At least thru 65 (the FSM I have), the 7.25" rear-ends don't use screw adjusters.

The adjustment for side-play, preload, and gear contact is done by juggling the spacer thickness on each side of the carrier


I don't know if this ever changed with a later model year, and if it did, what year it changed

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I had a noisy 7.25 and the problem was the front pinion bearing. I ordered rearend kit from RockAuto and made the adjustment tool by myself. There are adjusters inside the axle tubes for the side bearings, you only need correct size (1 3/8" or 28mm if I remember right) nut what you weld in to the extension rod.

Thanks for advice!

No threaded adjusters in my axle - I looked thru axle tubes. Guess it means playing with shims then.

I have spare rings and pinions: one good set of 3.23 and one worn 2.94. Looking for salvages for more gears. I went through the Internet and found that new differential small gearsets are also avaliable.

I found very good bearing and gear adjustment instructions from Yukon Gear.

The wheel bearing is so loose to the axle tube that you can feel axial and also radial play in it. It's clearly visible in the bearing outer race that the whole bearing has rolled inside the tube. If anybody wants to use this case anymore, I think it needs machining.

I changed the pinion oil seal about a year ago. It held some time and then started to leak again. Maybe pinion bearings are also bad or the sealing surface of the yoke is worn. By the way, universal joint also has lots of play in the yoke and it's not even remotely snug before U-joints are tightened. You can see the whole driveshaft vibrating when it is rotating. Is it possible for yoke to wear like this or is the new universal joint bad? Joints are Precision, made in USA.

Thanks for info on home-made adjusting tool, in case that is needed!

I found good used axle with 3.23 for almost free. I didn't touch the differential, only cleaned the parts and put new oil. I measured the backlash and got about 0.007". Now the new axle is under the car and the noise is gone. Now I notice that the old gear made loud whistling noise at all speeds and also rumbling at highway speeds.

The old axle was crap: No pinion or carrier preload. Ring gear and all bearings pitted. Backlash 0.020". The pinion oil seal and one driveshaft oil seals leaked badly because of bad bearings. Wheel bearings and axle tubes worn as mentioned before. Connecting points between axle tubes and leaf springs were heavily rusted and almost disappeared. Differential gears were ok, same condition as in the new axle.

The conclusion: No rebuild needed for this axle. Maybe next one then. Thanks for your help!