[Shop-talk] [Spits] Bent Axles?

[Douglas Braun]

If the axle were bent, you could measure runout of the hub or wheel,
or maybe runout of the center portion of the axle shaft. I would take
a lot of measurements before jumping to conclusions.  You could also
eyeball the distance between the edge of the brake drum and the
backing plate as you turn the wheel, but this could depend on how
accurately the drum was made  (I believe the edge wouldn't ever have
been trued up on a lathe,)

Doug Braun
'72 Spit

On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 8:45 AM, Todd Bermudez <red_tr250 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Pretty sure I know the answer to this...just hoping I'm wrong.
>
> After pulling the differential out of the wife's 1968 MK1 GT6 and replacing
it, I'm reassembling everything.  I hung the axle assembly and installed the
axles at the differential.  I hadn't installed the shock yet and decided to
rotate the axle.  I noticed the spring going up & down...maybe 1/4"?  I did
the other side & it did the same thing.  After getting the shocks installed I
spun both axles & notice a slight up & down motion of the spring.  Is this
normal?  Are both axles bent?  It's hard to tell with a straight edge.  For
now, I'm going to "run what i brung" as I have to have it ready for the
Louisville British Bash.  I do have another set of axles to use...of course
they could be bent too?  I guess the proof will be the drive to Louisville.  I
had the drive shaft balanced & new UJs installed in both the Driveshaft and
axles.