Ticking rear axle

Maintenance advice to keep your Spider in shape.
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SteinOnkel
Posts: 1000
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 9:31 pm
Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider 1800

Ticking rear axle

Post by SteinOnkel »

Hey guys,

when I turn right under load there is a rhythmic ticking noise coming from the rear end.

I'm thinking passenger side wheel bearing?

Cheers
Steiny
18Fiatsandcounting
Posts: 3780
Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:23 pm
Your car is a: 1969 and 1971 124 spiders
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Re: Ticking rear axle

Post by 18Fiatsandcounting »

Could be. Also check your rubber bushings in the linkage for the rear brake compensator. About a month ago, I found that the bushings in mine were completely gone (as in worn out and fallen off), so the metal parts were clicking against each other as the car leaned to one side or pitched forward or backward. Mostly during braking rather than turning, though.

The anti-vibration springs for the rear brake pads can also shift around and make noise, but that's more of a metal-against-metal screech than a click.

Just trying to find easy fixes for you, although replacing a rear wheel bearing isn't too bad. Easier than a transmission! :D

-Bryan
SteinOnkel
Posts: 1000
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 9:31 pm
Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider 1800

Re: Ticking rear axle

Post by SteinOnkel »

Hmm there was some rubber bushing on the compensator that I replaced with a rubber hose cut to fit.

I'll take a gander. I'm pretty sure the passenger side axle seal has failed as well. I'm guessing this is one of those take shaft out take it to a machine shop sort of jobs?
18Fiatsandcounting
Posts: 3780
Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:23 pm
Your car is a: 1969 and 1971 124 spiders
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Re: Ticking rear axle

Post by 18Fiatsandcounting »

The rubber hose trick on the compensator bushings would probably work. Note that I was thinking of the two bushings that secure the 4 inch linkage (on the driver's side) from the rear axle to the compensator actuator rod. Just so we're on the same page.

The rear axle bearings aren't too bad, and I just replaced them in my '69. No issues with the old bearings, but I had purchased some bearings a few years ago when they were on sale, so I figured, why not?

Anyway, remove the wheel, brake caliper, and rotor. Use a circlip tool to remove the internal circlip in the end of the rear axle. The axle shaft should (in theory) just slide out, perhaps with some gentle persuasion from your favorite hammer. I used a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel to cut through the collar that holds the bearing in place, and once I got most of the way through the collar, it released with a loud "pop". Use eye protection! If you do this yourself, be careful not to cut into the rear axle shaft, or you can just take it to a shop and have them do the work. The new collars have to be pressed on with a press, so for that part, I took it to a shop. Make sure you note which way the collar goes, as it's pressed on in a sorta counterintuitive direction. There is a 3" diameter or so dust shield that goes on before the bearing and collar, so make sure you give this to the shop with directions to install first.

In my case, I froze the axle shafts in the freezer for a couple hours, heated up the bearings to 150 oF or so on an outdoor grill, and the warm bearing just slid on the cold axle shaft with no effort. It immediately starts to grab once the axle shaft and bearing come to the same temp, so do this quickly and make sure the bearing is all the way down on the axle shaft. The collar has to be done in a shop as that is a pretty tight interference fit. Maybe 0.005" or so. The bearing has less of an interference fit, maybe 0.001" or 0.002", so the temperature differential trick works. Steel expands (or contracts) roughly 0.001" per 100 degrees, so the difference between my freezer (zero) and the grill (150 or so) provided the necessary clearance.

Remove the old seals, clean everything up, press in the new seals with a seal installer (I used a large socket with the appropriate diameter), lubricate the seal lip with some oil, slide in the axle shaft with the new bearing/collar, and reinstall the circlip. Install the rotor and caliper, and you're done. :D

Oh, I almost forgot: Drain the differential oil before starting, and refill when done.

-Bryan
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