rear axle/brake question

so i'm going to get back at the brakes tomorrow. I'll be finishing up the 11" brake swap. front is pretty well done... the rear only seemed to fit right with the spacers/shims behind the backing plates removed. has anyone else had to do this on the rear? is it ok or do they absolutely need to be there? oh its a tapered dana 44 with the 10 spline.

 

Yes they have to be there.

Hope you didnt mix them up.

Not sure but maybe they can be replaced by the thickness of the backing plate.

I would think you would have to measure the differance between the 2 backing plates and subtract the differance from the shims?

The 2 axles have a pill if you will between them in the center of the diff .
When you go around a corner they shift back and forth as one axle inside the housing.
The shims are to take up extra slack so they dont get ruined.

You need a caliper to measure the amount.

I was going to refer you to flatfenders.org but the site is shut down.

 

Not knowing your answer to your question but...

I had a thought.

If the hub was removed and replaced enough times. Do you think the hole in the hub would get bigger? Then when pressed on, the drum could rub the backing plate? Maybe?

 

The shims are to adjust the axle end play.specs. in FSM or other reliable source.tools needed are caliper or micrometer to measure shims,dial indicater to measure end play.these are basic tools ,if you don't have'm go get'm.

mike s.

 

thanks for the feedback guys... i'll take a closer look. just heading into the garage now. I don't have a micrometer but maybe i can figure it out by measuring the difference in thickness of the backing plates. Wish me luck

 

ok i got all 4 backing plates on now. Turns out i had enough room in the rear. all i did was take out 1 of the thin shims because the new backing plates are slightly thicker. Everything fit perfect once i got the hub back on and snugged up into the axle.

3 out of 4 wheels are back on... i'm 5 lug studs short Walcks will be shipping them to me on Monday. Next weekend: brake lines and the test drive