I have a 12-bolt housing thats missing the bearing caps. What can be done?

Is it a problem to buy replacement caps and have it line honed? I have seen billet caps available, and guess I could probably find some used caps somewhere.

Is line honing a rearend an expensive process? Do the axle tubes need to be removed to line hone?




Its just a bare '65/'66 housing I picked up many, many years ago for cheap...

You can use the new steel caps, or use caps off of a 12 bolt truck rear end. A little machine work will be needed to get the holes round again, but most machine shops should be able to do it.

You can use the new steel caps, or use caps off of a 12 bolt truck rear end. A little machine work will be needed to get the holes round again, but most machine shops should be able to do it.

So I don't have to remove the axle tubes?

I didn't think I had to, but had a guy buying another rearend that mentioned it...


So 12-bolt trucks use the same caps... cool...

i have found no shops that will allign hone a car 12 bolt. good luck on your end. to find truck 12 bolt caps that will work will require trial fitting lots of caps. and measuring each fittment. you are better off buying mark williams billet caps and getting them fit to the rear. or you could buy a housing or rear that is done, from me, and trade me the old one. tom

If you find a set of bearing caps that cause the hole to be too large then the process is simple. All you have to do is remove material from the mating surface until the hole is round and the correct size. If the caps cause the hole to be too small then it is a problem and the housing may have to be bored. You might find a machine shop that can bore the bearing cap by itself so that it fits. It wouldn't be too hard for a good machinest. If you install the cap and measure the hole and tell the machinest what size it is and what it needs to be then he should be able to cut the cap by itself so that it will fit correctly. Removing the tubes is not an option because either the tubes or the casting will be destroyed in the process.