loose rear wheel

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

I was driving the 55 this morning,when a guy pulled up and asked if my axle was bent,the wheel had a wobble in it he said.The truck drives smooth and straight as an arrow.I got it home,jacked up the pass. side wheel.It does rock back and forth a little bit.The drivers side seems tight.Are my wheel bearings bad?How about an 80 series axle to replace?Locker and e-brake to rear.Thanks my brothers.

 

[SAMI188]

80 series will be quite wide under the pig.

 

[scottryana]

80 series axles is 8" wider then a 55 axle. I am running them on my pig and even with 4.5-5" of back spacing the wheels are quite aways out from the body.

Ryan

 

[cruiser_guy]

I was driving the 55 this morning,when a guy pulled up and asked if my axle was bent,the wheel had a wobble in it he said.The truck drives smooth and straight as an arrow.I got it home,jacked up the pass. side wheel.It does rock back and forth a little bit.The drivers side seems tight.Are my wheel bearings bad?How about an 80 series axle to replace?Locker and e-brake to rear.Thanks my brothers.

Are all the nuts there and tight? Are the wheel lug holes good or are they elongated? If you're not sure have a tire shop check it out.

 

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

stop me

The lugs are tight,and like I said,it drives great.Axle will not slide out and no oil leaking,so I dont think it is broken.Probably the wheel bearings that need some love.I would like to build an axle in the garage and then install.How about a 60,so I could at least have the e brake in the rear.Now I wish I would have put a 60 up front.I just need to slow the obsession with this damn LC,its getting out of control.

 

[scottryana]

Stupid question, but could your wheel simply be bent?

 

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

Great question.When I had them mounted I asked for them to check for any damage or wobbles on the wheels,because the wheels were previously on a wheeler.They said everything was good,but I had 2 take them back once because all the wheel weights fell off,so who knows.Ill mount my spare and see if it makes a difference.Thanks

 

[cruiser_guy]

Another thought that just came to me. Are you using OEM wheels or not? There is a round head screw on the '55 drum that will cause the wheel to appear to wobble if the rim cannot accommodate that screw like the OEM rims. I found this out in Moab when I was running my Swampers on the '60 series rims. Pull the wheel and if the screw that holds the drum on is still there just remove it. It's not needed other than on the assembly line and your '55 is LONG past that stage!!

 

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

Yes,I think that is what it is.I am running 60 wagon wheels.I never thought they were seating right.If that is the case,I feel dumb.I will check tomorrow.Thanks

 

[cruiser_guy]

Yes,I think that is what it is.I am running 60 wagon wheels.I never thought they were seating right.If that is the case,I feel dumb.I will check tomorrow.Thanks

Just remember, you weren't the first to make that mistake.

 

[scottryana]

Hope we didn't ruin your plans for a rear end upgrade

 

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

Yes,I was getting excited to spend all the $ I have left on a rear end.Seriously.

 

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

Pulled the 2 screws on each drum.They were starting to wear,had to use some vise grips to get them out.The wheel lug holes show some wear but still good.If not for the stranger who flagged me and the advise to fix the problem here on MUD I probably would have ruined the wheels/lugs with much more driving.Soo my badand thanks

 

[scottryana]

Cool! Glad to see it is back up and running!

 

[cruiser_guy]

I was lucky. I drove from Area BFE to Moab only before a highways guy told me about the wobbly wheel. I went into a tire shop in Moab and they found the problem right away.

 

[rsbcruiser]

Another thought that just came to me. Are you using OEM wheels or not? There is a round head screw on the '55 drum that will cause the wheel to appear to wobble if the rim cannot accommodate that screw like the OEM rims. I found this out in Moab when I was running my Swampers on the '60 series rims. Pull the wheel and if the screw that holds the drum on is still there just remove it. It's not needed other than on the assembly line and your '55 is LONG past that stage!!

cruiser_guy for the save!