Cleaning And Inspection; Cleaning; Inspection - Chevrolet 1988 Light Duty Truck Repair Manual

CLEANING

Do not steam clean drive parts having ground and
polished surfaces such as gears, bearings, and shafts.
These parts should be cleaned in a suitable solvent. All
parts should be disassem bled before cleaning.
Parts should be thoroughly dried im m ediately after
cleaning. Use soft, clean, lintless rags. Parts may be dried
with compressed air. Do not allow the bearings to spin
while drying them with com pressed air.
It is very im portant to carefully and thoroughly inspect
a ll d riv e u n it p a rts b e fo re re a s s e m b ly . T h o ro u g h
inspection of the drive parts for wear or stress and
subsequent replacem ent of worn parts will elim inate
costly drive com ponent repair after reassembly.

INSPECTION

AXLE HOUSING
1? Inspect
• The c a rrie r bore for nicks or burrs that w ould
prevent the outer diam eter of the pinion seal from
sealing. Remove any burrs that are found.
• The b e a rin g cup s u rfa c e s fo r n icks or burrs.
Remove any burrs that are found.
• The housing for cracks. Replace the housing if any
cracks are found.
• The housing for foreign material such as metal
chips, dirt, or rust. Clean as necessary, as outlined
previously.
DIFFERENTIAL
1?
In sp ect
Pinion gear shaft for unusual wear.
Pinion gear and side gear teeth for wear, cracks,
scorring, and spalling.
Thrust washers for wear.
The fit of the differential side gears in the differential
case.
The fit of the side gears on the axle shafts.
Differential case for cracks and scorring.
Replace all worn parts.
93/4-INCH RING GEAR FRONT AXLE 4C2-7

CLEANING AND INSPECTION

PINION AND RING GEAR
lv
Inspect
Pinion and ring gear teeth for cracking, chipping,
scoring, or excessive wear.
Pinion splines for wear.
Pinion flange splines for wear.
The fit of the pinion on the pinion flange.
The sealing surface of the pinion flange for nicks,
burrs, or rough tool marks w hich w ould cause
damage to the seals' inside diam eter and result in
an oil leak.
Replace all worn or broken parts.
Ring and pinion gears are matched sets and are
both replaced any tim e a replacem ent of either is
necessary.
BEARINGS
I?
Inspect
Bearings visually and by feel. The bearings should
feel smooth when oiled and rotated while applying
as much hand pressure as possible.
The large end of the bearing rollers for wear. This is
where tapered roller bearing wear is most evident.
B e arin g cups for wear, cracks, b rin e llin g and
scorring.
If the rear axle was operated for an extended period
of time with very loose bearings, the ring gear and
drive pinion will also require replacement.
Low mileage bearings may have minute scratches
and pits on the rollers and the bearing cups from the
initial preload. Do not replace a bearing for this
reason.
Bearing caps for cracks or chips.
Bearings and cups are only replaced as sets.
SHIMS
lv
Inspect
Shim s for cracks and chips. W orn or dam aged
shims should be replaced with an equally sized
servise shim.