1979 rearend questions

[dagenham]

I think I have a bad wheel bearing in the right rear of my wife's pace car. Original rear as far as I know. Is there anything strange and out of the ordinary to watch for when I go for new bearings and try to remove the old ones? Probably only doing outers as I don't want to tear the gearset out unless absolutely necessary.

[stangPlus2Birds]

Check the rear axle.
Double check for wear (or a grove) on the rear axle.
The oil seal, or a bad bearing, can cause wear/scoring.

Also, the oil plug for the rear diff (8.8, or 7.5), can be a PITA to remove.
The 8.8 diff has a small bolt that has to be removed to take out the axles. It likes to break. Be very very nice to it.
I don't know if the 7.5 diff has a similar design.


Good luck!

[erratic50]

Trey shows where to drill to shove the broken end of the bolt out on an 8.8 if they break off in my 85 Saleen clone thread for what its worth.

7.5's like me even less than T5's....... heck, I've killed multiple 8.8's in my car over the years as far as that goes. Personally I'd upgrade to 8.8 and not look back.

[dagenham]

Thanks guys. Yeah I know al about the broken bolt inside the rear. Had that happen on an 88 4 cyl of all things. High mileage car. James, I'll just keep the 7.5 for now. It's her car not mine. She wont be beating on it. Just wanted to make sure there wasnt anything goofy about early years rears that I didnt know about. Sounds all normal.

[erratic50]

Good luck with the repair.

[dagenham]

Found the culprit tonight. Not a wheel bearing. The little plate that rides against the star wheel for the brake adjuster is half gone. I didnt do any of the brake work on this car. It was done by the po. Checked the other side and it was fine. So looks like a really simple fix.