[j_norman1983]

just installed new currie axles into ford 9", came with plates, small bearing and retainer ring already installed, after about 200 miles of normal road driving both axles slide out from tube causing me to fishtail and eventually skid to a halt in my rear springs/diff.
with a closer look the retainer plates were still intact with bearing and press rings behind them on both sides of axle tube, I had to get towed to a shop brought the guy my old axles which he reinstalled and I made it home (3 days later after pumpkin inspection and reinstall), how could these rings release after so few miles under light driving conditions? is this common or maybe axles milled to narrow during production?? my first time with a ford 9" so looking for info if this has happened before to anyone else?

 

[big gear head]

Seems like the press fit was not tight enough. They must have ground the axle diameter too small.

 

[PHWOARchild]

I've seen guys install the retainers with a piece of pipe and a BFH... they have to be pressed on square or they won't hold.


But contact who you got the axles & the rest of the parts first. Try to accurately measure up the axle where the retainer sits.

 

[johnsongrass1]

Circle track guys learned along time ago to weld the bearing retainer to the axle or it will slide right through it tearing up stuff on the way out.
Getting the retainer back off if you have to change bearings can be tricky but on by the time you wear out a bearing you'll be into some other project anyway.
IF you don't like the idea of welding on the axle at least drill through the retainer and install a 1/2" press fit retaining pin to hold the thing together.

 

[boothboy]

I've seen guys install the retainers with a piece of pipe and a BFH... they have to be pressed on square or they won't hold.


But contact who you got the axles & the rest of the parts first. Try to accurately measure up the axle where the retainer sits.

I've seen the exact same thing happen with the pipe trick. They have to be pressed on.

BB :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[kso]

You definitely have an assembly failure there, and a dangerous situation. If you don't have a photo, get a receipt for the work of putting them back together and talk to Curry, figuring to send the assemblies back for inspection and repair. They need to know there is this issue. I have had no problems dealing with them, they are a competent shop, just be patient.

I never liked the design of those retainer rings, but figure on the side-load to be never more than a ton or so pulling on them...if it takes two tons to press the retainer on, good --in theory--. As soon as there is any looseness at all there will be a hammer effect to bang it off the rest of the way.

 

[bentwings]

Millions of axels have been assembled with the press fit retainer. Statistically there will be failures...enter the aftermarket and the percentage rises dramatically. If the axel surface is slightly undersize or the collar is oversize it can happen. Add the two and even non gamblers like me will give odds on it happening.

The only real way to,prevent it is to weld the press fit ring in place or multiple set screws.

The forever fix is to use full floating axels. The hub rides on bearings held to the housing by a nut or snap rings. The hub is driven thru a splined plate behind the wheel. The axel just floats in the plate. Simple, effective, expensive, bullet proof.

 

[big gear head]

Axles are heat treated. They are hard on the outside and softer in the center. This is what allows the axle to twist and flex slightly without breaking. Any welding that you do on an axle is going to affect the heat treatment of the steel. Heating the ring will also cause it to relax and loose it's press fit. I would never recommend welding on an axle. Drilling a hole in the axle is also going to make it weaker, if you can even drill through it.

Something is wrong with these axles or the bearing retainers. When you figure out what it is then the problem can be fixed without welding or drilling.

 

[lmsport]

Were the bearings brand name bearings, or do they have no markings, or maybe just marked "China"? The last Timken Ford axle bearings (514003) I bought were just no name bearings in the Timken box, I made the supplier verify that they came from Timken that way. Those bearings just look cheap compared to the ones marked Timken, and they had no markings at all.

 

[j_norman1983]

the rings have no markings at all and I haven't seen enough of them to say whether they were either cast or milled in house, the bearings are from china, says koyo which i assume is the brand name,

but as I measured the axles one looks almost tapered by the measurements adding 2/1000's across the contact surface for the ring, where the other was the same all the way across, used a HF micrometer but I have a gage block and this meter was spot on, 1.000, when testing accuracy at 1" on the block

I am sending the stuff out to Currie in the am along with some pics, my passenger side shock and leaf spring plate was ground down (probably helped me to stop) which I just noticed today when I actually got the care home and jacked it up, need a new shock as well now as half the bottom eye was ground off, had the drive home been longer than a mile I don't know if this thing would have lasted

 

[lmsport]

Koyo is OE for many Japanese cars. They are good bearings. I bet the axle is slightly undersize as BGH suggested.