A little bit of a wobble

[fordhombre]

I have a '69 f-100, and my left rear wheel wobbles sometimes when i drive. I don't think it does it all the time, but i could be wrong. I've tried different wheels/tires, and it still wobbles.

Does anyone have any ideas of what I should look for? The studs and lug nuts are tight, so does that mean that the whole rear end needs to be replaced? I do have (what i think) is another good rear end that I could replace this with, but that's a bit of a chore and we're fixin' to make a big out of town move... i'll do it if that would be best, but the fewer variables there are that could break this pickup down, the better.

Thanks in advance!

[hossw71SportC.]

It sounds to me like a wheel bearing. Had one go out on me once. Wheel wobled a little right befor it went out. I was going down the road at about 60.
When i got stoped and looked at it there wasn't any thing left of the bearing.

[67heavystepside]

it could be a bent axel at the hub, check the oil seal see if it is leaking. the bent axel could cause the seal to leak.

[fordhombre]

It could be that the axle was bent. I had to have it straightened out in '99, when i was younger and very foolish... got a little ramp happy...

so now i guess it could be a bent axle, and i was going to check the oil seals, but i'm having problems getting the drum off. I remember changing the front wheel bearings there was a nut and cotter pin under the dust cover (which just popped off) that held that drum on. Is there a similar setup in the rear drums? I can pry my drum off a little bit on one side, but it snaps back in place, so i'm thinking its still being held on? But what I'm thinking is the dust cover in the rear, is flat with the drum and has three circular holes in it. I'm wondering how to go about getting that off? I could check wheel bearings and oil seals to see if i could discover the problem, but i think that dust cover might be giving me a problem. Anyone been in this boat before?

Thanks!

[Big D's 69]

Well if it doesn't do it all the time then I would say it is a bearing not an axle. I had one with a bent axle and it did it all the time.

[akimmet]

It could be that the axle was bent. I had to have it straightened out in '99, when i was younger and very foolish... got a little ramp happy...

so now i guess it could be a bent axle, and i was going to check the oil seals, but i'm having problems getting the drum off. I remember changing the front wheel bearings there was a nut and cotter pin under the dust cover (which just popped off) that held that drum on. Is there a similar setup in the rear drums? I can pry my drum off a little bit on one side, but it snaps back in place, so i'm thinking its still being held on? But what I'm thinking is the dust cover in the rear, is flat with the drum and has three circular holes in it. I'm wondering how to go about getting that off? I could check wheel bearings and oil seals to see if i could discover the problem, but i think that dust cover might be giving me a problem. Anyone been in this boat before?

Thanks!

There should be nothing holding the drums on in the rear except for the wheel lug nuts (which should already be off) and the pressure from the break shoes. That thing you are thinking is a dust cover is the end of the axle. Rear wheel bearings are nothing like the ones in the front.

If you want to change the bearings out yourself, go ahead and buy the service manual for your truck now. Trust me, it is important when you forgot how things were put together before you started...

Are you sure you have the parking break off? Sorry for the dumb question but I have to make sure...

If you don't have any breaks applied, sometimes you will need to adjust your drums in before you can pull them off. I've had a drum seize to the axle flange, but since you can move it even a little that isn't your problem. The spring action is definitely the shoes holding the drum on.

To do this you need to pull off the dust cover on the backing plate (the little rubber thing), then look inside the hole and pry up a little lever with one screwdriver then rotate a small toothed wheel one way or the other (I forget which way). However; I've never needed to do that to get a drum off, they usually slide off, once the parking break is off that is...

[fordhombre]

nah, don't apologize for the dumb question, but I don't have a parking brake anymore. I'll try backing off those shoes and see where that gets me. I thought i wouldn't have to do that because the drum would turn just a little bit pretty freely, but since it was in park, it wouldn't turn too much. I didn't get much resistance so i thought the brakes were good... i'll give it another shot. Thanks for the reply!

[71 LONG BED]

Sometimes your pads wear grooves into the drum. It will spin free but also hold on to the drum when trying to pull it off. Just a thought..

Are you sure you have the parking break off? Sorry for the dumb question but I have to make sure...

Guilty..did it on my wifes Honda once.

[67heavystepside]

how did it go , did you get the drum off ok . did you figure out if it was the axel or bearing. lets us know how it went.

[fordhombre]

Well i've had to work the past coupla days and haven't had time to get to work on it, but what i'm planning on is backing off the shoes and trying it again. But i was wondering if all dust covers look like that? One hole on each side, then a smaller hole in the center? I just wanna make sure I'm not gonna break a drum. But when i get to work on it some more, i'll definately update.

[flyboy2610]

The factory installs a small clip at the base of one of the wheel studs to hold the drum on until the wheels get installed. Check the wheel studs to see if that clip is still there. ( It could be that no one has had the drums off since the truck was new. A lot of us have found that clip still on there!) If the clip is still there, remove it, then back off the brakes. Soak yhe area around the studs with PB Blaster or another good pebetrating oil, then use a hammer and tap all over the face of the drum. It may be rusted to the axle flange.

[rjewkes]

I've always had to take a rubber mallet or small ballpeen hammer to the direct center of the axle and strike it dead on to loosen my rear drums. Just don't stike it with a glancing blow as this will mushroom the axle flange.

[fordhombre]

okay, turns out that the drum was just really seized to that dust cover center piece. I don't know if dust cover is the right word, but its that piece that the wheel studs and lug nuts go on.

But now I think i've opened up a new can of worms. I undid the four 3/4" nuts that hold that dust cover thing and the brake assembly together, and when i pulled, i got more than i bargained for.... I see here in the LMC truck magazine that there's a long rod that goes all the way up into the differential, and that kind of surprised me when i started pulling...

And now i've got a few questions.
1. how do i get the wheel bearings out??? The dust cover can't come any further out because the bearing and oil seal are keeping it attached to the brake assembly. Its like the brake assembly is blocked from coming out on both ends. Now...i haven't undone any of the brake springs or shoes or anything cause i didn't see what good that would do, just the brake line going into the wheel cylinder.

2. What have i got myself into with that rod??? Is there a gear at the other end that's gonna need to by synched right with the differential? How hard is it to set that rod back in there once i figure out how to get to those wheel bearings? I see a retainer bearing...is that some clue as to how to get these pieces apart?

Sorry if i'm not very clear, i only have an idea of what i'm doing... But i thank any brave person willing to help me out!

[flyboy2610]

Those four 3/4 nuts you removed are what holds the axle retainer to the axle tube. You are removing the entire axle (the long rod) from the differential. Just slide it back in, you may need to turn it to get the splines lined up. Then reinstall those nuts.
Unless you WANT to remove the whole axle. You have to do that to change the wheel (axle) bearings. They are pressed onto the axle shaft behind the axle retainer.
I would reinstall the axle, remove all the brake components, the pull the axle and take it to a shop to have the bearings changed.

[fordhombre]

so....then, where is the bearing that could be going bad? I thought I saw it on the back side of the brake assembly, but without pulling out that axle shaft, i don't know how to get those bearings off...

The brake assembly can't slide over the hub because the hub is too large, what can i do to get those bearings off/replaced?

Sorry i'm such a novice, but your help REALLY is appreciated! I'm moving 200 miles in a month and really want this pickup to make that trip.