Hi everybody,

last Saturday, I finished some work at my 68 Firebird, polished it and was pretty pleased. That was at about 05:30 pm...

Then I took my daughter and her friend (7 + 8) for a ride. It was a great smooth ride, until we came to an innercity traffic light. I stopped and as the light goes green, slowly accelerated. The was a huge noice and the car's back went up in the air like the Titanic in her last moments. That was at 07:30 p.m.

I got out immediately and saw the whole wheel laying in the street. All wheel bolts were still firmly attached. And then I saw, that the axle was broken right in front of the bearing.

Nothing happend to the kids and me, but the car had to be towed and the rear fender got some dents.

And now my question:

I've identified almost all of the parts I need for the repair. But I do not know, which axle I should get. As far as I know I have a 28 spline 8.2 with no c-clips on it. I found some axles in the web, but all of them are c-clip-types. Can anybody give me a hint, where I get a correct axle? Is it possible to use a c-clip axle just without the c-clip?

I live in Germany, so I don't want to get the wrong parts, send it back, get other ones, send it back... ;-)

Thank you for your help!

Lemmi

First you need to know what rear is in there and whether someone swapped it. If it the original BOP 8.2 (Buick/olds/Pontiac) there are no c clips and the bearing assembly is pressed onto the axle and it gets bolted in. There is a chevy 8.2 rear that is different. You can tell which rear end it is by the diff cover shape

Hi Bob,

I am pretty sure, that there was no swap, because I own the car now for over 29 years. And I think, it is a 10 bolt cover, but I just asked my mechanic for a picture.

It's a BOP axle (I did not know what that means, but now I think it's Bolt On Part). I already removed the rest of the shaft and counted the splines. There are 28.

... my mechanic was fast: It's 10 bolts and I have the picture attached.

Cheers,

Markus

Yes, BOP 8.2. Bolt in axles. Not sure the best place to get new axles. When I got my rear built I repurposed some GTO axles I had.

BOP: Buick, Olds, Pontiac.
That's what you have.

By the look of the axil, seems like the sheared end has some rust and just a small portion of the metal is a clean break. Good thong you weren't going 65 MPH down the highway at the time.

Did you have any vibration that was speed related in the past?

Can't imagine why it broke there, unless you had a bent wheel or perhaps the wheel mating flange was bent and the cyclic twisting work hardened and finally broke. Not like you had 100% traction and laid 800 pound/foot to it.

Hi Bob and Al,

you really helped and confirmed me in my choice of the axle. So I just ordered the GM 8.2 BOP shaft with 28 splines, the bearing and the seal at RockAuto. They had all the parts ready for shipping at a good price.

Yes, we were really lucky, that this happened at the traffic light. I was going very slow that moment, so there was not much momentum. It looks like a hairline crack that started to corrode to the inside. I did not feel anything unusual before. No sounds, no wobbeling, nothing. That makes it even scarier.

So I am looking forward to the arrival of the parts and hope all fits.

Thank you for your help! :-)

Cheers

Lemmi

Lemmi,

I waited until you got your answers from others here with more knowledge on the subject before commenting.

Your broken axle is terrible but it could have been tragic. I too was lucky in when I discovered mine just before it broke in 1977. I kept hearing a noise in the rear whenever I turned right. My Pontiac dealer showed me the old axle when they worked on it. Its diameter, at the location of the bearing, was about half its normal. The bearing failed and was cutting through the axle shaft. Your looks like a different failure cause.

Hi Jim,

1977??? Your car was almost brandnew! ;-)

I think, that it took my axle 55 years to corrode that much, that it finally broke. I'd almost like to say: It's okay after such a long period of time.

Amazing is, that the ring, which holds the bearing in place was welded to the axle. Maybe they did that at the factory or it's a replacement axle. I own the car for 29 years now and know, there was no work on the axle during that time. And I've got all the documents, bills,... from the first 2 owners - including a ticket for excessive noice from the early 70s. And there was nothing as well.

Lemmi

Bearing retaining rings were never welded at any factory and any kind of welding on an axle is a ticking time bomb.
Lots of hacks out there.

Yup, those rings are pressed on not welded.
In about 1982 my 69 GTO driver side axle came loose, I took it out, replaced the the bearing and retainer. Nine months later it happened again, that time I replaced the axle as I should have done the first time. Sometimes one looks at the cheapest and easiest to fix as the probable cause, rather than facing the reality that the more expensive fix is the way to repair. Perhaps yours came loose way back when and was just welded on rather than fixed properly. Works in a pinch to get home as long as a proper fix is done then.

There was no welding there in the last 29 years. And the axle broke on the other side of the bearing. In this case the welding seems not to be the problem. But of course you are right: Never weeks on these parts.

It's back in and everything went well. Thanks for the help! ... I took the regular bearing, but while surfing the web I found some enhanced bearings. Are those recommendable? They seem to be just one part with no retainer.

Finally I attached picture of the welded retainer.

Next will be the repair of the fender.

Again, thank you!

Markus

enhanced bearings....huhh
Sounds like snake oil to me

That's what it looks like.

That's an axle saver bearing for a chevy rear end that uses C clips cant be used on a BOP rear.

Thank you! So I will just forget about it! ????

Yup, forget about them, there for Chebby 8.2s and corporate 8.5s.
They move the bearing to a different spot on the axle so the wear can start in a different spot on the axle. Also incorporate the seal.

Yours is a different animal, and better in my opinion.

Glad to see you're all fixed up, too bad about the body damage.

Thank you!

I had to do some minor bodywork anyway, so this is a good occasion.