while Im on here tonight, any one ever had or seen any issues with early 12bolt (65,66,67) housings bending, or the tubes being pulled forward?
Dusty

They bend, and there repairable out of the car

Exactly the reason you'll find the axle tubes completely welded to the center section in a performance 12 bolt application.
Mine is...

billscamino, how does welding the tubes keep the axle tubes from bending?

welding the tubes keeps them from leaking oil and spinning in the housing. tom

back to the question at hand. the rear needs to be pulled and pressed straight again. not a easy job. hope you can find someone competent at it. ussually it happens to camaro's. as they are only held in the car by the leaf springs(2 contact points) where as chevelle enjoy 4 contact points to share the torque/shock load.

billscamino, how does welding the tubes keep the axle tubes from bending?
welding the tubes keeps them from leaking oil and spinning in the housing.

Really??? I would have never guessed that. :rolleyes:

I believe "the question at hand" was asked about "tubes being pulled forward".
My response and a common solution to the problem was to weld them.

well it happened to me a last year, i just replaced them with chrome moly tubes from mark willaims, and did a c-clip eliminator while I was at it, any one know of a gusset kit for a 12 bolt thats out there for sale.
the main thing I was after was if it was a common problem? or if I should junk the jig and fixture I built to repair mine? gotta cleen up the yard ya know. if it is a common problum I'll probably hang onto the stuff.
dusty

lpw makes one to use with their rear cover.

your tubes were bent forward, correct? tom

ive built a lot of housings where i run a tubular brace from the bottom to each suspension bracket, or to the housing ends on stock suspension applications. the lpw unit mentioned works well

lpw makes one to use with their rear cover.

your tubes were bent forward, correct? tom

yea the tubes were bent forward.

welding would not have helped prevent that. the lpw cover and braces would. that rear took one heck of shock load. tom

welding would not have helped prevent that. the lpw cover and braces would. that rear took one heck of shock load. tom

4:88s, slicks, and a transbrake coming out of the hole at 4800rpm