<VV> Loose axle

[Hugo Miller]

Well, yes and no; I had the car up on ramps, with a hefty bottle jack 
under the lower wishbone, as far out towards the wheel as I could get it 
(which was about the base of the shock-absorber). So the wheels were not 
exactly dangling, but neither were they in their normal running position 
- somewhere in between.
My aim was to check the u/j's for play. There is a minuscule amount of 
play in the left u/j, and none at all in the right. Conversely, there is 
a great deal of play in the right yoke where it comes out of the diff, 
but none at all in the left.
I must confess I hadn't even considered the possibility that the axle 
shaft might be pulled out slightly from its normal running position. I 
will crawl underneath and see what it feels like with its feet on the 
ground.
Thanks for the tip.
PS there was a British car, the Triumph Herald, in which the axle shaft 
effectively formed the bottom suspension arm. The flanges were securely 
attached to the diff at one end and to the hub at the other, so the 
wheel described an arc about the inboard flange as the suspension rose 
and fell. There was a transverse spring or something that formed the top 
suspension link. When I started looking at the Corvair, I thought I was 
looking at a similar system - I hadn't realised the axle shafts were 
free to slide in & out. The nett effect is similar, however, with 
massive variations in camber as the suspension goes up & down. It all 
works well enough though, despite what Herr Nader may have claimed to 
the contrary! ;)

On 2020-03-04 17:56, wfcc at mediacombb.net wrote:
> Hugo,
>
>  I don't think I've  seen it asked here, but this play you are
> talking about, Is it when the car is jacked up and the wheels are
> hanging free ? If so that is normal. especially on the side with the
> short stub axle. They fixed that problem on the much improved late
> models...…… but Smitty wouldn't know about that…<GGG>
>
>
>  Ed Lindsay
>
>  West Florida Corvairs
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Hugo Miller via VirtualVairs <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
> Sent: Wed, 04 Mar 2020 17:45:47 -0500 (EST)
> Subject: Re: <VV> Loose axle
>
>
> On 2020-03-04 16:02, Smitty wrote:
> [edited]
>> I would like you to be more restrained when commenting.  I didn’t 
>> see
>> Bills comments as being patronizing.  Just a knowlegible longtime
>> Early owner trying to keep a newbie from making what could be an
>> expensive and time consuming mistake.  It doesn’t pay to assume when
>> dealing with persons ranging from automotive engineers to a teen age
>> kid that doesn’t know a left handed monkey wrench from a 
>> screwdriver.
>>        Smitty
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>
>
> This is the comment I described as patronising;
>
> "Hugo - please stop tinkering with your car.  Take some time to get 
> the
> appropriate manuals and read and familiarize yourself with the parts 
> of
> your car before you go any further.  Or, if not that, meet up with a
> local Corvair club to look over it with you.
> Bill"
>
> And it is. Damned patronising. Telling me to stop 'tinkering' with my
> own car. Who has the right to tell me that? I've been 'tinkering' 
> with
> cars and commercial vehicles in a professional capacity for the last
> fifty-odd years.
> I was seeking advice on whether anybody had similar experience of 
> play
> in the axle shaft, as I couldn't see exactly where it originated. I 
> will
> happily listen to advice from any quarter. But please don't talk down 
> to
> me. That is guaranteed to piss me off.
> Going back to my original question, there seems to be a consensus 
> that
> the play is where the yoke runs in the diff gear / housing. There is
> just a remote possibility that a new yoke will cure or alleviate it, 
> but
> Sod's law says that's unlikely. I've got to drop the whole lot out 
> some
> time soon anyway, so it will have to do until that happens.
>
>
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