What’s wrong with my axle tubes?

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79dentside

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Had a rear right wheel bearing go, so I tore into it. I have 2 different axle tubes and 2 different axle seals... What happened here??

Drivers side:
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Passenger Side: (2 Collars...)
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Here are the axle seals:
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I had this same thing on a 1984 Chevy that I had. Axle seals were leaking on it and that’s when I discovered these smaller seals too. What’s going on here? Thanks.
 
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C10MixMaster

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Had a rear right wheel bearing go, so I tore into it. I have 2 different axle tubes and 2 different axle seals... What happened here??

Drivers side:
You must be registered for see images attach


Passenger Side: (2 Collars...)
You must be registered for see images attach


Here are the axle seals:
You must be registered for see images attach


I had this same thing on a 1984 Chevy that I had. Axle seals were leaking on it and that’s when I discovered these smaller seals too. What’s going on here? Thanks.

driver side is stock ,passenger side has an axle saver bearing that locates the bearing to a clean part of the axle.
 

79dentside

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driver side is stock ,passenger side has an axle saver bearing that locates the bearing to a clean part of the axle.
I figured as much... I don’t know anything about those. It just seemed like something was done in attempt to fix something that wasn’t “right”. Thanks for the info.

Are parts easy to come by?
 

79dentside

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So I just did a little research. Does that whole collar have to come out and I replace the collar/bearing as one unit or is the axle saver bearing a serviceable piece in which I can leave the collar and just replace the bearing? The bearing separated from the race and cracked, there is no re-using that puppy.

I guess another question is why couldn’t I put standard bearing back in??
 
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C10MixMaster

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So I just did a little research. Does that whole collar have to come out and I replace the collar/bearing as one unit or is the axle saver bearing a serviceable piece in which I can leave the collar and just replace the bearing? The bearing separated from the race and cracked, there is no re-using that puppy.

I guess another quests why couldn’t I put standard bearing back in??

the assemblies aren't that expensive 30-40ish dollars not a lot more than a bearing and seal. Your axle probably has a bad spot grooved pitted something and that is why it has an axle saver. If you replace the axle or there is nothing wrong with it I would definitely go back to an oe style bearing and seal.
 

MikeB

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An axle saver bearing may have been used because bearing was rotating in the axle tube. As mentioned above, they don't cost much. Check out RockAuto.

#1559 axle saver bearing/seal
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#6408 OE-type axle bearing
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79dentside

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Good to know. I don’t know how I’ve never heard of these before. Thank you for all of the help guys!
 

79dentside

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I'd throw another axle in it, and stock type bearing and seal.

So is it the axle that wears that causes this or is it the axle tube? I’m not sure what I’m looking for haha.
 

79dentside

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the axle rides on the bearing and can go bad.
I don’t mind buying an axle if it means I can run normal bearings... sounds like these don’t last as long as normal bearings.

So far, the only 2 vehicles of mine that had them, have BOTH had a component of the axle saver bearing fail
 

ali_c20

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I had the same axle savers. Bought new Yukon axle shafts removed the axle savers and returned to stock setup with quality bearings. With the bearing seal setup it's easy to replace a leaking seal. The axle savers are are real pita to remove.
 

80BrownK10

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Some places call them like repair bearing I think. I have one of the repair ones and a normal one.
 

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