttonNOW!' sound :P

tassupervee That really hurts doesnt it!

1,171 posts · joined Sep 2003 · 6 Mar 2007, 7:26 pm

#577334

Matt Ryan wrote:............. but I really think all the stuff written about how tight they have to be & jumping up & down on 6ft bars is aimed at absolute novices. Fair enough for getting them off, especially when they've been on there for ages.

Precisely! Perfectly put!
L8tr
E

Im not a complete idiot, quite a few parts are missing....