Grooves in aluminum rear axle.

RACEMS41 · 2/10/09, 7:40 PM

A friend brought me a Winters aluminum axle rear end to go through for him. I'm an asphalt guy who has no dirt experience, although I have rebuilt many qc rearends.
I have never seen grooves worn in the axle under the side plate seals.
Is this common in a dirt application? We do not see this on asphalt rears.
JIM

TQ29m · 2/10/09, 8:54 PM

I didn't know they didn't! I've been thru a lot of things, that have a seal running on aluminum, and they all, at least what I've been into, have a groove in the aluminum. I've worked with seal manufacturers in the past, and they make a sleeve, and another seal, that will replace the grooved area, if it gets to leaking. Don't think being run on dirt, has much to do with it, I've seen it on harmonic balancers, everything. Not to worry, unless it's leaking. Bob

LEADERS EDGE · 2/10/09, 9:31 PM

It is very common. I will say that Winters rears seem to do it more than any other brand.

There are many theories as to why it happens. Some feel that the rears aren't "breathing" well enough and the vacuum is causing it. Others feel dirt is the problem. Oversized axles another.

I can honestly say that I have seen it in many different situations and that vacuum and dirt do not seem to be the cause. We have some customers who have the problem and others who never have and they run the same rears in the same application in the same way.

I have only had one rear that the axle grooves caused it to leak. There is the fear that the grooves cause the axle to weaken and make it vulnerable to breaking. I have never personally seen an axle in my shop or the track in which I felt that was the case. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but I haven't seen it.

BR sells a sleeve for that application. I'm sure it is a sleeve that can be picked up at a bearing house. Some people call them speedi-sleeves. I haven't used one.

One suggestion we where given was to put grease inside the seal portion before assembly. It doesn't seem to help, but it isn't a bad idea.

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2/10/09, 7:40 PM	#1 Grooves in aluminum rear axle.
RACEMS41 Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 119	A friend brought me a Winters aluminum axle rear end to go through for him. I'm an asphalt guy who has no dirt experience, although I have rebuilt many qc rearends. I have never seen grooves worn in the axle under the side plate seals. Is this common in a dirt application? We do not see this on asphalt rears. JIM

2/10/09, 8:54 PM	#2 Re: Grooves in aluminum rear axle.
TQ29m Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 6,663	I didn't know they didn't! I've been thru a lot of things, that have a seal running on aluminum, and they all, at least what I've been into, have a groove in the aluminum. I've worked with seal manufacturers in the past, and they make a sleeve, and another seal, that will replace the grooved area, if it gets to leaking. Don't think being run on dirt, has much to do with it, I've seen it on harmonic balancers, everything. Not to worry, unless it's leaking. Bob

2/10/09, 9:31 PM	#3 Re: Grooves in aluminum rear axle.
LEADERS EDGE Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 980	It is very common. I will say that Winters rears seem to do it more than any other brand. There are many theories as to why it happens. Some feel that the rears aren't "breathing" well enough and the vacuum is causing it. Others feel dirt is the problem. Oversized axles another. I can honestly say that I have seen it in many different situations and that vacuum and dirt do not seem to be the cause. We have some customers who have the problem and others who never have and they run the same rears in the same application in the same way. I have only had one rear that the axle grooves caused it to leak. There is the fear that the grooves cause the axle to weaken and make it vulnerable to breaking. I have never personally seen an axle in my shop or the track in which I felt that was the case. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but I haven't seen it. BR sells a sleeve for that application. I'm sure it is a sleeve that can be picked up at a bearing house. Some people call them speedi-sleeves. I haven't used one. One suggestion we where given was to put grease inside the seal portion before assembly. It doesn't seem to help, but it isn't a bad idea.