bent axle wheel mounting flange

[gtowner1265]

my dad spun out on our GT on a wet freeway on-ramp a few weeks ago and hit the curb with the rear wheel. At first we thought only the wheel got bent but after getting a replacement wheel we realized that the wheel mounting flange was also bent. What is the easiest way to remedy this? It is not considerably bent, it appears as if almost half of the flange is slightly sunken in. would take a picture but no camera Also, is there a possibility that something else in the axle got damaged, when i drive the GT i hear a noise somewhere near the middle of the axle to the pass. side (impact was drivers side).

Thanks in advance,
Daniel

[jordan]

A new axel half shaft would be the only real fix for it if the damage stopped there and it did not mess more stuff up as well.

[opelnut10]

Originally Posted by gtowner1265 my dad spun out on our GT on a wet freeway on-ramp a few weeks ago and hit the curb with the rear wheel. At first we thought only the wheel got bent but after getting a replacement wheel we realized that the wheel mounting flange was also bent. What is the easiest way to remedy this? It is not considerably bent, it appears as if almost half of the flange is slightly sunken in. would take a picture but no camera Also, is there a possibility that something else in the axle got damaged, when i drive the GT i hear a noise somewhere near the middle of the axle to the pass. side (impact was drivers side). Thanks in advance, Daniel

If it hit hard enough to bend the wheel and axle, and now you hear noise,then you could also have damage to the axle bearing or the carrier bearing. If you get a used axle make sure it has the same type axle bearing (roller or ball bearing) if after you change the axle you still hear the noise you need to look at the carrier bearings.

[hrcollinsjr]

The quickest way to ID the differential type that I know of is to look to the right side of the differential housing. On top of the tube will be some type of vent, if it's still there, a plastic tube sticking up or a little metal thingy sticking out of the hole. There may be a small built up of crud there if it is the earlier style. The plastic tube one is the later style and more desirable. New bearings for the earlier style are hard to come by. If it is this style I have a few sets of the bearings if they are needed.

HTH,
Harold

[yellaopelgt]

Does an Opel axle shaft use a conventional axle seal near the outer hub? I looked in the FSM and all I saw were "shields" water and dust. Reason I ask is when the carrier bearings go..the bits tend to tear out the seals and you end up with 90w oil all over the wheel and brakes. Although he may not have driven it enough to have this happen yet........ Depending on what year car this is you may want to replace the rear axle completely with a 72-73 rather than mess with an early one. If I'm not mistaken the early bearings are near immpossible to get.
Am I correct on this???(I'm gettin old)
Ahh, Harold answered part of my question while I was typing...

Joe

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by yellaopelgt Depending on what year car this is you may want to replace the rear axle completely with a 72-73 rather than mess with an early one. If I'm not mistaken the early bearings are near immpossible to get. Am I correct on this???(I'm gettin old) Ahh, Harold answered part of my question while I was typing... Joe

Depending on the availability of a later style axle it may be almost as cheap to swap in especially if the newer style is "ready to go". The earlier style takes standard drive in oil seals while the newer style uses sealed bearings with an O-ring to seal it to the housing.

Harold

[tomking]

I suggest you identify what rear end you have first. Then since you have to pull the axle and with the axle comes the bearing you will know if the bearing is good or not. Then locate another half shaft and try that first. If that doesnt fix the problem then a new rear end is in order as suggested. But I would try the new half shaft first. But then I have plenty of both half shafts. JMTCW.

[jeff denton]

My experience with bending axles upon impact (with a Toyota that had spun in front of me) was that it bent way inside where the huge axle shaft tapers way down into a tiny splined diameter. This is the noise you are hearing way inside, the splines are binding in the side gear.

[jlthunder]

I had a similiar accident way back in '85. It ripped the center bearing mounts (Doughnut) and bent the panhard bar(long one, not the two short ones) I always forget which bar is called which. I ended up replacing the entire rear axle assembly. It is a 2-3 hour job, not too bad.

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by tomking I suggest you identify what rear end you have first. Then since you have to pull the axle and with the axle comes the bearing you will know if the bearing is good or not. JMTCW.

ID the axle type first. Depending on what you have determines how you remove the axle shaft. The early style is retained by a C-clip and the newer style can be snatched out. My slide hammer of necessity is to reinstall the wheel without tightening the lug nuts completely and using the wheel assembly as the slide hammer.

HTH,
Harold

[jlthunder]

Originally Posted by hrcollinsjr My slide hammer of necessity is to reinstall the wheel without tightening the lug nuts completely and using the wheel assembly as the slide hammer. HTH, Harold

Or invert the brake drum instead of the wheel. This gives you more finger room.

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by jlthunder Or invert the brake drum instead of the wheel. This gives you more finger room.

A BFH is always better and that is what the wheel assembly is!


Harold

[jlthunder]

Using the inverted brake drum as a slide hammer works just the same. One to two hits with the brake drum and the axle pops right out. Whatever works is my motto!

[gtowner1265]

Sorry I've taken this long to get back to you all. I'm an electrical engineer in training i pretty much spend all day at school. Anyways, my car is a 73 and I am going to assume its the later style since i don't think anyone would switch to the earlier style. My dad also believes its the wheel bearing that makes noise so i guess we will have to change those, as well as probably change the rest of the half shaft. Btw, does OGTS sell them? I looked at the website and I didn't see them listed, I guess it must be an extra special order item. Or is it possible to just fix the bent flange and install new bearings???? Thanks again to everyone.

[guyopel]

When you bend the axle flange the brake drum will rub against the rear backing plate and may be your noise.
You can not repair a bent axle flange ,you would need to replace the axle and brg. HTH
John

[hrcollinsjr]

You probably have the later style as you have surmised. The e-brake lever will be a hook style with an eye on the cable and a plastic vent inboard on the right top side of the differential. Take the nuts off of the housing flange behind the axle flange and snatch the axle out. I would probably locate another axle shaft and have a new bearing installed. This will probably fix your problem. There are any number of us on the list with used axles. Do a WTB ad on the board and maybe you'll find one locally. OGTS probably has good used ones for sale.

HTH,
Harold

[tomking]

YES OGTS does sell the wheel bearings and in my experience they are as competitively priced as most of the industrial bearing houses. No reason to go anywhere else for those bearings in my opinion.