I did some exploratory surgery on my auto hubs in preparation for swapping in Aisins.

The little snap ring at the end of the shaft wasn't snapped in place...DOH!... I *think* this has allowed the outer splines to be worn off. I'm going to try the "grind a new groove w/Dremel and use 24mm ring" trick.

I'll need shims too, but how much end play should there be?

Is it correct to say that the only thing keeping the axle shaft in the spindle is the snap ring? What should the inboard side of spindle look like? When I went to reinstall the auto hub, I had to push the axle out quite a bit to be able to get the snap ring back on (maybe 1/2" or more) - the "springiness" of the CV shaft/boots wanted to pull it back out of the spindle.

What's the function of the small snap ring on the axle using auto hubs vs. the bolt-and-washer? Their function seems redundant to some degree.

Jerry says:
As close to zero on the end play, usually about .002-.004" based on the available shims.

Someone correct me if I've got this wrong, but the bolt (assuming you are talking the hub bolt) holds the hub/rotor on the spindle and the snap ring holds the axle in the hub.

No this is a single bolt and thick washer, screws into the end of the shaft. Probably has no use on the manual hubs since the hub body is much shallower.

No this is a single bolt and thick washer, screws into the end of the shaft. Probably has no use on the manual hubs since the hub body is much shallower.

Nope. That is somebody's aftermarket addition. Most likely they a) did not know what they were doing or b) the splines were shot or c) they saw a threaded hole and were determined that *something* needed to fill it.

I've see it on rigs with destroyed splines. It works, not ideal, but it works.

Michael

Well of all the knucklehead...!!#@!...do you think this "fix" would help on the manual hubs too with the snap ring much further in on the shaft? Am I wrong in thinking that there's a design deficiency here? I mean, if the ring comes off, the end play goes sky high. In the somewhat long term I want to SAS anyway, so if I can use a bolt and some shims to keep the shaft in place for a while OR cut a groove for a smaller ring, maybe that would be an ok temporary solution.

I checked both sides, the pass. side didn't even have a snap ring. Both axle's splines are stripped off where the 26mm ring would go. I'm going to try to get the axles sans the inner cup from the truck I pulled the hubs from - the yard only wants $16 per side. The donor truck is sitting with the weight on the front housing and skid plate, so I hope I can get them off easily. Barring that, I'll have to use a smaller ring.

Thanks for the info...I was pretty confused when I took the auto hubs off...like, "Where does the 26mm ring go???"

Actually, now that I think about it, the bolt is pictured in my Haynes manual, along with the snap ring. The text is a bit confusing since they seem to mix disassembly of the auto vs. manual hubs in the same paragraphs, but the photos do indeed show a bolt on the end of the shaft. Page 8-14, figure 18.6a. There's no mention of the bolt in the text, maybe they were just using it to pull out the shaft...perhaps the previous owner saw this. The photos that show removal of the cap on the autos don't show a bolt.

Michael,

Why do you say it's not ideal? The snap rings obviously weren't doing their job (or the previous owner wasn't doing his - checking the play on the shafts). I think Toyotas use a bolt instead of snap rings. Is the danger just that the bolt will back out? Thanks.

I would say that the photos inthe manual are showing how to pull the axle out to put the snap ring on.And very possibly whoever did the work before saw this and thought that it stayed in the hole and left it there <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> When I got the black truck of mine that had auto hubs , I had the same problem , the snap rings were gone , and the splines were so worn out they were smooth.I just ended up using the axles out of the other truck that had the manuals on them anyway <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Why do you say it's not ideal?

Because that is not what a bolt is designed to do. The c-clip is there because the axle does "float" a bit. Some of that float is within the range set by the shims, some is there due to the compression of the seal in the back side of the spindle. A bolt will never be "tight" and could come loose.

That said, the most ideal thing is to replace the axle. That is not very fun. After that, whatever method you find acceptable and functional is great. It either works or not. For the effort/time/money involved in axle replacement, I am not adverse to entertaining the idea of doing the bolt/washer thing.

Michael