I've used the drum on backwards trick to pull drums easily for years. I guess I learned that going to the pick and pull back in the 80s. Since then I found a great old US made axle puller at a swapmeet...think I paid $10. Find what the bearing numbers are and look on ebay. When I had my '56 Cadillac...I did just that. Got an old 60s US made NOS bearing for like $10. Those are much better than any modern made crap..especially if it's imported.
Got my bearings o rings and gaskets on eBay The rebuild prices I got for my pumpkin was about what I paid for the new one I got which has been rebuilt with all new bearings etc...if my pinion and ring gear was bad and judging by the sounds the rear was making it may have been it would have cost that much more. Got all the parts just need to yank em....
Years ago we used to do the chain thing with a cement block for momentum weight attached to the chain. A little crude but it never failed. I'd put a couple bolts on just the backing plate and the housing so you don't yank the plate along with the axle by mistake, tough on the brake line.
E-Bay item number 391962140851 is an example of the puller I was referring to; I bought the other one that was for sale, even though it was more "used", but it was also about half the price, and in Washington State. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Welcome to the club for 56 Chevrolet axle removal tool purchasers for the day! I almost bought the one you did; had it been just a touch cheaper.................but I also did't think it would be bought after I posted about it so quick. The entire rear axle assembly in my 56 Sedan Delivery is all new; Positraction, 4.88:1 gears, Yukon axles, all new bearings and fasteners, plus it has a billet cap on the left side. I'd bought one of Aubrey Bruneau's cap support kits, but this billet cap popped up, so I grabbed it. Some aftermarket parts to beef these rear-ends are still out there, you just have to be patient, watchful, and buy the stuff when you find it-don't wait; you snooze, you looze. If you swap to a Positraction at some time in the future, be sure and SHORTEN the 56 axles 1/8" each. If you go with one of the new EATON Positractions, then the axles don't have to be shortened. NITRO is good for stock type Positractions, gears, bearings and seals. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I tore my 57 rear apart and found that even though the drain plug was in the right place for a 57 the axle bearings on both ends were the smaller type that are use on 55 and 56 housings. The machine shop burn off the old bearing and installed my new bearings without anyone (me included) measuring the OD of the bearings. Thus when I re-installed the axles the new bearings (I think they were 3 in OD) they would not fit--to big. I measure the housing and found the ID was smaller than 3 inches and was the same as the 55/56 bearings. In summary check the OD of the axle bearings both new and old, before removing and installing the new bearings (make sure they are the same).
some really good tings here how hard is the differential to pull once the bolts are off? I know its heavy, but I assume it wil need to be pried off with a screwdriver since the gasket will stick. Any issues with the axles splines etc? I need to check, car has not been beat to death but I'm sure it was rode hard at a few points in its life
Sure, they can be a bugger but if you're concerned about it flopping on the ground from aggressive pulling; a little creativity with a small sheet of plywood and a medium length pipe should work. After removing the driveshaft; reinstall the u-joint u-bolts, install the nuts loosely and put the pipe through the u-bolts and have an assistant help to evenly tug the third member out. May require a couple of whacks with a soft hammer, let it flop out on the plywood.
May be a little hard to break the "seal" after being there for so long. Weighs a little more than 70 lbs with a Positraction, a little less if an open carrier. Get ready for a real pleasant smell with old gear oil, and have a drain pan set underneath. Don't completely remove all the nuts before prying the third member loose. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Hello, We had a 55-56 Chevy rear axle assembly in our 671 SBC 40 Willys build in 1960. It came with a standard 3:55 gear unit. We swapped it out for the Posi-Traction 4:11 unit from our 58 Impala. If I recall some 58 year old memory, it was a pretty simple swap. I had been the designated “exchanger” since 1958, crawling under the jack stand rear portion of the Impala to get at the rear housing. It was a simple process that had to be done most weeks we were racing at Lions Dragstrip. It started with the Impala first, then in 1960 after the stock class racing was over, it was the same scenario under the 40 Willys coupe. We (I) exchanged the 4:11 posi unit for the 4:56 posi gear unit until we were happy with the results. 1960 The hardest thing was the unbolting the tedious, multiple nuts off of the third member housings, after getting the oil drained. Laying on cold concrete underneath the Impala with a ratchet was not the best thing to do at night. But, before that scenario comes to mind, using a standard axle puller got those long axles out easily. Then after those multiple nuts on the 3rd member housing, it was just yanking out that heavy gear housing. After several tries at yanking it out and having it fall onto the blanket, we started using a hydraulic floor jack to make the transition of “out and down” so much easier. That third member is one heavy piece. The reversal installation became one easy step because of the hydraulic jack being able to lift the heavy 3rd member up and over. One thing I noticed right away, after working on our 58 Impala, when I drained out the oil, it had this rotten fishy smell. Compared to the oil I bought for the original, 56 housing. The local parts guy said that regular rear end oil for non Posi-Traction third members was almost like regular oil in texture, color and smell. The Posi-Traction oil had something in it to make it smell bad, but it was strictly for use in the Posi-Traction third members. Contrary to the article about using Positraction additives for the rear end oil, my 58 year old memory thinks it came in the oil can premixed. I can’t remember if I added and mixed the separate posi oil to the regular oil. (I vote for premixed…) But, it was from the GM parts department. Jnaki All of those nights spent under those two cars changing the third member unit weekly or monthly is/was ok. It taught me a lot about perseverance. I wanted to drive, race, cruise, so it had to be done. It was a ritual to get everything set up and start the process as soon as possible after school. Especially for Friday nights, then it was already set up for the weekend Lions Dragstrip races. My brother? He was usually inside the warm house listening to music or playing his guitar. (Older brother shenanigans.)
jnaki That little bottle of posi lube additive sure was a good seller for GM, I first came on the car scene with my first car, a 61 Impala in 1969 and recall buying my last bottle in the late 90's.
Good that you've realised there's some weight coming your way, so do be mightily careful. I know of a guy that was pulling the chunk out of a 9" on his own, under a '36 truck. Seems it landed on him and he was trapped, possibly panicked or strained himself but either way had a heart attack and died right there. Some creativity with a floor jack required, certainly on re-installation. Chris
That smell is from the whale sperm fluid that is in the GM additive !! One good thing about 55 to 64 chunks is after you blow up the chunk the 1st time , the axles are easy to remove the next TIMES . Later Bill
Speaking of "chunks", back in high school about 1970 I had my 57 BelAir and my buddy had a 210 wagon, both 283/4 speeds, it was common practice for us to do burn outs whenever there was a group of people around, we both broke axles, spider gears and ring/ pinions. That is until the limitations of the 55-64 Chevy rearends finally sunk in. One memory though is when my friend blew up his r&p, he put a wrecking yard third member in it but failed to reach in the bottom and retrieve the gear bits, guess what? Hello wrecking yard,, do you have another third member.
Hey DDDenny, Wow, we must have been lucky or someone was smiling down on us. Of all the full bore acceleration we did in the 58 Impala (58-65) and the 8 months of racing the 671 SBC 40 Willys, we never had a rear end problem or breakdown. When we sold the Impala in 1965, the new owner took our the 4:56 Posi Traction third member and checked the whole thing out. He said it looked like a brand new unit. The 4:11 Posi Traction was sold in January 1961 with the other racing parts from the 40 Willys left overs. The pre-sale exam was a lot easier when the whole rear axle is sitting on a couple of jack stands and you can sit to take out those multiple nuts. The result, it too was in pristine condition. Thanks, Jnaki Our local scrap yard in Wilmington did have a whole row of Chevy third members on those heavy duty 2x4 wooden racks.
I'm thinking I was trying to blow up my 3.08's on purpose so I could "gear down" as my buddies wagon had ?3.70? gears. I found a 4.11 third member at our local yard and when I went to pay for it the counter guy (always had a cigar in his mouth) said that ones gonna cost more than your last one. I don't remember how much more it cost but I didn't care, man I was gonna show them in the high school parking lot Monday who was king. Problem was, a couple weeks later my buddy sold his wagon and had me drive him to get his new car, a two year old 68 Z/28 Camaro.
Funny thing about wheel bearings.Had one start leaking really bad when i went to HRR in Bowling Green. Tried to find one locally.no luckFinally found a place said they could get it. While i was looking had the wife back here in Bama on the phone with Late Great Chevy club. I could buy it, have it dropped shipped next day to buddys house in BG cheaper than i could buy it from parts store up there.It was for a 62 model rear. I finally just bought 2 quarts of rear end dope, drive 50 miles get out and check fluid. re-peat. made it home no problem but a little dirtier .This will get mixed responses so take it as you will.I always tack weld the bearing to axel so it won't walk out. I said TACK WELD, not lay a bead. 3 spots should do it. Old drag racer told me about trick .
I learned a few things here 1. That axle puller worked great 2. Someone has these out before axles and bearings looked good...but they replaced one of the bolts for the flange with a size smaller I’ll need new ones 3 they didn’t use any gasket between the flange and axle housing..I have new ones. Thanks a ton all that helped here
1959, My old bud Jack had a '31 Plymouth P-A Coupe (3 window) former restoration that I installed a '54 Chrysler 354" Hemi in. Used a '53 Pontiac rear, he fried an axle bearing, it got very 'loud' on the way home. He had trouble getting lug nuts off, it had gotten so hot. When he did get drum & flange bolts off he couldn't get that axle out to save his life. He had his neighbor, 'Hoppy' help him, by attaching a 20 foot chain to his Dad's Chevy Apache 10 pickup, and with plenty of slack, gun the pickup and 'snap' the axle out! "BOOM!" The axle came flying outa there like it was shot out of a gun! They watched, like in slow motion...as the axle gracefully gained some altitude...seemed to pick up speed...and smooshed the big back window of Jack's Dad's truck! It was at the end of the chain when it punched thru. Scared the shat out of 'Hoppy'!
CAUTION ; Make sure when the bearing is pressed on the axle that it fits nice and TIGHT . The axle will come out of the bearing and the tire will hit the body .
I was using the chain method to get an axle out of my 66 Lincoln. After about 120 attempts, the axle came flying out...I had to jump outta the way. The other side {R} came out with no tools involved. HINT: Never get drunk and power brake up your primo 66 lincoln coupe [on wet pavement] to show your buddies how much tire smoke it can make, especially if it has no posi...spider gears are kinda fragile.
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