Axle removal.

[Bruce B.]

I am having trouble removing the axles from my 57 Corvette which has a Olds 9.3" rear in it dated 1957. There is no corrossion present and the car has been stored with hypoid oil in the rear axle housing. The axles have been in place for about 30 years in dry storage.
I have removed the 4 bearing retainer nuts and used a 10 pound sliding hammer and I can't get either axle to move.

Any suggestions?

[Philip P.]

Re: Axle removal.

I know nothing about Olds rear ends but do they have c-clips like the early chevrolet units. This is a guess and may or may not be the issue.
Phil

[Bruce B.]

Re: Axle removal.

Early Olds 9.3" rear ends are basically the same configuration as 1955 to 1964 Chevy rears except larger case and gears.

Early GM rear ends(53-64) did not use c-clips, I believe they started with the back loading rears in the late 60s.

[Philip P.]

Re: Axle removal.

I think that they used the c clips up to 1955 so that probably is not the issue, unless the axle housing is an earlier year ie 1955, and has a rear access plate, it would not use that type of retainer anyway. I have not done it for some time but I do not remember having to use anything other that a good tug, but then I was a "bubba" then.
Phil

[Don H.]

Re: Axle removal.

Bruce, If it is configured like the original, make sure you have the retainer (at the outer bearing) loose after removing the nuts. Pry the retainer out of the holes, it should have enough room to come out. If you see rust where the bearing mates to the housing you might need to soak it with a good spray (John Crane or Kroll). Then attach a good slam puller and slam away. Good luck, Don H.

[Mike M.]

Re: Axle removal.

i used pre-55 olds/pontiac rearends in my hot rods back when i was still suckin hind-teats(1961-1964) and i am sure they didn't have c-clips. we could change differentials in the 49 chevy with the olds rears while at the drag strip in less than a half hour. there is no way c-clips could have been used pre-1955 olds as there was no rear cover to remove from the axle housing . the wife and i were crossing the country in 1969 in a 51 chevy woodie with a 55-64 chevy rear when an axle bearing grenaded while we were at the grand canyon. i limped about 20- miles south of the canyon and discovered a 55 chevy abandonded in a field. the car was sitting on concrete blocks and i couldn't pull the needed axle. i took the tire chains and wrapped it around the axle and the concrete block. it took a couple tosses of the concrete block to pull the axle. i've since resorted to chain and concrete block to puill stubborn axles. good luck.. regards,mike

[Bruce B.]

Re: Axle removal.

Don,

I have done everything you have suggested and then slammed the sliding hammer until I was all worn out.
They are now soaking with PB Blaster and I will give it another try tomorrow.

Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

[Philip P.]

Re: Axle removal.

An Oldsmobile 3rd member will fit in a Chevrolet housing? If so does anything have to be modified.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Axle removal.

Phil,
My 57 has a complete Olds housing and center section. These were interchangeable with Pontiacs of the same years.
These rear ends were the strongest available in the late Fifties and early sixties and the choice of racers.
They were later replaced by the 9" Ford which is very plentiful and inexpensive.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Axle removal.

Mike ,
Thanks for the info, after soaking with penetrating oil I will try the chain trick.
I have the original rear end but as a period gasser I want to keep the Olds rear.
Hope to see you at Wilmington next spring.
Good hearing from you,
Bruce B

[Philip P.]

Re: Axle removal.

Thanks Bruce, I learned something today. I do remember back in my younger days a friend raced 64 Impala and would change the gear set to 4.56 on the weekends and then change it back to a steet gear. We did this at his "service station" and I do not remember having any problems but then it did not have a chance to get rusted up.
Phil

[Bruce B.]

Re: Axle removal.

Phil,
In the old days we used to race an Sunday and put the road gears back in on Sunday night and drive the car to work all week.
As Mike stated you could change rear end gears in 30 minutes on a good day.
I have changed rear end gears in my 62 Corvette a number of times over the past 20 years. It was never a problem since I drove the car on a regular basis and everything was kept lubricated.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Axle removal.

Success at last.
I borrowed a sliding hammer with a adapter that attaches to 3 of the axle studs.
It worked 100% better then the same sliding hammer with the hook on the end.
I believe the even distribution of the force from the sliding hammer is what did the trick.

As it turns out the axles are the strong 31 spline ones which will be perfect with the 3.42 rear that I will probably use although I would prefer a gear around 3.70.