Chevrolet Malibu: Rear Axle/Diff problem

[pontiacgp]

 

[MalibuHacon]

Thank you, good to know! People at my local car club told me about this procedure, however i don't think my pinion retainer bolt is broken (I will check once more though). Some people have said that my Pinion Shaft might have some "degrees" or that it might be slightly bent, and therefore rubbing against something, making it hard to slide out. It does move about a 0,5 inch

 

[Bonnewagon]

The carrier is the fat case that the ring gear is bolted to. Yes, pull the axles outward and try removing the shaft. When you say it moves 0.5", is that easy movement, or by hitting it? Did you compare the bolt with a new one? It's not unusual for the far end to break and fool you. Can you hit the shaft, turn the case and hit it from the other side, working it out slowly? The worst case of broken bolt I ever saw we were still able to pound the shaft out with a BFH and a drift.

 

[MalibuHacon]

That's a little under 0,5 inches of easy movement, and we were not able to remove the shaft with a regular carpenter hammer. I really hope i'm gonna be able to drive it out, and using those other tips will surely help. I'll attempt again on Wednesday/Thursday..

I'll compare the retainer bolt with a hole one

 

[Bonnewagon]

Hacon- I keep forgetting you are in Norway. That part is not a common item there. I went and measured a new retainer bolt and it is 2 and 1/16" or about 52.4mm. Now measure yours and see if it is that length.

 

[MalibuHacon]

Yep I am in Norway and these cars aren't exactly common. But a friend has a retainer bolt from a Chevrolet Caprice, he reckons its the same size. But thank you for measuring, I guess that's a better grantee. Bonnewagon, do you think its a waste of time to replace the bearing with a regular replacement bearing? A knowledgeable member of the local american car club said it was a small chance that the "bad bearing" noise would disappear unless I use a "repair bearing". Keep in mind the objective is not to make anything perfect, but to reduce the sound to get the car through inspection.
Also the car does not have to go through a test drive, I just have to prove that I have addressed the problem.

 

[Pontiac455]

Trying to drive out the pinion pin with a BFH when the anchor bolt is broken off is a no no. It usually ends up breaking the carrier. All you do is cut the pin with a torch where the bolt goes through. Then remove pin. Easy peasy. If the pin isnt broken I would suspect there were several one wheel burn outs done. That has a tendency to weld the pin to pinion gears.

 

[MalibuHacon]

Pontiac455, do you mean to cut the pinion shaft? My car is not capable to do burnouts, not enough power, but I have done some skids in the gravel...

 

[Bonnewagon]

Hacon- you won't know the condition of the bearing or the axle shaft until you get it out. Why did they fail the bearing? Was it noisy or leaking oil? If oil, it's really the seal that is bad. A noisy bearing you would hear while driving. It makes a rough growling sound. A really bad bearing might score the axle shaft too. That is why they sell a "repair" bearing. It has a smaller diameter but the axle shaft has to be turned down to that size for it to work.

 

[MalibuHacon]

Bonnewagon, i had no idea that my bearing was bad, i thought i was gonna get faults in other departments, but no my rear wheel bearing. It does make a sound while driving, but it is not loud, i actually thought that this sound was just tyre, transmission, or engine noise. Because I've heard a proper bad wheel bearing in action, and mine doesn't sound anything like that. However there is a noise when you turn the wheel while the car is lifted, just barely noticeable, also a small noise when I put my car in neutral while coasting.

For the record, if my pinion shaft is "welded" to the spider gears, due to some drifting in the gravel, will that mean that i won't be able do drive it out?