Axle shaft wobble.

Before I end up rebuilding the entire rear axle out of anger, does anyone have any suggestions as to why my axle shaft is wobbling?

What I have done so far is replaced the wheel bearing, axle shaft, ABS ring, sleeves, and all the seals, and yet this thing still wobbles. My thinking is that it is either the bearing case or something in the rear diff. I have read a few similar threads but I cant seem to find a clear answer (if there even is one).

My plan is to swap the axles from one side to the other just to see if there is anything wrong with either the case or the diff. If there is no wobble then this will tell me it's the bearing case right? And if there is still a wobble that means it's the diff or axle housing right?

Any thoughts.

 

Why do you think it wobbles? Is their actual play when the axle is assembled?

Have you made sure it is not the wheel or tire that is really the issue?

 

I removed the tire and the drum and while it was on the stands, I fired up the truck and put it in gear. You can watch the axle wobble. I took a video but I'm not sure how to post it in here.

 

There is no way the mounting flange on the 'new' axle can wobble the same way the flange on the old axle did unless the new axle was bent the identical way the original was bent. What you are describing makes no sense. A much more likely scenario is the wheel is bent.

 

Hence my reasoning for posting this question.. as I mentioned before the tire is removed from the axle along with the drum. What I'm watching is the axle shaft itself as its spinning, and yes it's still wobbling. This is why I'm asking if it could be either the bearing case or the differential. I don't think the axle housing is bent because I don't think that would cause a wobble (I could be wrong). My thinking is that it's something in the diff causing the uneven rotation which is causing the exterior wobble.

 

ok. there's something wrong here. there is nothing that can make the axle shaft flange wobble other than the shaft being seriously damaged.. and if you replaced that axle with a new one and it still wobbles, it is damaged as well. unless you accidently put the old one back on.....

and the only way the flange could wobble from something in the differential is if the splines were rotating in a 4 inch circle pattern. but that would DESTROY the bearings at the flange. that can not be it.

Have you opened your diff cover and watched everything rotate inside?

 

tacomas dont have diff covers.

 

that cover in the front of the dif that the pinion goes through? thats not a cover?

 

the diff would have to be all kinds of fucked up for it to cause any noticeable wobble at the flange.

 

you talking about taking the whole third member out? if so no. thats not a cover

 

I thought this same thing which is why I replaced the axle. However when I replaced the axle I gauged the old axle and it wasn't bent at all. I have not opened the diff yet to check everything but what I'm going to do this weekend is swap the axles from one side to the other to see if the wobble is specific to the axle or the diff.

The back story on how this all started is a car hit my rear tire. So the impact could have traveled to the diff and threw something out of wack.

 

well poo on you! yes yes i forgot the actual diff is a part of that "cover" thereby making it a third member.

Anywho, OP, something is damaged, youre right. upload the video of the wobble to youtube and paste the link here. best way to go about it. the main problem im having is that there are only 2 points where the axle comes in contact with anything else on the diff. thats either at the thirdmember, or at the axle housing's "orifice" (see attached photo). so unless something got a little squished and when you bolt in the axle through the bearing housing (#10) forcing it to slightly bow inside (which would be difficult to comprehend cause the axle would snap in no time) there is nothing wrong with your rear diff.

 

and no matter what way I look at it. there cant be anything wrong with your axle or diff or anything else. tell me again, what are you seeing wobble? cause that impact could have bent the flange, but that would have gone away with the new axle. it also could have very easily bent your rim if you are seeing your rim wobble any bit while it's on..

for reference

 

Ok, here is the video of the old axle wobbling:



keep in mind that this axle in the video was gauged after it was removed and no bend was detected at all.

since this video i have replaced everything except the backing plate (including the break assembly) and the bearing case, and the wobble in the new axle is identical to this one (ill upload a video this weekend).

 

The axle in that vid is bent, be it the shaft, the flange or both. Max deviation on the flange is 0.1mm or 0.0039", max runout of the shaft is 2.0mm or 0.079".
If a second axle looks the same then it is also bent.

 

I know the axle is not bent because I gauged it and everything falls within spec. however, for the sake of conversation, let's pretend for a moment that I am correct in saying the axle is NOT bent in anyway. Would I be correct in saying the only other ways for the axle to wobble like this is either the bearing case (#10 in CodeSeven's post) is bent, or the differential (#21 in CodeSevens's post) is jacked? Believe me, I am just as confused as anyone here is as to why this thing is wobbling. This is why I even started this post to begin with, hoping someone could shed some light on potential reasons for this to be happening.

If we pretend for a moment that you are correct in that the axle IS bent, the chances of the new axle not only being bent but being bent to the exact same degree and having the exact same wobble is extremely hard to believe.

 

@Matic

Didn't you have something like this?

 

How did you "gauge" it? Take it to a machine shop and have the runout checked on it.

 

Axle or flange is bent outside of the bearing. I literally cant think of any other explanation. Even if the whole axle housing was bent there wouldn't be a wobble at the flange.