Silver69Camaro
May 9th, 04, 11:58 PM
No, mine don't leak (yet) graemlins/clonk.gif
Kind of a long story. When I bought the 12-bolt rear for my Camaro, it came with stock axles & clip eliminators, and the guy offered to press on the eliminators for me, and I agreed. These are the "better" elminators, with the one piece design. They have a gold anodized finish, but I'm not sure of the make (anybody know?).
Long story short, I shove the axles into the housing and start bolting the eliminator hub to the housing. However, I notice that the bolts are unusually tight. I try a little harder, then said "This can't be right.". I then noticed the axles are too long and hitting the cross-shaft in the diff. I read up on the Chevelle and Camaro board that some eliminators require shortening the axle by about .100", so I do that. Everything bolts up good, drives good, no leaks, champange falls from the heavens...
Later I'm driving in a parking lot, and the right rear of the car clunks and drops graemlins/angry.gif . I get out to find that my eliminators have un-pressed themselves off of the axle...no damage is done to the car though graemlins/hurray.gif . I realized that this was all my fault, because when I wrenched on the bolts when the axle was too long, I was actually pulling the eliminator off of the axle. Just enough to let me drive for a few miles until it unseats fully.
Even if I were to press the eliminator back on, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable re-installing it due to fear of it coming back off at 110+ MPH. Are they OK when re-installed?
My big question is: What is involved when going to a Ford style bearing? I know I need the housing ends and the bearings, but can I use my stock axles? What does a swap like this usually cost?
I'm probably going to go with Strange's Pro-Street eliminator & axle kit ($490, OK for street use) or the Ford deal, depending on the cost. Any experiences on this subject?
Kind of a long story. When I bought the 12-bolt rear for my Camaro, it came with stock axles & clip eliminators, and the guy offered to press on the eliminators for me, and I agreed. These are the "better" elminators, with the one piece design. They have a gold anodized finish, but I'm not sure of the make (anybody know?).
Long story short, I shove the axles into the housing and start bolting the eliminator hub to the housing. However, I notice that the bolts are unusually tight. I try a little harder, then said "This can't be right.". I then noticed the axles are too long and hitting the cross-shaft in the diff. I read up on the Chevelle and Camaro board that some eliminators require shortening the axle by about .100", so I do that. Everything bolts up good, drives good, no leaks, champange falls from the heavens...
Later I'm driving in a parking lot, and the right rear of the car clunks and drops graemlins/angry.gif . I get out to find that my eliminators have un-pressed themselves off of the axle...no damage is done to the car though graemlins/hurray.gif . I realized that this was all my fault, because when I wrenched on the bolts when the axle was too long, I was actually pulling the eliminator off of the axle. Just enough to let me drive for a few miles until it unseats fully.
Even if I were to press the eliminator back on, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable re-installing it due to fear of it coming back off at 110+ MPH. Are they OK when re-installed?
My big question is: What is involved when going to a Ford style bearing? I know I need the housing ends and the bearings, but can I use my stock axles? What does a swap like this usually cost?
I'm probably going to go with Strange's Pro-Street eliminator & axle kit ($490, OK for street use) or the Ford deal, depending on the cost. Any experiences on this subject?