The manual shows the whole axle assy. coming out for service. I see a cover on the rear. Can I get at the final drive gear nuts from there and pull the axles out?
Why do you think rear axle bearings need replacement? How about you provide more information about your issue before you start tearing stuff apart. Having the manual is a good start, what's your problem?
I don’t know if I knew the outer was greasable. I’ve had the machine over 30 years and I know I’ve had the rear wheels off so I would’ve seen the grease fitting and greased it. In the meantime I’ve probably assumed both bearings were wet. I just put new tires on it and saw the grease fitting and looked in the book and saw how it’s setup. I have noticeable in and out play and some up and down so I’d love to do the bearings. The axle is a little noisy and I know axle play will hurt the final drive gear mesh and I’d rather get ahead of a problem. I’m very experienced mechanically and I’ll drop the whole assembly if I have to. Just wondered if it’s necessary. I don’t want to hurt the finals or the diff gears.
What does it look like with the wheels off, anyway to get at the bearings from there?
To get the axle bearing adjustment right, it’s probably easier to pull the whole transaxle
Could also pull the seat and floor panel and go in through the top cover, that way you can assess the rest of the internals for excessive wear while you're in there. You may get lucky and be able to snug up the axle nuts to remove some play but as you know that's a 50 year old machine sooo... I also had some excessive play and noise from my '76 C, once the cover was off found chunks in the bottom of case from a bad side gear bushing. Also had pretty excessive wear in many other parts from lack of care, so out came the entire transaxle for full rebuild. Bottom line I'm glad I pulled the top cover. As you stated ya don"t want to chunk any other diff parts especially the ring gear and pinion shaft, really pricey. As to your original question, you can probably access the axle nuts through the back cover, removing the cotter pins may be a pain in the ass but the nuts are probably already loose. Good luck.
No. There's a nut holding the final drive gear on the shaft. The shaft has to come out. To be honest the factory spec is "snug". It's just 2 sets of cones and cups like a car hub. Take the play out and that's it.
I have that book lol. Still trying to figure out if I can get those 2 nuts off from the back cover. I'd be willing to leave the inner bearings because they've been in oil, but I'd at least love to change the outers and seals and reset the clearance. I don't know how much grease they've seen or how much those old seals have been keeping water out.