I think that in order to adjust the end play correctly, you will need to obtain
a "dial indicator" to measure it.
This reminds me of another story about one of my cars. The rear wheel bearing
in my '65 Imperial failed years ago due to an electrical grounding problem. I
unknowingly replaced the bearing the first time, adjusted it correctly, and
drove the car less than one year, and it failed again. This time the axle also
had to be replaced.
I had been experiencing some electrical problems with the car at the same time
so I took it to one of the best Auto Electric's in town at the time. They found
that the engine was grounding through the rear axle. Apparently there was
arcing in the bearing, causing it to fail. I believe that they installed a new
engine to body ground strap. I haven't had any more trouble with it.
Since then I have been told (but never confirmed) that there is an inherent
electrical design flaw in '64, '65, '66 Imperials that has to do with the
grounding of the luggage compartment light switch. This causes electrolysis and
corrosion in the upper body on the drivers side of the car. The man who told me
this was a retired electrical engineer in Oregon who had a '65 Crown that he
had taken apart and found this to be the case.
I know that the body panel between the rear window and the trunk lid often
developes rust on these cars, but I had always thought this was due to water
leaking into the trunk.
Has anyone else heard of this?
Paul
In a message dated 2/16/2004 2:26:12 PM Eastern Standard Time,
imperial1971@xxxxxxxxx writes:
>
>
> --- chr gra <c_bodycrazy@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > I have a 70 Imp LeBaron w/ a moaning sound comming
> > from the rear. ... I'm thinking I have
> > a bad bearing in the axle and would like to replace
> > all of them in one shot.
>
> Chris -- you're probably right in your diagnosis of an
> axle bearing. If the sound changes as you go around a
> curve (i.e. seems to move from side to side), then
> that's definitely it. However, BEFORE you tackle
> this, be sure to check the fluid level of the
> differential -- it might simply be a bit low.
>
> Replacing axle bearings on these cars is pretty
> straightforward. If you have a shop manual, follow
> the instructions, and you can easily do it in an
> afternoon. I just performed this procedure on my '70
> LeBaron last summer.
>
> The only "trick" is to make SURE that the axle shaft
> end play is adjusted properly, AND to be sure that the
> locking clip for the adjuster is installed correctly.
> On both my '71 and '70 Imperials, I have had rear axle
> bearing failures -- and on both cars, I found that
> someone in the past had failed to correctly adjust the
> end play and/or install the adjuster locking clip.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Elijah Scott
> 1965 Imperial LeBaron
> 1970 Imperial LeBaron
> 1971 Imperial LeBaron
>
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