apalmer1

Well, a while ago i was hit by a ford, and it broke my axle. The guy the insurance paid to work on it did not replace the bent backing plate when he switched the axleshaft, and as a result the bent plate ate the new wheel bearing, which in turn destroyed the inner and outer axle seals, the debris from which jammed the bearing against the inner race, breaking the inner race on the new axleshaft, which ruined the new shaft, and also destroyed the abs gear, and the wheel speed sensor. POOP

Unfortunately it looks as though the housing itself may be bent also, but thats not even the primary concern for now.

Im in the process of ordering a new axleshaft. I didnt really have enough money to buy a new one in the first place considering i was already broke and its 65 bucks for a wheel bearing plus inner and outer shaft seals. I cant seem to find anywhere that sells a normal stock shaft for less then 150 dollars, however its also 150 dollars for 4130 chromaly shafts from marlin or allpro. I was wondering if anybody sees a potential problem with running one 4130 shaft and one stock shaft in the rear axle untill i have enough money to buy another chromoly shaft for the right side as well.

Also, any input on a way to measure the axle tube for straightness, its hard to determine if its slightly bent using a straightedge or measuring with a tape.

Thanks in advance for anybody who replys, happy newyears

warriors_03

Take that back and have them fix it right. If the shop refuses, then I would consider placing a grievance with the insurance company and have them deal with it. If the place that THEY PAID to do the work did shoty work, then they should cover it and fix it. Either way it shouldn't be your hardship for their retardedness...

apalmer1

yea i hear ya im going to go talk to him again tommorrow, every time ive tried to approach this guy about it in the past he always finds a way to avoid me. Regardless, im certainly not letting him do the repairs again, i just need to know what im replacing at his fault and how much i need to bill him for. Still any advice would be appreciated.

One_96TR4

I wouldn't bother with the guy directly. I would contact your insurance company and explain them the situation. Tell them that you were hit and when the damaged was fixed by there "recommended" shop it was not done correctly and as a result you have so and so problems now. Also tell them you'd rather not have the same shop do the work again as they screwed up your car to begin with. Once you take your car to the insurance companies recommended shop they guarantee the work done for as long as you have the car.

86tuning

+1.

Also, consider that it sounds like the other driver's insurance company that is liable for the damages, not yours.

Whenever an insurance company asks me if I have a preferred shop, I always say 'dealership' because guess what... they work on these things all the time.

With impact big enough to bend a rear axle flange, the housing is always suspect. Easy to check though, just send it for an alignment, and look at the camber and toe numbers (after changing the axle duh). Anything more than 0.5 degrees in any direction is considered bent.

apalmer1

damn, then its certainly bent. last time i aligned it on the rack i pulled a 2.3 toe out on the side that was hit. I figured it would be reduced with a new backing plate as the way it was bent was changing the alignment angle. But not by enough to compensate for all of that.

Anybody know of any good chromoly or diamond axle housings that are e-locker compatible or easily modified?
Also if i pull a used housing at a junkyard is there any way other than digital imaging to check it for straightness before i install?