CV Half shaft - 1985 Eagle Wagon

[maharoger]

earlier today my wife installed new inner and outer tie rods and new half shafts in her eagle wagon - both sides - and now that the spindle (castle) nut is torqued down it doesn't look right. the nut is so far down past the hole for the cotter pin that if the half shaft came with one, it wouldn't engage the castle nut notches. i compared the lengths (new and old) and they are the same. the old ones did not have cotter pins in then either nor castle nuts and even if they did, again the bolt was so far past the cotter pin hole that it wouldn't have engaged anyway. i am thinking it isn't an issue with the 180lbft torque. i could only find the one model of half shaft - "AM-8001" - so i'm not sure. if the picture attachment works it will be obvious what i am trying to say.
so does this appear to be correctly installed? is it an issue? is the torque enough to keep the nut in place? your help is appreciated.

[blackeagle]

I think that there is supposed to be a spacer between the outer cv joint and the inner wheel bearing !
Maybe the spacers are sitting on the old axles?

[maharoger]

I think there should be a spacer as well. I looked in my repair book at the exploded view of the front axle assembly and i don't see any mention of a spacer. There is a thread here that talks about a spacer and a dust slinger (i think that was what it was called) - neither of these were present on our takeoffs. Also the spacer shown in the scanned drawing in that thread didn't look sizeable enough for the job. From the looks of what i have the spacer would need to be 0.625-0.75 thick with hole diameter the size of the axle shaft and an outer diameter in the hub bearing range maybe. I'll be getting some better dimensions once it warms up outside.

[AMC of Houston]

The spacer we're talking about is actually part of the wheel bearing/hub assembly.  Look in the Eagle parts book in section 31.40.   They press on to the hub, but not very tightly - and they can (and do!) fall out sometimes with an axle removal, or get left out accidently in a bearing replacement exercise.

Also, there should be a big fat flat washer under the big nut - I can't tell if its there in your pic.

[maharoger]

thanks AMC of Houston. please forgive the hatchling questions. in the first attached picture i can see the end of the hub (splines on the inside) and the inner bearing (i think) and what looks like a seal of some kind (more cleaning required). if that is what i am seeing, then i do not see a way that the spacer could "press on to the hub" there is no room for it. in the other picture i circled a shoulder on the cv half-shaft which could accept the spacer maybe, but then the lip with the arrow would no longer engage the seal. i am guessing i'm going to be making a set of spacers so i want to get it right. thanks again for the knowledge.

[AMC of Houston]

OK; lets start from scratch - I'm assuming nothing since its an after market joint.  How long is the part of the joint that goes into the bearing (the skinny part; splines, threads, and everything)?  That should be 4.25 inches.   Next, when the joint is in the bearing as far as it will go; how much threaded part sticks out?  That should be about 1.25 inches.   If those measurements are OK; then your spacer is indeed in there (it looks like it is there in your pic, unless someone big-time botched a bearing job; in which case you'd have a load of slop in the hub).   If those two measurements are OK; then its just a matter of getting the right stack of washer, nut, and cotter pin cage.

Can you use the original washer and nut and cage??   Assuming the threads are the same of course.  Would that get you close to being right?

[maharoger]

AMC of Houston - i get the same numbers within a few thou. on both measurements.
using the washer/nut/cage the cotter pin hole is just past the tip of the cage castle so it doesn't engage the pin. if i double up the washer it looks like it would be just about right.
also, re-reading your post from the 10th - i think we didn't have the washer under the nut in my post which made it seem like a bigger shortfall than it actually is.

thanks for the help!