HELP - Shimming front axle on Mitsu Triton

Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 05, 2003 at 19:43

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zigglemeister

Okay, thanks for your previous help GaryInOz, I have now dismantled the front axle of my mate's Mitsu L200 (Triton). It needed a new bearing in the end of the long half of the diff housing (the diff had a nice creamy oil/water mix), a new needle roller bearing in the stub axle (where the drive axle goes through) but the biggest problem was that the outer spline and flange (in Aust the flange would be a FW hub) were worn, so he ended up replacing the whole CV joint assembly. Anyway - in the process he got a nice exploded diagram from the Mitsu dealer which showed all the parts, and we discovered a set of shims that weren't present, which seem to be for reducing the amount of float that the drive axle has relative to the hub. The dealer (Port Vila, Vanuatu) had no idea how much float it ought to have. We have bought the packet of shims and there are a whole heap of different sizes, so it looks like it might be a little bit critical. So... does anyone out there have a book, or the nouse, to tell me what the float ought to be and where/how I ought to measure it?
Thanks,
Tim Z
Tanna Island, Vanuatu

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Reply By: Martyn (WA) - Tuesday, Aug 05, 2003 at 21:59

Tuesday, Aug 05, 2003 at 21:59

Tim Z,
I used to have a Triton but I no longer have the manual, I know that isn't much help, so on a nouse side of things I would start with the other side unless you have both sides stripped down, see how much end float you can detect there, putting a mag base and DTI on a fixed suspension component and the tip of the dti on the disc, give the shaft a pry with a screw driver to try and detect movement, it might be a good idea to remove the disc pads this will give you a better prying place plus the pads won't effect the reading. there are two trains of thought on this, some wheel bearings are set up with preload to prevent bearing skid and eventual failure, others are set up with between 0.002 - 0.004 thou which is usually tightened up until there is slight resistance turning the discs and then backed off a flat.
One indication would be the locking device on the end of the shaft if it's a nyloc nut there is a good chance the the nut and brgs are under preload if there is a split pin or some such device I would suspect that the nut is tightened up a "bit" until resistance is felt and then backed off. The shims concern me with the latter method, you don't usually don't have shims when you tighten and loosen, shims are usually used when you tighten up the nut to a set torque and have either slight pre load or slight end float. If you need the fourby on the road urgently I would set up the bearings with between 0.002 to 0.004 thou until you find out the correct setting. If you put preload on and the bearings aren't designed for it you will have a "blue runner" before very long at all. The shims would go between the bearings. The internal diameter of the shims supplied will give you an idea of where they are supposed to go, try them on the landings.
These are only ideas I've mentioned to try and help seeing as you haven't had any other replies as yet. Someone out there may have the book and be able to give you the correct solution. Good luck. Keep the shiny side up

AnswerID: 26886

Follow Up By: Martyn (WA) - Tuesday, Aug 05, 2003 at 22:27

Tuesday, Aug 05, 2003 at 22:27

TimZ,
Whoops, a bit on the tight side, thanks EricKeep the shiny side up

FollowupID: 18420

Follow Up By: zigglemeister - Thursday, Aug 07, 2003 at 11:28

Thursday, Aug 07, 2003 at 11:28

Thanks Martyn, but I think we're talking about different things here - you're talking about the wheel brgs on the stub axle, whereas what I'm talking about is the drive axle that passes right through the inside of the stub axle and then mates to the splined hub - In Aust these would all be frewheeling hubs of one sort or another. There is some float permitted for this drive shaft relative to the stub axle, but not too much - that's what the shims are for. Anyhow - got it all sorted yesterday, using Eric's numbers below - thanks to you both!

Ta, Tim.

FollowupID: 18549

Reply By: Eric - Tuesday, Aug 05, 2003 at 22:04

Tuesday, Aug 05, 2003 at 22:04

Zigglemeister.
The end float is .2 -.5 mm. Eric

AnswerID: 26888

Follow Up By: zigglemeister - Thursday, Aug 07, 2003 at 11:30

Thursday, Aug 07, 2003 at 11:30

Thanks very much for that Eric, greatly appreciated - was able to get it all sorted yesterday.

Ta, Tim.

FollowupID: 18550

Reply By: GaryInOz (Vic) - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2003 at 08:18

Wednesday, Aug 06, 2003 at 08:18

Glad you found the problem.

AnswerID: 26911

Follow Up By: zigglemeister - Thursday, Aug 07, 2003 at 11:33

Thursday, Aug 07, 2003 at 11:33

Thanks, got it all back together this week and it's sounding good (ie quiet - no more horrible grinding noises!) BTW, you were spot on re the in-out float - when I had another look at it I realised that it wasn't really moving parallel to the axle at all, all the movement was up and down (because the brg in the end of the axle was so bad.) Thanks again!
Tim

FollowupID: 18551