Rear axle paper gaskets and rebuild questions...

[whoizrob]

I have taken off the rear hubs, and drums, cleaned them up etc and am in the process of putting it all back together again. Once I figure out how many of the paper gaskets I need to shim up the rear I was wondering if you guys preferred to install them wet or dry. By that I mean with or without a few dabs of RTV.

The other question I had was somewhat silly, but why do we need the shims? I know the bearing protrudes a bit from the axle housing but why was it made that way to require shims? Why not machine the recess so that the bearing sits flush or just under the lip from the start?

Lastly I wanted to make sure I had the sequence right:
Axle flange-paper gaskets-Drum Dust shield- stamped sheet metal Axle oil seal carrier- stamped sheet metal Cone Cover- hub- Drum

Any torque values I should be cautious of?

Thanks!

Rob

 

[whoizrob]

anybody?

Lots of threads on pulling hubs but nothing on putting it all back together again?

Rob

 

[spudman5]

Did you ever get a response to this question or have any advice on reassembly?
I'm going to be putting together my rear axle soon and I am interested in hearing any advice from people that have done this work.

Mike

 

[RootesRooter]

Have you checked the ring gear bolts?

 

[spudman5]

Thank you for the suggestion. I already replaced those based upon other forum posts. I'm looking at installing the axles, bearings, etc into the axle shell.

Mike

 

[Tom H]

When I did mine I used the paper gasket but it had to be stretched a bit to fit and tore a bit, so I used plenty of RTV along with the gasket.

Tom