Possible Bent Axle ?

[ragrim]

Hi,

Im having a bit of a problem... ill start from the beginning.....

A long long time ago...... 3 months actually, i bought a VS, the guy told me it had a wheel bearing gone in the back right, test drove it and back right had squeeks.. no worries wheel bearing it is..

Got the car home took the axle out and packed it with greese, squeek stopped.. 1 week later oil started leeking from that axle so i took the axle out and replaced the bearing and seal, at the same time i replaced all brake pads with bendix pads, car back together sounded fine no squeeks....

Car didnt get driven for a month then took it for a blue slip, now sounds like there is a squeek from all 4 wheels, but 2 of my mates insist its only comming from the rear, funny thing is the squeek stops when i put on the brakes and it stops when i go over 110kmh, and also i have a vibration in the rear under acceleration.

To me it sounds like i have warped rotors on the rear and the new pads are rubbing, both my mates reckon i have a bent axle, What are the chances of it being a bent axle? is there any sure fire way to find out if it is?

Thanks anyone who takes the time to read my long ass post.

[Rossbx]

There are a couple of ways to test if the axle is straight.
Take the axle out
1/ Check for straightness with a one metre straight edge.
2/ Lay the axle shaft on flat bench surface (shaft only) and roll it along watching the ends for wobbles
3/ Put the axle in a lathe
4/ Try another axle

I hope this helps

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

More likely to be warped rotors.

Does the steering wheel shudder or the brake pedal pulsate under high speed braking?

[VSPantha]

I had a VS with a bent rear axle... ended up scrubbing the inside of the tyre down to the steel... maybe check for uneven tyre wear.

[ragrim]

More likely to be warped rotors.

Does the steering wheel shudder or the brake pedal pulsate under high speed braking?

Yeah it does, i know the front rotors are rooted, but its hard to tell if the squeek is comming from the front or rear when driving, i jacked it up to try replicate the noise but didnt do it.

Either way im changing all 4 rotors this weekend and see what results that produce.

I have access to a VR wagon for parts, does the axle from a wagon fit a sedan? maybe iitll be worth swapping it over and see what happens.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Pretty sure they are the same. All the rotors will swap straight over providing the VS doesn't have ABS.

[ragrim]

well i might raid the axles out of it this weekend and get the rear rotors from it, and just buy new rotors for the front, maybe save myself a few bucks.. pretty rare to warp rear rotors anyway i thought

[Ballzy7]

im having the same bloody problem from my VR wagon ive changed brake pads and machined my rotors but the sqeak still continues once you find the problem please update

[ragrim]

apparently one way to tell is to lift the back wheels off the ground, take it out of gear and spin the wheel, if there is up and down movement in the wheel, perticularly the centre of the wheel then axle is bent, i did this last night and had a wobble on 1 side but it was hard to tell if it was bent rims tires or an axle.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

well i might raid the axles out of it this weekend and get the rear rotors from it, and just buy new rotors for the front, maybe save myself a few bucks.. pretty rare to warp rear rotors anyway i thought

Very common to warp front rotors, the rears do warp, but not as common as the front.

[VN_Luke]

are your rear brake pads wearing unevenly? i.e. the side with the suspected bent axle has more wear than the other side?

[ragrim]

havnt checked my pads, they are brand new, seen 300kms of use. ill checking this weekend though when i get under the car to do some work.

[VN_Luke]

havnt checked my pads, they are brand new, seen 300kms of use. ill checking this weekend though when i get under the car to do some work.

yeah if you have a bent axle the pads will generally wear out much quicker on the bent axle side.

anyway - an axle is cheap from the wreckers, and will take you 20 mins to fit

[ragrim]

is it a must to replace the bearing and seal when changing the axle? id like to avoid it if i have to change the axle cause i only just spent $75 putting a new bearing and seal on + oil.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The bearing is pressed onto the axle so if you change that, the bearing goes with it.

[ragrim]

yeah i know that, im just wondering if its going to break the seal or something.

[ragrim]

Confirmed it is a bent axle, took rotor and caliper off and stuck the car in drive, the axle is as bent as a banana....

Not too much of a worry, i have a VR wagon i can rip an axle out of, also been offered a an LSD from a VN SS for $200..