Does Taper On Axle Wear Out?

I can’t get the hubs tight on My rear D44 any more. One of the hubs is new(ish) and the nut is bottoming out. The hub seems tight but after a couple days it is loose and making scraping noise.

New axle shafts are going to cost a couple hundred. I would love the full float but that’s not in the budget this year. Does anyone Ever shim the hubs to get a tight fit?

 

I thought there was a big fat washer between my hubs and nuts. Mine has castle nuts with cotter pins.
Is it shearing cotter pins.

The issue I am worried about is if the replaced parts aren't tapered right.

 

Seems to me that the only way to wear one out would be to spin it inside the hub and grind it undersized. That said, the shaft is very much harder than the hub.

 

It is really easy to crack the hubs if the key gets pushed in too far during assembly . I always leave the key sticking out about 1/2 inch past the nut surface and the tap it flush with a hammer. That way I know it's in the right place.

 

I’m also very careful when installing the key as well.


I do have the big washer under the castle nut.

 

I think I’ll buy one new rear hub and see if it fixes the problem. If not I’ll quickly get the new shafts.

 

There definitely should be a washer.

 

Sure. I've done it with standard .002" shim stock. A piece of beer can would work.

Or...maybe something like this.
1928 to 1948 rear axle tapered shims | eBay

 

I think a loose hub/axle interface will develop a mis-shaped or worn seating without having to actually spin.

 

Flip the hub around and see if the surface where the seal runs against is out-of-round. They can be egg-shaped and not cracked.

 

Hopefully.

 

I wonder if a big nuff lathe and some lapping compound would get them seated real good.

Job weld might fill the offset long enough to buy the full floating parts.

 

Lapping would perhaps mate them, but the surfaces would be random, i.e. not be true/straight.

So the wedging effect of traveling up the taper would be impaired.

 

“Weld the taper.”

 

I would suspect the hub is cracked in the keyway. If it is cracked, it will never tighten up and stay tight. If you replace it, I would try to find an original hub (or even used) rather than an aftermarket one.
-Donny